The two Democrats running to be Colorado’s next governor strained to differentiate themselves on policy last month during their first televised debate.
After all, Attorney General Phil Weiser and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet agree on a lot.
They both think the provision in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights giving Colorado voters the power to weigh in on all tax increases should remain in place. Neither will commit to completely unwinding the state’s unique labor laws, which make it harder for unions to organize. And they both think nuclear power should be a part of Colorado’s clean energy future.
The biggest policy difference between the men at that May debate seemed to be a wardrobe one: Weiser stayed true to his practice of wearing a necktie, while Bennet maintained his open-collar look.
As the June 30 primary nears, Bennet and Weiser have found a few areas of policy disagreement — their plans to tackle climate change and make healthcare cheaper, for instance — but voters could be forgiven for thinking the candidates’ beliefs are substantially the same. A local podcast host even quipped that they sound like a pair of angry dads in an airport security line.
Instead of battling over issues like housing and taxes, Weiser and Bennet’s campaigns have focused on highlighting contrasts around President Donald Trump, with the candidates attacking each other at debates and in advertisements over who has had a tougher posture toward the White House.
Even those claims are a bit dubious: Weiser attacks on Bennet’s support for some of Trump’s cabinet nominees have come despite his praise for Bennet’s broader record in the Senate and advocacy for him to stay in Washington. Bennet’s criticism of Weiser for not joining some lawsuits against the Trump administration have come despite Bennet voting to confirm some of the Trump nominees behind the actions Weiser didn’t sue over.
The political dynamics in the race have frustrated even supporters of the candidates.
“In our broken economy, where we have higher inequality than existed in this country during the Gilded Age, I really don’t think it matters how many Trump appointees Bennet confirmed or how many times Weiser did or didn’t sue Trump,” said state Rep. Javier Mabrey, a Denver Democrat who is backing the attorney general’s gubernatorial campaign. “Voters deserve more specifics about how these candidates are going to unrig the economy and fight for working people. What are they going to do for workers and consumers?”
Where Weiser and Bennet are aligned
Some of the biggest areas of policy alignment between Bennet and Weiser are where they’ve refused to provide specifics.
Take the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights: Neither candidate has offered a plan to change the 1992 constitutional amendment, which requires voter approval for all tax increases and limits the annual growth of government based on changes in inflation and population.
Bennet says he wants to start a conversation about reworking TABOR in rural, more Republican parts of Colorado. Weiser says he will serve as a convenor to come up with a way to change the restrictive provision, which can only be changed through an amendment to the state constitution, which would require voter approval.
At a Colorado Sun forum Saturday, both candidates signaled an openness to increasing TABOR’s cap on state spending and moving the state toward a graduated income tax system. But they’ve also both refused to endorse an effort to put a measure on the November ballot that would raise taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations in Colorado to raise billions of dollars in new revenue.
Weiser and Bennet have been similarly vague about their stance on Colorado’s Labor Peace Act, the 1943 law requiring that 75% of workers at a company sign off before unions can negotiate with businesses over union security. That’s after a majority of workers vote to unionize.
Union security is the term for when workers are forced to pay fees for collective bargaining representation — regardless of whether they are members of their workplace’s union.
Gov. Jared Polis has vetoed a bill in each of the last two years that would eliminate the union security vote altogether.
Bennet has said he would sign a bill preserving the second election but reducing the 75% threshold. Weiser has only said he would support changing the law.
“I’m not starting the process with any preconditions,” Weiser told The Sun.
Both Weiser and Bennet have said Colorado should roll back regulations and make the state more business friendly. They’ve also said they would reverse Polis’ practice of withholding funding from municipalities that don’t comply with state housing laws.
“I’m not interested in punishing,” Bennet said. “I’m interested in actually creating an environment where we can actually deliver for our kids and for our grandkids.”
Both candidates expressed support at The Sun forum for proposed state laws that would allow homeowners to split their lots and relax single-family lot size requirements to encourage construction of smaller homes. Weiser, however, said local governments should be allowed to opt out of some housing laws, like that one — should it pass.
Asked during The Sun forum about five of Polis’ 12 vetoes this year, Bennet and Weiser agreed that they would have also rejected all of those measures. (The pair signaled, however, that they would pass a tweaked version of the measure Polis vetoed on so-called surveillance pricing.)
State Rep. Yara Zokaie, a Fort Collins Democrat who is supporting Bennet’s campaign, acknowledged that Bennet and Weiser have a lot of similar stances. Her decision to back the senator was more about style than substance.
“It came down to governing style,” she said.
Where they are split
Bennet has pushed back on the notion that he and Weiser are aligned on most issues.
“We have very big policy differences,” the senator said during The Colorado Sun forum.
Bennet highlights how he is pushing for a public health insurance option in Colorado and how he is calling for the state to adopt a cap-and-invest program to tackle climate change by charging polluters for their emissions and using the revenue to expand clean energy initiatives.
“Those policies, all of them, are so much more far-reaching than my opponent’s,” Bennet said. “I don’t think it’s fair to say that we’re close together on those issues.”
Weiser has criticized the senator for not having detailed plans to accomplish his climate and healthcare goals.
“When I endorse a plan, I understand what the plan is inside and out, and I’m ready to make it happen,” Weiser said at the debate.
The attorney general wants to tackle climate change by increasing solar-generated electricity and by boosting Colorado’s battery storage capacity. (Bennet has said that won’t be enough to end greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as the state plans.) When it comes to healthcare, Weiser is proposing a universal primary care system funded by changes to TABOR, but he hasn’t provided many details.
Other policy differences between the two: Weiser wants to increase Colorado’s water storage capacity, while Bennet doesn’t think that should be the state’s priority. Bennet hasn’t totally ruled out support for eliminating Colorado’s ban on local rent control policies, while Weiser has. Weiser is OK with the state providing tax credits to data center companies, while Bennet opposes doing so.
Bennet has called for a ban on cellphone and social media use in schools, while Weiser worked on a bill forcing school districts to come up with phone-use rules but not mandating what that is. Weiser has totally ruled out opting into a Trump administration tax credit that education advocates worry will become a vehicle to send public funds to private schools. Bennet has expressed skepticism about the program, but hasn’t ruled it out entirely.
Mabrey, the state representative backing Weiser, said he’s been encouraging the attorney general to be more vocal on the issues. He’s been encouraged by Weiser’s promise to sign a version of a bill banning surveillance pricing in Colorado that the governor vetoed this year and appreciates that Weiser hasn’t closed the door on eliminating the union security vote in Colorado, like Bennet has.
Finally, Mabrey highlighted how Weiser is calling for a ban on corporate giving in state elections. Bennet has not.
Zokaie said she thinks Bennet will be stronger in pushing back against federal immigration enforcement under Trump. She’s glad he’s committed to giving Coloradans broad power to sue federal agents who violate people’s rights, whereas Weiser raised legal concerns about the idea.
“Michael Bennet has come forward with policies that I’m excited about,” she said, highlighting his calls for a progressive tax code.
Coloradans must turn their primary ballots in by 7 p.m. on June 30.
