John Rush delivers a passionate breakdown of Colorado election law, voter math, and the risks Republicans face with Greg Lopez running as an unaffiliated candidate in the governor’s race. After correcting misconceptions from listeners and competing media personalities, John explains why Lopez will not appear in the Republican primary and why third-party-style campaigns historically split conservative voters in Colorado.
Listeners call in to discuss the state’s political climate, open primaries, and voter confusion surrounding Colorado’s election system. John and guest Richard Rush analyze how unaffiliated voters typically lean Democrat in statewide races and why Michael Bennet currently holds a major
SPEAKER 13 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 11 :
You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you’re scared. And you’re scared because if you try and fail, there’s only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes. With your host, John Rush. My advice to you is to do what your parents did. Get a job first.
SPEAKER 01 :
You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same, and there’s a big difference.
SPEAKER 07 :
Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 11 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush, presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right, as Charlie lines out our next guest, I appreciate you all listening, by the way. Somebody also just said a moment ago that, you know, what am I so mad about? Greg loses the primary. He just writes a check with excess funds to the Marx campaign and things are settled and Victor kicks Bennett’s ASS. Even the Democrats are holding campaign fundraisers for Victor Marx. He said so on Fox this weekend. Folks, that’s a pipe dream. That is not going to happen. First of all, Greg will be on the ballot. There is no primary for Greg. I’m not sure what part of that you don’t understand. Please respond to me in this text message because the reality is Greg will be on the ticket. He doesn’t have to do a primary. He needs 8,000 signatures by July such and such. I think it’s 8th. And my guest isn’t going to join me, which probably is fine right now because I’m hot on the trail of this thing anyways. Greg, there is no primary for Greg. And please, somebody call in so that I can talk to somebody and maybe you can talk me off the ledge here. Why is this so hard for folks to understand? Do you guys not understand how politics in Colorado works? As an unaffiliated, I went over this Thursday, as an unaffiliated, he needs 8,000 signatures. I’d have to go back in and look at my notes. Give me one second. Sorry, I wasn’t planning on talking about that part of this today. So give me one second here. I apologize. I would have had this up had I known this. Give me a second. Hang on. I looked this up the other day. I believe he has to have it July 9th. So July 9th at 3 o’clock, Greg has to have 8,000 signatures filled in. And somebody says, yes, he will lose. Then his remaining funds go to Victor Marks. No, folks. No, that’s not how this works. And Victor Marks will pull a landslide against Bennett. No, he won’t. No, he won’t. That is wishful thinking. Whoever’s texting me this… Love you. You’re so wrong. You are so wrong you don’t even know it. Go look up the rules of how things work in Colorado. Please, for the love of God, do some research like I’ve done. Do not just listen to what somebody’s telling you. Go look this up for yourself. As an unaffiliated, Greg needs 1,000 signatures from each congressional district. There’s eight. That’s 8,000 signatures. He’ll probably turn in 12 to 15, I’m guessing, if he’s smart. If he’s smart, you turn in double that, 16,000. If he’s smart, which he probably will. He’s not a dumb man. He’ll probably turn in 16,000. He has no primary to go through, folks. Why do you think, somebody please answer me this, on this particular texter that’s texting, ending in 9601, whoever you are. Please answer me why you think he has to do a primary. He’s unaffiliated, meaning there’s no primary. That’s why he went that way. Do you not understand that? For the love of God, sometimes I feel like I’m talking to some of you and you just don’t get this. Why is this so difficult? You frustrate me to no end sometimes because you don’t know the rules. You’re relying on some uninformed person to give you what the rules are. You haven’t looked it up for yourself. For the love of God, just go AI it even. It’s not that hard. Oh, my word. Somebody just said, why not just do a civics class with Andy tomorrow? Maybe we need to. Maybe we need to. Because some of you don’t understand how this works. Yeah, my blood pressure is boiling, as you can tell. And here’s the thing. It boils because people don’t know the rules. And yet they talk like they do. They talk like they do. But they don’t. And by the way, several of you are texting this in to me, which you’re all correct. Third party never wins. You’re right. Thank you. Thank you. Why we can’t get others to understand that is beyond me. But thank you. You’re right. No, they don’t. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t work, folks. Somebody said, I voted for third party twice, Tancredo and Perot, and both times the Democrats ended up winning. Party over person. Thank you. Thank you. Well said. That was whoever, phone number ends 2761. