Monday Morning Politicking with Doug Lamborn

U.S. Rep. Doug LambornU.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado Springs) was elected to Congress in 2006 following a contentious and close CD-5 Republican primary battle. Two years later, Lamborn's re-election primary campaign has proven more troublesome than what most incumbents face, as he's squaring off against two of his 2006 primary opponents: Jeff Crank and Bentley Rayburn.

Late last month, Lamborn decided to forego the assembly process and petition onto the ballot - a move that surprised many (but not all) onlookers. But Lamborn is betting that his solid conservative record in the House will propel him to another House term.

In this week's Monday Morning Politicking, Lamborn discusses the issues he'll focus on in the race, why he chose to petition onto the primary ballot, and how he sees the race shaping up.

PolitickerCO: You're running against two of the same candidates that you faced in the 2006 Republican primary, which you narrowly won. How are you planning to win again this time around?

Lamborn: I plan to do two things. The first thing is what I did last year - excuse me, last cycle, when it was an open race and I ran on my conservative record in the state legislature. Now this time around, I'll run on my record as a conservative in Congress and I'll have the achievements of an incumbent as well as what I did in the legislature - an incumbent in Congress.

PolitickerCO: And so, running on your record, what things will you emphasize to voters to have them vote for you?

Lamborn: What I can emphasize is my record of accomplishment as an incumbent and my voting record as an incumbent. Now, my voting record - and both of those, I think, are something that are really going to appeal to the voters. You may have already heard, Jeremy, that Congressional Quarterly said I was the Republican the most opposed to the Democratic agenda, of all Republicans in Congress. National Journal said I was, with a handful of others who tied me, the most conservative member of Congress - that was the same ranking where they found that Barack Obama was the most liberal senator, by the way. And more recently, the National Taxpayers' Union said I was one of the top six friends of the taxpayer in Congress for my record for the year 2007. And just yesterday I found out that the American Conservative Union gave me a 100 percent rating for my votes in 2007. So I have a - my lifetime rating for ACU, which is only one year at this point, is 100 percent.

So that's my voting record, and that's unassailable in a Republican primary. But also my record of accomplishment is something I'm very happy for, especially given I've only been in office for 16 months. I've helped bring in - and not just by myself because it was a team effort - but I helped bring in a new ICE office to Colorado Springs -- that's Immigration and Customs Enforcement - [and] a new brigade combat team to Fort Carson, which is a huge boost to the local economy, plus it's a great contribution to our national defense. I've made more progress on a national veterans' cemetery in the Pikes Peak region than we've ever made in the past, and I got on the Armed Services Committee. That's critical for El Paso County and the 5th Congressional District. And that was in my 10th month of my first year. And my predecessor (Joel Hefley], who did many good things for the military - it took him into his third year to get on Armed Services. So to be on there after 10 months was a great achievement for a freshman [Congressman] in the minority.

PolitickerCO: And this year, what will this race come down to? What will end up determining the winner of this primary?

Lamborn: You know, the Republican primary, it's going to be based largely on who's a strong Republican conservative. And there's nothing that I will be criticized for on that score. Plus I have a record of achievement that people tell me is quite impressive for a freshman who's only starting his second year. So when we see people defeated in primaries in Congressional races around the country, it's always one of two things: some kind of criminal or ethical or moral scandal, or someone who votes out of step with their district. And none of those are remotely the case here.

PolitickerCO: Your decision last week to petition onto the primary ballot is very rare, if not unprecedented for an incumbent Congressman. And many people have said you made that decision out of political weakness. How would you respond to that?

Lamborn: Well, it certainly wasn't done from any weakness. My head count at the point I made the decision that I needed to go by petition is I was clearly ahead. But, like I said in my statement, there are some procedural problems in one of the counties in the 5th Congressional District that have made it very difficult to contact people and have sufficient information and to be even halfway organized. So the level of competency needed and professionalism needed for a congressional race was lacking. And secondly - I said this in my statement, also - I'm, remember, I'm very busy doing my work and my responsibility in Congress. And so I don't have as much time as if I were able to be in the district 24/7. So it definitely makes it harder to meet with hundreds and hundreds of delegates. And when we lost a month to even get the final list of names, that made it an even -- because of the procedural problems, that made it an even more difficult task.

