Colorado Republican nominee won't say whether she supports Trump

Republicans in Colorado are trying to avoid pressing questions about where they stand on Trump and his radical agenda.

The deafening silence comes as the GOP clings to control of the Colorado Senate, which is in danger of flipping to Democrats as a blue wave rises in the state.

The refusal to address the looming issue of Trump is especially true in the District 20, race where Republican Christine Jensen, who just months ago was boasting about her conservative credentials, won’t answer questions about the leader of her own party.

“Jensen’s website makes no mention of Trump, and a search for any comments on the president turns up nothing,” a local news outlet reports. “Jensen didn’t return multiple messages from the Colorado Times Recorder, including one phone message today asking to discuss her views on Trump’s presidency.”

The Times Recorder notes that several other Republicans battling in toss-up Senate races are also being coy about Trump, including Olen Lund, Tony Sanchez, and Beth Martinez Humenik.

The pivotal District 20 contest, where Jensen is facing off against Democrat Jessie Danielson, who currently serves in the Colorado House, could decide whether Republicans maintain control of the state Senate next year. Currently, they enjoy just a one-seat margin.

Hillary Clinton won the district by nearly 10 points in 2016. And while Democrats have held the Colorado Senate seat for three decades, local races there have become increasingly competitive in recent cycles due to redistricting.

To date, outside conservative groups have spent $2.7 million in hopes of boosting Jensen, who has been badly out-fundraised locally by her Democratic opponent, Danielson.

The fact that Colorado Republicans are running for cover when it comes to Trump reflects a larger national trend, as GOP candidates aggressively try to disguise their politics during what looks to be a blue wave election season. It’s gotten to the point where some are even trying to pass themselves off as Democrats.

“A growing number of Republican candidates are sounding a lot like Democrats as they face midterm elections, co-opting Democratic talking points on issues from health care to education funding to the #MeToo movement,” the Washington Post reported this week.

In Colorado, Jensen comes awfully close to doing that in her ad, as the conservative businesswoman adopts Democratic catch phrases and code words and makes sure to make no mention of her Republican affiliation.

In her commercial, Jensen stresses the need for “affordable health care.” Yet Jensen wants to do away with Obamacare, which would force approximately 400,000 Colorado citizens to lose their health care.

She previously helped lead a pro-business group called Jefferson County Business Lobby, which worked hard to kill a Democratic-backed bill last year that would have allowed workers to take paid sick days and time off to take care for a newborn or family member.

Jensen not only opposes paid family leave but is against raising the minimum wage. “It really holds people down,” she claims.

She’s also mocked Coloradans for making bad choice. “There are some that would much rather drive a nicer car than pay for the health care for their own family,” she insisted.

And back in June, when addressing a crowd of county Republicans, Jensen stressed a far-right tune.

“It’s certainly wonderful when the Republicans have the majority, but how much more exciting is it when the conservatives are the ones driving the agenda!” she said. “When it’s conservatives who are saying, ‘Hey, I want freedom for my family, I want liberty.'”

Jensen also told partisans that it was crucial Republicans maintain control of the Senate so they can kill “nonsense” bills that Democrats sponsor in the House.

Along with the family leave bill, which Republicans derailed in the last legislative session, Democrats also tried to pass common sense gun safety legislation.

Is that the “nonsense” Jensen opposes?