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are correct. Now, can you get everybody else to understand that? I’m still waiting, by the way, an answer for the person that thinks Greg has to run in a primary. He doesn’t. He doesn’t. Again, 9601. 9601, whoever has that phone number, please tell me why you think Greg has to run in a primary. I have Andy laughing. Andy’s laughing, and I am hot. And I’m hot. Thank you, Andy. I’m glad I’m making your day. Sorry, I’m answering some of you back on the text line here. That’s why there’s a little gap. Guys, I try to be smart. I do my very best to be smart. I cannot type and talk at the same time. I’ve not mastered that one yet. Sorry. Some of you, maybe you can. I can’t. Now, I can type emojis or something like that and keep talking, but I cannot physically type an actual answer and keep talking at the same time. But some of you have got me so frustrated right now. I’m sorry. The text line has me frustrated because you don’t know the law. You don’t know the election laws in Colorado, the rules, how it works. You all, some of you, not you all. Be careful with my words here. Some of you think Greg will run in the primary. He’s not, folks. He will not be on the primary ballot. OK, there’s only two primary ballots, Democrat and Republican. That’s it, folks. Those are the only two that are out there. We have a two party system. That’s the only way that you’re the only way you get on that. The primary ballot is like Barb Kirkmeyer on the Republican side. You have to get enough signatures collected and you’re now on the ballot on the primary ballot. Victor Marks and Scott Bottoms. Victor originally was rounding up signatures. He didn’t need them because at assembly he was able to actually get on the primary ballot at assembly, meaning he doesn’t need signatures anymore. So there’s three people that will be on the primary ballot here in Colorado for Republicans. Victor Marks, Scott Bottoms, Barb Kirkmeyer. And I’m sorry to say, folks, it’s going to come down to two people. Victor or Kirkmeyer? And right now, I don’t know. As we get closer, maybe I’ll give you a better idea of what my thought process is on who actually wins that right now. If it were to go today, it’s Kirkmeyer. And that’s not because I’m endorsing her. I’m just giving you my thought process as of today. What can Victor do between now and then? Frankly, and Andy are going to talk about some of this tomorrow, Victor’s got to get out from under whatever rock he lives under and start doing some debates and other things. Otherwise, he doesn’t have a chance, folks. You guys that are Victor supporters, he’s got to quit dodging stuff. And originally I said he was fine in doing that, but we’re getting closer and closer to the primary. And I said back then, as we get closer, he has to do them. We’re now close. He’s not doing them. If he doesn’t start, it’s all over for him. And I’m not talking about that just because of the way things are internal in the party. I’m talking about that in general to get his name out there. And by the way, some of these debates are on some of our public, you know, Channel 7 and so on. And people will watch those. Unaffiliated will watch those. Somebody says, oh my God, 630 Cahill has talked about hypothetical Greg running in the primary. That’s where I’m mistaken. I’m sorry. They’re wrong. Listen to me. Don’t listen to Cahill. Cahill’s wrong. And I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be rude to Cahill, but they don’t know what they’re talking about. Greg will not be on the primary ballot. Not going to happen, folks. And thank you for admitting your mistake. I appreciate that as well. They’re wrong, folks. Again… This is my frustration sometimes even with my own competition. They don’t do their homework either. They don’t know politics either. They don’t know how the system works. And it’s a simple lookup to determine how things work here in Colorado. This isn’t that difficult. But evidently, they don’t do the homework necessary. I’ll take a call. Let me take a break. And I’ll settle down so I can come back and talk rationally. Veteran Windows and Doors up next. 45% off Windows and Doors. Sorry, Doors. Not right. Not Windows, but Doors. 45% off. Call Dave today. Find him at klzradio.com.
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Group Insurance Analyst, e-gia.com. Please, anything you need when it comes to insurance, talk to them today, e-gia.com.
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SPEAKER 10 :
All right, I got another text message in that said, never say never, and I’m asking about what? And, folks, I’m not bragging. Please, don’t consider this me bragging. But I know Colorado politics well. I’ve sat in this chair for a dozen years now. I’ve watched all sorts of different people come through and try to win different elections. And at the end of the day, frankly, Andy and I together— we’re just not wrong very often. I had the last governor’s race picked within one point of who would win. So, Dan, you’re next. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 12 :
Are you there?