PolitickerCO: When you say there were problems with the county in terms of - what you are saying sounds like logistical problems. Do you have an example of that?

Lamborn: Well, like I said a minute ago, it took them a month to get us the final list of names. And this is a 3½-month process, and when you lose a month out of that, you're already at a disadvantage when you have limited time. And for me, my time is limited because of my responsibilities doing the work of a Congressman here in Washington.

PolitickerCO: A recent report deemed Colorado's Congressional delegation 47th out of 50 in terms of power and influence. And as a member of the delegation, how can that number improve?

Lamborn: Well, it certainly won't be improved if we start all over in the 5th Congressional District with a new representative next year. That ranking will go up as our members gain seniority. And the fact that I'm on Armed Services gaining seniority now will take us in a stronger and stronger direction as the months go by.

PolitickerCO: The 2006 race - primary race - got pretty dirty, and there were unproven allegations made against your campaign about colluding with 527s. What have you learned from running in 2006, and what, if anything, would you do this time around? Or do differently, I should say.

Lamborn: I plan to run on my record, and as far as I'm concerned the people of the district have spoken. And I'm moving forward, and I plan to be as positive and constructive as I possibly can, and I'm just hoping that my opponents do the same.

PolitickerCO: I wanted to go back - I just want some clarification. I was a little confused by something in your statement about petitioning. You said you were leading in delegates, but because of your hectic congressional schedule you couldn't make the time to win over delegates. So if you're already leading, what's the problem?

Lamborn: There are so many new people, number one, who wanted to sit down and meet with people and were undecided until they actually met everyone, all three candidates, in person. Those people are hard to get a count on. Plus, because of the poor records, there were many -- a huge percentage of the 600 people we had no contact information - no valid contact information with - in the first place. But of the people we had identified and had talked to, I was definitely ahead with those people. But that was roughly half or slightly less than half of the total number.

PolitickerCO: Are you expecting a contentious race? You think this is going to heat up, or do you think it'll be more cordial than the 2006 [race]?

Lamborn: If it's up to me, it's going to be very cordial.

PolitickerCO: How about your opponents, though?

Lamborn: You'll have to ask them that.

PolitickerCO: Will we see Jon Hotaling back with the campaign?

Lamborn: No, he's working in the 6th Congressional District with Ted Harvey, with that open congressional seat.

PolitickerCO: So he won't be back if Harvey drops out or something?

Lamborn: Not that I know of.

PolitickerCO: OK. And has there been any surprises so far? I mean, it's still fairly early in the primary season, but have there been any surprises so far for you, that you haven't expected?

Lamborn: No, I think it's gone pretty much like I expected.

PolitickerCO: According to plan?

Lamborn: And according to plan.

PolitickerCO: Do you think a three-way race, which seems very likely to happen, benefits you as it did benefit you in 2006?

Lamborn: Jeremy, could you repeat that please?

PolitickerCO: Sure. I was wondering if a three-way race, which seems very likely right now - do you think that would benefit you as it did in 2006? A three-way race between you, Rayburn, and Crank.

Lamborn: What benefits me the most, Jeremy, is having a strong conservative record. And as far as I'm concerned, I don't care if I have one opponent or 25 opponents. It's going to be the same outcome. The people of the district, just like they did before, are going to want to have a strong conservative who is a leader. And they've got that with me, and they're not going to see any need to change.

PolitickerCO: For the spring, do you expect to have a lot of time to focus on the race, especially with this congressional schedule, or is this something that's really going to be a summer thing?

Lamborn: We do have a lot of work to do here in Washington, and I take my work - voting on behalf of the district - very seriously. So I may not have as much time available as those who don't have those kinds of responsibilities. But I'll burn the candle at both ends if I have to. And I think as we get into the summer, things'll become more active.

PolitickerCO: And if you are re-elected, what would be the first issue - the main issue - that you'd be focusing on?

Lamborn: I'm going to stand for conservative economic values, social values, and I will be supporting the military and veterans. Those are my three priorities. And just like I've been doing them now, and these different rating groups - or groups that rate - have shown, I plan to excel in those areas from a conservative standpoint.