Colorado’s 2022 U.S. Senate candidate Joe O’Dea is being urged to run for Congress in 2024 against radical liberal Rep. Yadira Caraveo – but people close to O’Dea say that Trump’s candidacy could be a major factor in his decision.
A report in Politico this morning details how “Republican recruiters” were already working hard to convince O’Dea to run against Caraveo less than a month after the 2022 election.
“Less than a month after the midterms, Republican recruiters were already plotting how to persuade their prized 2022 Senate nominee to run for a Colorado congressional seat in 2024.
Joe O’Dea was popular, personally wealthy and had adopted the kind of moderate positions that would endear him to voters in a swing suburban district, perhaps more easily in a state that has quickly turned blue. He was — and still is — interested. But among his top considerations: what it would mean to share a ballot with Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with his thinking.”
Politico also reports that “a person close to O’Dea” highlighted how Trump is factoring into O’Dea’s decision to possibly run against Caraveo:
Recruiters have urged O’Dea to consider a run against freshman Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo in a highly competitive district that Biden won by 5 points — an area far less blue than the state as a whole. But his stance on Trump and abortion rights could complicate O’Dea’s bid before he even faces a Democratic opponent, making it difficult for him to prevail in a GOP primary.
“Trump is obviously part of the conversation in a big way,” a person close to O’Dea said. “The question is: Does the party want to move on and win and govern or do they want to look backwards?”
Freshman Rep. Yadira Caraveo recently landed on a national list for “most vulnerable” members of Congress.