SPEAKER 10 :
I’m here, Dan. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, so up in Gilpin County, this was several years ago, I was at the Gilpin County Fair, and it was during kind of primary time, and this gal really liked a guy that was running, but he was on the Republican ticket, I think we were past the primary. He was on the Republican ticket, and she was a Democrat, and she’s like, well, I don’t vote for Republicans, but she really liked them. She didn’t understand the difference between Republican and Democrat and how people get on the ballot. And so it’s not just some listeners. It’s a lot of people don’t understand. Yes. And I would say it’s on both aisles of the fence that they don’t understand how the political system works. And, you know, the whole open primaries and the Republicans being up in arms over that, it’s like, well, that’s people don’t probably haven’t registered for either party because they probably don’t understand it. So why would we want to limit ourselves to only Republicans when if we have a candidate that is good? that would be more for the populace, that would be a good thing.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right.
SPEAKER 12 :
You know?
SPEAKER 10 :
I’m still, and I’m getting some really good text messages in, and yes, I’ve got some great listeners that really do understand the system. And one person said they were misinformed or felt misinformed by some of the other shows that are in town. And I can’t, folks, I can’t, I don’t listen to anybody else. I don’t listen to other shows. I don’t know what they say. Don’t say I’m not in that world. I had advice years ago, and I think it was really great advice. And, Dan, you would appreciate this because it’s true, I think, with a lot of competition. And it’s true in business even. Don’t pay attention to your competition. Do what you do. So I was told years ago when I first got on air to quit worrying about what everybody else did and just do my own thing. And that’s why I don’t listen to other shows.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah. And I don’t know. I still don’t like to talk a system because it seems like you have to. be in that quote unquote in crowd you do in order to even get your foot in the door that’s correct several years ago with things before my life changed I was trying to get involved with it but it’s not any different than I would say in high school when you had your clicks in high school and if you’re in the right click then you’re in but if you’re not in the right click you’re not in and that’s not that’s not representative of who Conservatives are in the state of Colorado. We have a wide variety of them, and it seems like only one small portion of them are in the quote-unquote right clique. So… I don’t know. I hope we can get that changed.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I would like to. I mean, to me, to me, I’m being straight up honest. There’s a lot of people that I know they’re concerned about this election and this, that and the other. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry to say this, Dan, but this election is done. I’m not trying to be a naysayer or be negative, but given the simple fact of how things are, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Victor Marks or Barb Kirkmeyer. The simple fact that Greg is still in the race and Greg is not going to win. This will be an easy sweep by Michael Bennett and his campaign, and they will not have to put much money into it. Michael Bennett wins by an easy 23 points with Greg Lopez still staying in. So it’s all over. I’m sorry to say it’s all over. Greg is, in fact, he was on. uh one of our you know i think he was on kim’s show this morning announcing a lot of what we’re just talking about so the you know the reality is and i didn’t listen to the show don’t know what kim said i know what i would have said but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter as long as greg stays in we lose uh majorly the democrats win handily and what they will do dan and they’re smart democrats are not stupid democrats are very smart they will start in fact Right now. They know right now what’s going to happen on our side of the aisle. They will start funneling money into the candidates that are running against the Gabe Evans and some of those folks that are out there that we desperately need to win. They will now start campaigning for their side heavily, heavily, heavily spending a lot of money because they won’t need to spend it on the governor’s race. I don’t understand, Dan, why people can’t figure it out. I mean, you’re an accountant. Why can’t people figure out the money side of this?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, you said it. How many people don’t even have $500 in their savings account?
SPEAKER 10 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 12 :
If they can’t even save money, why would we expect them to? be able to handle larger finances.
