CENTENNIAL, Colorado–Two months before a bitterly contested Democratic primary and seven months ahead of the November general elections, voters in the city of 100,000 are paying “minimal” attention to the candidates vying to represent them and the other voters in the Sixth Congressional District in the House of Representatives when the 116th Congress convenes in Washington, DC, in January.
The Sixth Congressional District is one of 20 districts across the country currently represented by a Republican who is rated as a “toss-up” in the November midterm elections by the Cook Political Report. If the much-talked-about “Blue Wave” 0f Democratic net gains in the House is to materialize, it will likely include a victory in this district. Democrats need a net gain of 23 seats to take back control of the House of Representatives in January.
The district includes parts of the suburban areas to the south and east of Denver, as well as more areas further to the east.
Democratic voters will select either Jason Crow or Levi Tillemann in the June 26 primary to determine who will face the incumbent, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO-06), in the November general election.
Coffman, the incumbent, was first elected in 2008. He is a middle-of-the-road Republican, whose 68 percent Heritage Action Scorecard rating is the average rating for all Republican House members. He won re-election in 2016 by a 51 percent to 43 percent margin. Hillary Clinton took the district by nine points in 2016, Ballotpedia reported.
As for the Democrats, Jason Crow is a decorated Army veteran and attorney, while Levi Tillemann has a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins, served in the Obama administration, is the grandson of the late Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), and supports a far-left agenda.
Crow is favored over Tillemann in the Democratic primary and has the support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Tillemann and his supporters have bitterly criticized the party’s establishment for picking favorites in the primary.
Crow has departed from the successful formula of not criticizing President Trump used by Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA-18), another Democrat who is also a veteran and attorney and won a narrow victory in a special election last month.
“People see what Donald Trump and his presidency are doing to this country and to our community. Mike Coffman is a rubber stamp for him. They’ve had enough,” Crow told NPR in an interview last month.
“They’ve had enough of his support by the NRA and his inaction on gun violence in this community that’s been scarred by it, and they want change,” he added.
Breitbart News visited a dozen neighborhoods in this thriving suburb of Denver on Thursday afternoon and did not see a single yard sign supporting either of the two Democratic candidates or the incumbent Republican in the Sixth Congressional District race.
In fact, only two yard signs could be found in those dozen neighborhoods: one supporting a Democratic candidate for the State House of Representatives and another that said in three languages–English, Spanish, and Arabic–“No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbors.”
Breitbart News interviewed two voters during our visit to Centennial, a Democrat retired school teacher who was raking leaves outside her home, and a Republican electrician who was having dinner at a local diner after a hard day at work.
Here’s what each had to say:
When asked if she was familiar with the two Democratic candidates vying for the party’s nomination in the June 26 primary for the Sixth Congressional District, the retired school teacher said, “Minimally.”
She added that she would support “either one as long as they’re not a Republican.”
Not surprisingly, the retired school teacher told Breitbart News that she voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
When asked if she thought a “Blue Wave” would turn the incumbent Republican, Rep. Coffman said in November that she was not especially optimistic about her Party’s chances.
“I would hope that there would be, but I’m not sure. There’s a lot of people that–I have no idea why–continue to support the Republican platform and would still vote for Donald Trump today if he still ran for office. I don’t think too many of minds have been changed yet. I think Coffman might be there another too many more years,” she concluded:
Jonathan, an electrician from Western Colorado, told Breitbart News he has been working on a job in Centennial for the past three months and voted for Donald Trump in 2016.
When asked if he would vote for Donald Trump again today, Jonathan said he would and explained why.
“From what I can tell–and there’s a lot going on, a lot going on, and I’m a worker; I’m a blue collar worker–it looks like there’s jobs, and I’m up here working. So, opportunities,” he said.
When asked if he saw a “Blue Wave” coming in the Congressional District in which he lives in Western Colorado, Jonathan said, “I’m not too sure on that one. I haven’t paid a lot of attention.”
While the two Democratic candidates and the incumbent Republican are raising large amounts of money and developing their teams of volunteers and paid political organizers across the district, gearing up for the coming contested primary and general elections, most voters in one of the largest cities in the district are apparently not paying much attention to a key race that media outlets and political operatives around the country are paying a great deal of attention.
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