LAKEWOOD — A pair of Jefferson County Democrats are raising and spending big bucks to try and win a hotly contested legislative primary, which has mostly become a competition over which candidate is further to the political left.
House District 30 Democrat candidates Kyra deGruy Kennedy ($106,817 as of the last reporting period) and Rebekah Stewart ($136,630) have raised nearly $245,000 combined and have spent nearly as much trying to “out progressive” each other. The district encompasses Edgewater and a portion of Lakewood, and leans heavily Democrat.
To put the level of fundraising in perspective, the two women have raised nearly exactly the same amount that 4th Congressional District GOP candidates Richard Holtorf and Mike Lynch have combined. That amount exceeds most other statehouse races in Colorado, among both major political parties. For example, House District 63 (part of Weld County and the Eastern Plains) Republican primary candidates have raised just under $25,000 combined.
House District 30’s seat is currently held by deGruy Kennedy’s husband Chris, who is term limited, and she has spent the past few years leveraging that relationship to help write multiple progressive bills for legislative Democrats from her role as an activist for the Rocky Mountain chapter of Young Invincibles, including three hospital regulatory bills that were part of the impetus for an open records lawsuit Complete Colorado recently won over the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF).
In a recent mailer sent by deGruy Kennedy, she tells voters that she is the most progressive choice for the job.
“Not all Democrats are the same,” the mail says in big bold letters, adding that her opponent’s campaign is being supported by Republicans, “big pharma” and oil and gas.
However, other than endorsements and the LGBTQ topic, there is little difference between the two.
Kennedy’s mailer points out that she is the “ONLY” candidate:
- Who has passed legislation protecting abortion. (Kennedy is not a lawmaker and therefore has not “passed” anything. She has worked with her husband and other legislators to write their legislation for them, but she does not get a vote on it.)
- Who is endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety. (Her opponent, Stewart, is endorsed by Mom’s Demand Action, an Everytown for Gun Safety subsidiary.)
- Who has taken on “big pharma” and won. (She offers no explanation anywhere that Complete Colorado could find concerning what this statement means.)
Stewart also brags about being an “ONLY” candidate. She is the only candidate in the race to ever win an elected office, as she is currently a Lakewood City Council member, and on her website, she says she is the only one to have ever beaten a “MAGA” Republican, a generic reference given to all Donald Trump supporters.
Kennedy’s website says she supports/will address:
- Climate change (investment in mass transit, ban fossil fuels, invest in more EV infrastructure)
- Protecting abortion rights
- Single payer healthcare
- Income redistribution
- Tuition free college
- Stricter gun laws
- Expanding collective bargaining in the public sector
- Decriminalizing possession of illegal drugs
- Requiring developers to include a percentage of low-income housing in new construction plans
- Funding legal defense funds for illegal aliens
- Allowing illegal aliens access to higher education
- Funding state rebates for the purchase of electric vehicles and make city busses electric
Stewart’s Website is a near mirror image of Kennedy’s in what the two women support.
The only major differences Complete Colorado could find is Stewart supports LGBTQ rights, while Kennedy does not actually address the topic, and Stewart has the upper hand on endorsements, especially support from local governing officials.
Among those on Kennedy’s side are mostly current elected legislators who work closely with her husband, including Rep. Lorena Garcia, Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, Rep. Javier Mabrey, Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, Rep. Stephanie Vigil.
Among those on Stewart’s side are Sen. Jessie Danielson, Colorado Blueflower Fund, Mom’s Demand Action, Colorado Ceasefire, Plumbers Local Union #3, Colorado Medical Society, along with nearly every elected city council member, mayor, and county commissioner or other elected county official in the district.
