Colorado CD-6 Debate Night: Where do the Candidates Stand on Fracking?
Thursday October 20, 2016
Against a backdrop of recently leaked emails showing that the Clinton campaign saw opposition to fracking as a losing issue with Colorado voters, incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Coffman is scheduled to appear with his Democratic challenger for Colorado’s 6th congressional district, Morgan Carroll, tonight in a closely watched debate for what is widely considered to be one of the most competitive races in the country.
If the previous debate hosted by Denver’s 9 News for the U.S. Senate candidates is any indication, Coffman and Carroll will likely be asked where they stand on fracking.
Here is what we know:
Republican Mike Coffman
When it comes to oil and natural gas development, Coffman has a record of joining bipartisan opposition to ballot initiatives that would ban fracking in Colorado. For example, in 2014, when a pair of initiatives backed by Congressman Jared Polis threatened to ban fracking in the state, Coffman joined Democrats like then-U.S. Senator Mark Udall and even Andrew Romanoff, his Democrat challenger in speaking out against the measures. As Fox 31 reports:
“Breakthrough advances in energy development have America racing toward energy independence,” said Coffman in a statement. “As a combat veteran myself, I know that means we’ll need fewer combat veterans in the future. I fear Jared Polis’s fracking ban initiatives would undermine Colorado’s contribution ...