SPEAKER 10 :
But even the principal sides of things, Dan, I mean, if you were in the Democrat Party, and I’m asking all of you that are out there listening, please think about this for a second. If you’re in the Democrat Party, and you have any kind of leadership influence at all, and you’re looking at the money sides of things, and you’re part of the DNC even, and you get to decide where money is distributed, Dan, if you look at Colorado and you say, OK, even when the even when the primary is over and we know we’ve got one single Republican candidate, let’s say it’s let’s just for you know what? I’m going to I’m going to actually help all the Victor Marx fans out. Let’s just say it’s Victor Marx, Dan. Let’s say Victor wins and he’s now the leader and he’s won. And he’s going to be the guy that’s on the Republican side with the R next to his name. If you’re a Democrat looking at that saying, yep, you know what? He’s had a pretty good movement. He’s done pretty well. He won the primary. But you’ve got this guy Greg out there that really is going to, at the end of the day, A, he’s going to draw a lot of those folks over to him that didn’t like Victor to begin with, that think Victor is some sort of a hoax candidate at the end of the day. You’re going to take all of those people that didn’t like Victor, all of the Scott Bottoms folks, for example, and probably even some of the Kirkmeyer folk, you’re going to now bring those over to Greg Lopez, meaning at the end of the day, if you’re a Democrat, why would you put any money into Michael Bennett’s campaign at all? He automatically wins, Dan.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, let’s use a real life example, and it concerns New York City. Mondami and the Republican, the Republican wouldn’t bow out of the race and look who we have, look who New York has as the mayor. And if the Republican would have bowed out of the race, then I think those Republicans would have voted for, I can’t remember who it was, who was it, but they would have voted for him. But he took away from the people that would have voted for the other Democrats. So now they have Mendami as the mayor. And the same is going to happen in Colorado. So use that as an example.
SPEAKER 10 :
And I just had another text message came in that says, Your fallacy is you believe he will only take votes from Republicans when with Romero, which Tara Lynn just announced her lieutenant governorship, which I was texting her back and forth today. That’s another conversation I’ll have later. But anyways… He’ll take votes from Democrats and independents as well. This is a win. You’re wrong here. No, folks, I’m not, and I’ll explain why. Her family comes from a Democrat background, strong military. Yes, I know her very, very well. We’re good friends, actually. You’re either fit ending the division or you’re with it, and there’s no other answer. You hear all of your callers, Victor Marks, Victor Marks. Are you for change? Are you more for the same? Yeah, I’m all for change, by the way. But at the end of the day, Dan, and I’m here to say, first of all, while Greg’s got great notoriety in Colorado, he does not fit well with the unaffiliated voters, period. He will not draw from the Democrats. I can tell you that right now. She might draw a few over, but the reality is they’re still voting for him as governor, Dan. I think that’s the one thing this particular texter is forgetting. It doesn’t matter who your lieutenant governor is. You might gain a few votes by having them. But, Dan, you and I both know you’re not voting for lieutenant governor. You’re voting for governor. I mean, what part of that am I, Dan, am I missing something? Did I, am I leaving something out or am I completely wrong?
SPEAKER 12 :
I don’t know, but I know I’m going to lose you, so I’ll hang up.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, I’ll let you go, man. I appreciate it. But, again, and I’m being very serious when I say this. You do not, trust me, folks, I know this. People don’t vote for lieutenant governor. And by the way, Tara Lynn has hitched her wagon to the wrong team. I’m sorry to say I told her that today personally. So I’m not saying anything she hasn’t already heard me say. She’s doing this the wrong way. And I love her dearly. We’re good friends. But she should have asked me first because I would have told her what to do. This is the wrong move for her. Flat out, wrong move for her. She will regret this down the road. Trust me. Mark my words. And I’m not for division, folks. I am for unity. But I’m tired of folks like Greg thinking that somehow, someway, he’s going to win and make things better. He’s not. He’s not. Somebody says I should join Romero and Lopez. Why? Because I want to lose? I don’t want to lose, folks. I want to win. You’re not going to win with those two. I’m sorry. You’re not going to win. It’s not going to happen. It’s a pipe dream. It’s a pipe dream. It’s not going to happen. There’s not enough money in the world to get the word and the message out enough for Greg and Romero now to win. I’m sorry to say, folks. And by the way, I love both of them dearly. Tara Lynn, we’re close friends. I know her very, very well. I’ve helped her with all of her stuff that she’s done up in Evergreen and so on with her property. We’re good friends, folks. Trust me. I know her very well. And no, she will not draw a lot. She’s well-known in her neck of the woods when it comes to what she’s done with the property claims and so on, but she’s not well-known in other places, folks, and it doesn’t