O’Dea wins GOP primary to challenge Bennet

Construction company executive Joe O’Dea is projected to win the Republican Senate primary in Colorado on Tuesday, setting him up to take on Sen. Michael Bennet (D) in November. 

The Associated Press called the race at 9:35 EDT.

O’Dea beat out state Rep. Ron Hanks, branding himself as a political outsider. The construction company executive ran on conservative bread-and-butter issues like inflation, backing law enforcement and reducing the national debt. 

Unlike his opponent, O’Dea did not question the integrity of the last presidential election, saying during a debate hosted by CBS4 and The Colorado Sun earlier this month that “Biden’s our president,” while also adding, “He’s lousy,” The Colorado Sun reported.

Hanks, meanwhile, had not only raised questions about the 2020 election results but had also been seen near the Capitol on the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. But he said during a debate that it was “very ill-advised for anybody to go into the Capitol. I wouldn’t even go up the steps.”

O’Dea and Hanks have also both said they would vote for former President Trump again in 2024 should he choose to make another bid.

“There’s a lot of really good candidates that can serve an eight-year term,” O’Dea said, according to The Colorado Sun. “I really like [Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis], I like some of the other Republicans that are coming through. But if Donald Trump happens to be the Republican nominee, then I definitely won’t vote for Biden.”

O’Dea is likely to face an uphill battle against Bennet. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the seat as “likely Democratic.”