In a difficult year for Democrats, Republicans have a rare opportunity to make the Colorado Senate race competitive. But, after this past weekend’s Republican Assembly in the state showed, they also have a real shot of blowing it.

State Sen. Ron Hanks, a conspiracy theorist who’s latched on to former President Trump’s repeated false assertions that the 2020 campaign was stolen from him, was the sole candidate to emerge from the gathering with enough support to appear on the June 28 primary ballot. The good news for Republicans is that Hanks won’t be the only candidate on the ballot, since wealthy construction owner Joe O’Dea successfully qualified via petitions instead.

An O’Dea vs. Hanks matchup showcases stark contrasts. O’Dea is a political newcomer and has the ability to self-fund the race. He also has more of an ability to win crossover votes of disaffected independents and even perhaps moderate Democrats if he can run a convincing campaign. While President Biden won Colorado by 13.5 points two years ago and Republican Sen. Cory Gardner was ousted, GOP sources

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