work that way. You’ve got to be super, super well-known to draw things in. And by the way, and I will say this, she would draw more as an unaffiliated governor, you know, potential candidate for governor than he is. If she were the main person and he were lieutenant, I’d give them a better shot, but it’s not going to happen the way it is. Not going to happen the way it is. So I appreciate what you’re saying, and I appreciate the fact that you’re giving me information along these lines, but the reality is you’re sorely mistaken. You’re sorely mistaken. And it’s not going to happen. And no, as much as I love Tara Lynn, she is not going to be the game changer for Greg. I’m sorry to say, just not going to happen. I wish that were the case, and I wish I could believe that it were, but it’s not. And I will have a conversation with her. Her and I are still good friends. That’s not going to change anything. Greg and I are still good friends. He’s just sorely wrong in his approach. It’s just not going to happen. Now, did he help himself by bringing her along? Yes. But is that going to be the end all be all? No. No. Folks, folks, hear me out here. Michael Bennett is a standing senator. He has been involved in Colorado politics most of his life, right? Charlie, we went back and looked at all the things that he has done, and he has done things in Colorado for the majority of his life. He is very well known. And frankly, as far as a Democrat goes, he’s done nothing to actually blemish his career. He’s had no scandals, no issues, nothing along those lines. He has nothing that would keep a regular Democrat from voting for him. And remember, the unaffiliated vote Democrat largely, largely. And believe me, Michael, they will still run enough ads to make sure Michael’s presence is well known. But it already is because he’s our senator. So he’s already got a leg up on Greg. And by the way, whatever Republican candidate we have, he’s already got a leg up on that because of who he is. And the Democrats have a machine, a big machine. And while I would love to see change in Colorado, I desire to see change in Colorado. It’s not going to happen the way we’re doing it. It just isn’t. Again, I guess here’s what I want to do. I think I’ll start a GoFundMe or some sort of a revenue source so that after the election’s over and you all realize that my percentage points were dead on, I want a donation into that and I’ll give it to charity. I’ll figure out, you know, we’ll give it to, you know. We’ll give it to Preborn, somebody along those lines. I want to figure out a way where we can establish a fund so that all of you that are wrong and think I’m wrong, but when you find out I’m right, I want you to donate to Preborn at X amount. We’ll make some sort of a deal moving forward because I’m not wrong, folks. I’m not wrong. And I’m not looking at this incorrectly. I’m looking at it very rationally. I’m looking at it data-driven. I’m not looking at it emotionally, which a lot of you are, unfortunately. Golden Eagle Financial coming up next. Al Smith, make sure you’re dialed in when it comes to your financial future. As we’re talking finances, talk to Al Smith and get a plan for you and you alone, and make sure you stick with that plan, and he’ll help you with that. Golden Eagle Financial, find him at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 03 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive. This is John Rush.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right, and we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Richard, welcome back from vacation. How are you?
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, thank you. I’m great. It’s always nice to get away, as you know. Just nice to hit the reset button.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yep. And by the way, somebody said, what does being right matter when you’re wrong in the long run? Be brave. Folks, I’m trying to tell you, I’m not wrong. And I’m probably, ask my son, I’m one of the bravest individuals you’ll ever meet, but I’m a realist and I understand data and numbers. And the reality is… Talking about Greg Lopez being the unaffiliated candidate here in Colorado, Richard, the simple fact of the matter is he’s going to draw more from Republicans and Democrats than we lose no matter what. It’s already going to be tough as it is.
SPEAKER 13 :
It’s already going to be tough. I mean, the past, no offense, Dad, when was the last, I mean, okay, I’ll say this. Once in a blue moon. The unaffiliated candidate pulls from both sides and ends up getting a majority.
SPEAKER 10 :
But they don’t. They don’t, Richard. You and I both know. And you’re a data-driven person because you’re my son, much like I am. Tell me a race where that’s ever happened.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, in Colorado, Dad, it doesn’t happen very often. Even though the proportion of the electorate here that is registered is basically independent, we know where most people lean, right? Whether you want to argue it’s, you know, people say they’re independent so they can be independent. We are a blue state, right? A massive portion of the electorate goes that way, dad. And if Greg Lopez is unaffiliated, he’s going to be polling from the Republicans. And I’ll just say that because Democrats do a better job of getting behind their candidates. We as conservatives do a terrible job because don’t get me wrong. I think both sides of this of this debate, because correct me if I’m wrong, right? It’s Marx and Lopez. Am I correct in that?
