Editor’s note: Over the next two days, The Denver Post will profile the Republicans vying to face off against Democratic U.S. Rep. John Salazar of Manassa. State Rep. Scott Tipton is featured today, and Bob McConnell will be profiled Friday.
To learn more about candidates’ biographies and stances on the issues, go to .
When state Rep. Scott Tipton makes the rounds of Kiwanis pancake breakfasts, Rotary lunches and Tea Party meet-ups, those he meets make him feel as if he is looking in a mirror.
They are decent, working-class folks struggling in a down economy. They are disenchanted with a bloated federal government. They want common-sense solutions. They aren’t interested in flash-point arguments over whether President Barack Obama is a citizen or whether Sarah Palin should run for president.
Hewing to a no-nonsense message is how Republican Tipton, who has served the legislature’s 58th District in southwest Colorado for two years, said he has built his political strength. He has earned support from mainstream Republicans as well as conservative grass roots groups. He has also raised more than double the campaign contributions of his opponent — $380,457.
“I’m very much oriented to getting the job done. I’m trying to put out real ideas. These are critical times,” said the 53-year-old Cortez businessman, whose buttoned-down- shirt-and-khakis style tends to leave voters with the feeling that he is a nice-guy candidate, but not one who rouses them to a sign-waving, fevered pitch.
Tipton’s stances on reducing the size of government, fixing a broken IRS and repealing health care reform are conservative enough to have garnered the endorsement of the Western Slope Conservative Alliance, a coalition of Tea Party activist groups. He also has nods from two heavy-hitter former GOP senators from Colorado: Hank Brown and Bill Armstrong. National Republican Party heavyweight and Fox News consultant Dick Morris endorsed Tipton.
Tipton said he didn’t seek an endorsement from Sarah Palin, who gave the nod instead to his opponent, Bob McConnell.
“I’m walking door to door. I’m not looking for the biggest endorsement,” Tipton said.
More than his record as a fledgling state legislator, Tipton touts his experience as a businessman in Cortez for 31 years. He owns Mesa Verde Indian Pottery, a retail shop that also houses a small jewelry and pottery business.
“It tears at your heart to see businesses closed and people out of work in the towns that I visit,” Tipton said.
Even though Tipton was trounced in a first attempt to defeat Democratic incumbent Rep. John Salazar, he predicts this time will be different. In the 2006 election, unhappy voters “fired” the Republicans for not holding to their campaign promises, Tipton said. In this election, he said, voters are ready to fire the Democrats.
Tipton is married and has two daughters. He majored in political science at Fort Lewis College in Durango and is proud of the fact that he is the first one in his family to earn a college degree.
Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com
