Republican incumbent Rep. Doug Lamborn is refusing to debate Democratic challenger Irv Halter in the 5th Congressional District race.
U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (Bloomberg)
Halter, a retired Air Force major general and former Republican turned Democrat, challenged Lamborn to a debate soon after the congressman beat Bentley Rayburn in the . Jarred Rego, Lamborn’s campaign spokesman, said Lamborn does not want to give Halter a platform from which he could spread his rhetoric.
“The congressman will not be providing Mr. Halter with a platform to spread his deceptive rhetoric and uncivil tone,” Rego told .
“People know where Congressman Lamborn stands on the issues. The only person in this race whose positions are unknown is Mr. Halter, who keeps masquerading as a moderate, all while disguising his liberal views.”
In response, El Paso County Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Ricker called Lamborn a “coward.”
“Doug Lamborn is a coward, he feels he is entitled to this office and not accountable to the voters,” Ricker said, in a release. “There is no other possible reason that he won’t debate the retired general and face the voters of our district.”
The liberal-leaning Daily KOS blog weighed in on the race stating that the race may be closer if Lamborn believes he doesn’t need to campaign. Daily KOS gave the race a “Likely Republican” rating instead of a “Safe Republican” rating. The development is surprising given that the CD5 seat in Colorado Springs has been in Republican control for more than two decades, Lamborn has been the incumbent since 2006 and Democrats couldn’t win the seat in 2008 when they crushed the GOP statewide.
Even so, Halter has nearly tripled Lamborn’s cash on hand, a fact that , in conjunction Halter’s military background, as reason for why this race may not just be a blowout.
“The Colorado Springs-based 5th district is a very Republican seat,” Daily KOS member Stephen CLE writes. “… But this is a different year, and this race is somewhat intriguing. The Democrats have a very solid candidate in Air Force major general Irv Halter. In addition to his military pedigree, Halter is a solid fundraiser, having 319k in the bank as of Q2. Lamborn has just 115k, which is bizarre for an incumbent. think the district is ultimately too red for Halter to win, but if Lamborn is thinking he doesn’t need to campaign, we need to keep an eye on this one.
Rating – Likely R”
Democrat Irv Halter explains why he’s running to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs. (Provided by Halter campaign)
There is room for skepticism as the blog, created by military vet Markos Moulitsas in 2002, approaches politics from a Democratic perspective. The site even says that Moulitsas, a former Republican, “abandoned the GOP” soon after enlisting in the Army.
In that vein, Rego dismissed the Daily KOS’s rating.
“Daily Kos is a self-avowed left-wing, liberal blog, so their assessment of conservative congressional districts has no credibility and is irrelevant,” he wrote in an email.