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, right now, on the Republican side of the primary, it’s going to be Scott Bottoms, Barb Kirkmeyer, Victor Marks. One of those three will come out on top, and my bet right now is on Kirkmeyer. Sorry, all you Victor Marks fans and Scott Bottoms fans. It’s probably going to be Kirkmeyer. Now… All that being said, on the Democrat side right now, it’s Michael Bennett and Phil Weiser, who is our attorney general. Phil has no name recognition, so Michael Bennett’s going to win the primary on the Democrat side. Next, you’ve got Greg Lopez, who I interviewed, and I know Greg. I’ve known him very well. He’s been a Republican for a very, very long time, was a Democrat initially, went over to the Republican side, has run for governor now three times. This is his third, hasn’t won yet, and now he’s running as an unaffiliated. My feeling is because he knew he wouldn’t make it through the primary process as a Republican. And I’m not being mean when I say that. It’s just being very realistic.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, and we do a great job, Dad, on the Republican side here of cannibalizing some of the best prospects and candidates that we have. It’s happened multiple times. I think it happened a few years ago in the governor’s election year. Not that it was going to matter anyway. But we do a great job at that, right? We have really quality candidates. And I get it, right? The whole point of the primary is so that each candidate can put their best foot forward. But we tend to cannibalize, right? We sort of pick on the, you know, obviously on the negatives. And that’s what brings out the worst and people are the best, depending on your view of it. And in this case, I’m with you. I think that, no offense on the unaffiliated side. Again, honestly, if the Dems were going to do it, let’s say Weiser does that, right, Dad? And it’s going to be Bennett. He’s going to pull from the Bennett campaign. And no offense, the Democrats are better organized, I’ll just say it, to where they tend not to do that as much. They don’t pull from their own. And you are correct. And again, as much as we can like the candidates themselves, not only as candidates, but as people.
SPEAKER 10 :
And that’s the emotional sides of things. And I get it. People get emotional. They vote for people emotionally speaking and so on. And I understand all of that, Richard. But the reality is, when you look at the makeup of Colorado… and how deep blue we are. And you look at a Michael Bennett who’s been our senator now for a long time, and he hasn’t done anything really to screw things up. Granted, he doesn’t set the world on fire, but he hasn’t screwed anything up. And he will be liked by enough Democrats and enough unaffiliated that vote like Democrats. He wins handily, and Gray’s going to do nothing but draw from Republicans, meaning we lose by at least 23 points when it’s all said and done.
SPEAKER 13 :
You are correct, Ed, and no offense with everything that’s going on, the geopolitics of today and then the world and whether you agree with the war.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thank you. Really quick, for all of you listening that are Greg Lopez supporters, Richard, you just brought something in that I think everybody else is also forgetting and I need to mention more often. Given what’s going to happen midterm-wise, period. And we’re liable to see a blue wave because of what’s happening right now with the war and the economy and so on. Unless there’s a dramatic shift in the Trump White House end of things, there’s a blue wave, meaning it will hit Colorado even harder than I’m saying.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, you are correct. It’s going to go across the country. And you and I have been talking about it. I know we maybe disagree to the extent of it. And there’s a lot that can change, as you’ve said, from now until midterms. Absolutely right. There’s a summer full of things. Progress can be made or not made or whatever it might be. And people have short-term memories in politics. They absolutely do. But, again, you’re battling two different things, right? You’re already battling a deep blue state in Colorado. You’re going to be battling this blue wave that’s going to be going across the country. And folks are going to say, well, this is a change. No, this is just pretty typical midterms, Dad. Now, I think you could argue it’s going to be worse because of everything going on. But like you said, so you have two things at play here, right? You have a deep blue state and you’re going to be cannibalizing on vote. And, again, as much as I can love the idea, right, and that Mr. Lopez wants to, you know, stand on certain, you know, policies and on a certain ground, I’d love it. However, there’s a time and a place, and this is not the time nor the place to do so.
SPEAKER 10 :
Nope. I agree. All right.
