The national group that works to get Republicans elected governor is using footage of a grieving father to hammer Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper for indefinitely delaying the execution of killer Nathan Dunlap.
The Denver Post has been told the Republican Governors Association is spending $2 million for the “substanial” ad buy, which kicks off Monday.
The ad features a heartbroken Dennis O’Connor, whose 17-year-old daughter Colleen was one of four people killed at an Aurora pizzeria in 2013 by Dunlap, a disgruntled former employee. O’Connor said he waited 20 years for justice to be done, but Hickenlooper “robbed” the victims with his decision.
“He’s a coward who doesn’t deserve to be in office,” O’Connor says.
O’Connor is divorced and Colleen’s mother Jodie McNally-Damore, has a different opinion of Hickenlooper’s decision. Dunlap, “deserves to stay exactly in the hole that he’s in … let him rot.”
And Colleen’s cousin, Gillian McNally, that she “fully supports” Gov. Hickenlooper’s decision. “I actually thought it was very brave,” McNally said.
The video of Dennis O’Connor was shot by A Better Colorado Future, a political group run by Republican operatives Kelly Maher and Andy George. Last week, of O’Connor describing his ordeal. The RGA ad is 30 seconds.
Hickenlooper had been seen in his 2014 re-election bid. But his decision to back gun-control measures and inspired a wave of Republican opponents. Former Congressman Bob Beauprez, , has hammered Hickenlooper on the topic.
