Daily Sentinel reported GOP criticism of Ritter's Front Range background -- but did not report Beauprez is from Front Range

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

In an article about endorsements of Republican state treasurer candidate Mark Hillman, The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction reported that Republican state Rep. Josh Penry “said the Democrats need to realize that there is more to Colorado than the metro Denver area, noting that Hillman's Democratic opponent Cary Kennedy, like Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter, is from the Front Range.” However, the article did not mention that, like Ritter, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez also is from the Front Range.

In an August 1 article about endorsements of Republican state treasurer candidate Mark Hillman, The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction reported that state Rep. Josh Penry (R-Grand Junction) “said the Democrats need to realize that there is more to Colorado than the metro Denver area, noting that Hillman's Democratic opponent Cary Kennedy, like Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter, is from the Front Range.” The Front Range region runs along the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains and includes the cities of Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins, among others. But reporter Mike Saccone's* article made no mention of the fact that like Ritter, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Bob Beauprez also is from the Front Range and -- more specifically -- from metro Denver.

Ritter previously served as Denver's district attorney and currently lives in Denver.

According to Beauprez's congressional website, he and his wife, Claudia, live in Arvada, Colorado, a suburb northwest of Denver. Arvada "participat[es]" in the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG).

Moreover, both gubernatorial candidates grew up on farms near Denver. A July 30 Denver Post profile of Ritter reported that Ritter grew up “on a 5-acre wheat farm off Chambers Road east of Aurora.”

According to Beauprez's campaign website, he “grew up on a dairy farm west of Lafayette, where he graduated from Fairview High School and the University of Colorado.” Lafayette is in Boulder County, and both Fairview High School and the University of Colorado are in the city of Boulder. DRCOG's website lists Boulder County and the cities of Boulder and Lafayette among its “participating governments.” According to its website, DRCOG “fosters regional cooperation between 52 county and municipal governments in the Denver metropolitan area.”

Unlike Beauprez, Hillman -- the Republican candidate for treasurer -- is not from the Front Range. He is from Burlington, Colorado, about 170 miles east of Denver, near the Kansas border.

From Saccone's August 1 Daily Sentinel article, “Local GOP lawmakers support Hillman”:

Two local Republican lawmakers announced Monday afternoon that they would support Republican state treasurer candidate Mark Hillman.

Sen. Ron Teck, R-Grand Junction, and Rep. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, both told a group of reporters that they supported his bid to be the caretaker of Colorado's funds.

Penry said the Democrats need to realize that there is more to Colorado than the metro Denver area, noting that Hillman's Democratic opponent Cary Kennedy, like Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter, is from the Front Range.