SPEAKER 13 :
Because you’re going to end up killing it that way. I agree with you. Again, there’s a time to be, like you say, you know, brave, as people are talking about, and like you said, though, but there’s also realism involved. And it doesn’t matter how brave you are, if the end result is we just get destroyed.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yep. I agree. All right, talk to us about sports. We’ve got about five minutes of that really quick. What’s going on there? I know we’re doing well hockey-wise.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, we are. We had our first loss of the postseason on, I guess it was not yesterday, it was on Saturday night, the Wild, which was kind of to be expected, Dad, right? The Wild is arguably one of the best three teams left in the playoffs. You could argue they were one of the top. three to five teams that went into the playoffs, but how everything’s shaped up. You’ve got the Avs, the Hurricanes on the East, and then in the West, it really is the Wild. They are one of the best teams left, probably the best team outside of the Avalanche left, and so it wasn’t ever going to be easy, and that’s kind of what happened on Saturday night. There was a big layoff. There was three days just due to some scheduling conflict, three full days in between games, and that’s really rare in the playoffs, right? Usually that you see in every other night game even maybe every two nights just because of travel they like to let teams, you know, kind of get their legs under them a little bit. And Saturday was a case of you had a really desperate team. It’s a really good team.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and really quick, you had a really desperate team. And, I mean, I watched the game. You literally, every single thing that could go the direction of the Wild did. I mean, from pucks that just happened to be right where they needed to be at the right time. And, yeah, I know they’re professionals and so on. But, I mean, every single break went their way.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, Dad, there is. The hockey, they say it’s puck luck, right? They had it. And the Wild had it. Now, you could also argue that you sort of make your own puck luck, right, by shooting and kind of being in the right place. I will give them that. Dad, you had a situation of a desperate team combined with luck, combined with some beneficial officiating. I’m not going to say that’s the reason they lost, because it’s not. But it was a situation of the Avs had won, if you count the regular season, nine games in a row. They had really not struggled too much in the playoffs. Some would say they struggled against the Kings. I wouldn’t even say that.
SPEAKER 10 :
They didn’t struggle against the Kings. The Kings play their crappy hockey, I guess you could say, and we played down to their level. It took a couple of games to get that figured out, and once we did, done deal. It was all over.
SPEAKER 13 :
You are correct. And then the wild opening game, we ended up scoring nine goals. The second game was I think we ended up winning five to two, if I’m not mistaken. And so we were kind of due. And so now the only thing I would say tonight, I hope Coach Bednar, and I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt, like he’s going to be starting Mackenzie Blackwood over Scott Wedgwood. And he said all year that he likes both goaltenders. Now, the way that Wedgwood was playing, I would have probably personally gone to him. I know he was pulled this last game with a lot of goals that weren’t necessarily his fault. However, he knows his team, and I think that he knows how – and I think that, honestly, Dad, we’ve always said with the – enough team that – to be honest – It doesn’t really matter. You are a better team than the Wild, so they should go tonight. I’m not saying we’re going to lose. But I’m expecting the Avs to win tonight 3-1, come back home on Wednesday, play game five, and should end up being better there.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. All right. So I’m kind of with you. I think it’s going to be a much different game tonight than what it has been. That I’m pretty confident of. I don’t think there’s much – I’m sorry, I just don’t think the Wilds are going to win tonight. I could be wrong in that, but I think you’re correct on that. And I think this ends up being a five-game 4-1 when it’s all said and done by the Avs. I think you’re right on that.
SPEAKER 13 :
I hope you are correct. So yeah, I’m with you. And then the Nuggets did have, we’ll touch on them real quick, dad. They did have their end of season press conference on Friday. And basically everything is on the table, including bringing everyone back outside of trading Nikola Jokic. And I think that’s kind of what we expected. And it’ll be interesting to see what they do. There’s lots of things we can get into the nitty gritty, the minutia, all sorts of stuff that’s going on with them, but honestly kind of boring everyone. I would just say it’s, nothing’s off the table, again, except for getting rid of your biggest star. And then outside of that, you know, we’ll see. So I hope that we don’t have to talk about that with the apps because I hope, like I said, they take care of business and they keep on rolling. And we’re talking about a parade here in a month or so.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I think if there’s ever been a year where I think they’ve got a chance of doing it, provided they just keep playing their game and don’t get influenced by what the other team does, I think you’re correct on that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, that’s – I think you hit the nail on the head, Dad. They’ve got to play their own game. They kind of started to play to the wild game a little bit on Saturday. The wild were much more aggressive. They hit the abs more. And they just came out like with their hair on fire. There’s no other way to say it. And so I’m hoping the abs sort of got the message that, you know, this is the playoffs. You can’t do that, right? You’ve got to come out and – You’ve got to take care of business. Now, granted, if folks remember from a few years ago, Dad, I think it was 2022, almost the same thing happened in the St. Louis series. It was the second game that we ended up losing against them. But the same thing happened. We were playing really well. We ended up sweeping our first-round series. We came in. We lost the game. Everyone was kind of up in arms, right? Everyone was freaking out. Oh, my goodness. What are we going to do? We’re so terrible. This team is lost. all of the different things that all the pundits are saying, and we ended up coming back almost winning that in five games, ended up winning it in six. So even the most dominant teams, Dad, it’s not uncommon to go five or six games or even seven games. And again, I hope that’s not the case here. I think the abs are every bit as good at 2022, if not better. They just got to figure it out, and I think they will.
SPEAKER 10 :
The only one that hopes for the seven games are the owners because they make more money.
SPEAKER 13 :
They tend to – well, you know what? I think if you could guarantee an owner a seven-game series every time with their team winning, all of them would sign up for that seven days out of the week and twice on Sunday, right? You are correct. The Cronkies, and again, that’s something that we can talk about in the offseason because they actually kind of brought up the Nuggets and the Avs are – for some of the richest owners in sports, and that’s what the Cronkies are, Dad – they have one of the worst practice situations and facility situations of all of them. And I know it’s kind of tied into some bigger things, but when the Avalanche are, again, on the quest for a Stanley Cup and they literally practice out of a family ice rink down there in Centennial, It’s not the best of, I don’t know, it’s not the best of looks, but that’s a conversation for another day.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 10 :
And it’s that time of the week where we do car reviews. Myself and Richard, and I actually, because Richard was out of town, I actually drove this car, 2026 Mazda CX-90, their PHEV Premium Plus vehicle. And I’ve got some things I like about this vehicle, and I’ll just be straight up honest, I’ve got some things about this vehicle that… I do not like. So I guess let’s do this. Let’s start with the things I didn’t like initially. And part of this was probably because I just came out of a really nice other hybrid. So comparable type vehicle to this that I just drove the week prior. I’m not going to name names. I don’t want to throw Mazda under the bus here. Now, the plus sides are let me get the negatives. Some of the negatives are – I’ll just be honest. I’m sorry, Mazda. I have to say this. The looks of this car, I think it’s either going to be somebody loves or hates, and I hate it. I do not like the looks of this car. There’s no lines to it. It’s just this blob, if you ask me, running down the road, and it just doesn’t have good-looking lines. I’m sorry. I’m a car guy. I have been my whole life. I like cars with lines. And this car kind of reminds me of the Infiniti QX80 that also has no lines. I don’t like cars that don’t have lines. So that’s one of my negatives. The second negative is this is a PHEV, meaning you plug in this vehicle. It gives you a short amount of range on battery only. Then it switches into kind of the hybrid version and saves you on fuel economy. You know, saves on fuel economy and all that, I guess what I’m trying to say, Richard. Now, here’s the thing about that part of it I don’t like. By the way, it’s rated at 56 miles to the gallon when you plug in and use that part of the battery. But here’s the thing I do not like. In Mazda, you’re going to listen to this, and please, for the love of God, change this. I don’t know why you and there’s only a couple other manufacturers that do this. When I plug in, all great. Plugs in, no problem. Lights up, green lights on, things are charging, everything’s fabulous. Now, when I go to unplug it, it’s not like the other cars I own that are EVs that I can just walk up and unplug, Richard. I have to go in, get the keys out of the car because I’m parked in the garage, the keys are in the car. I have to go get the keys, I have to lock the car, unlock the car, so I can get the dang plug out of the port that I’m charging the car with. It is the dumbest thing ever.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, Dad, it’s something you and I talked about, and it’s not just Mazda, by the way. So this is, obviously we’re bringing it up here, but yeah, Dad, it’s like the second set of, it’s a redundancy, right? And it doesn’t make sense because it’s kind of too much stuff. I don’t know, too much stuff, right? Like if the car’s locked, you get it, right? And they do it, dads, for safety and then also so someone in theory doesn’t come unplug it, right, and plug it into another car, I guess. But I don’t know. I just wish there was a setting to disable it that like this is home charging, right? Like when I’m at this address, you don’t need to do this because it’s a pain. I’ll agree with you.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yep. Okay, so that’s my negative. Other than that, nice car. Drives well. I wish it was a little quieter on the interior. It’s priced similarly to other cars in its range, I guess you could say, or in its area. This one does have, of course, all the bells and whistles, adaptive cruise control, blah, blah, blah. I mean, it’s got it all. 323 horsepower. By the time it’s all said and done as far as the engine runs well, no issues there. I mean, it’s a Mazda. It drives well. The infotainment system, I’ll just say this. Again, Mazda, you’re still a little bit quirky on the infotainment. There’s easier, better ways to do infotainment, and you’d have to use it to understand what I mean by this, folks. It’s just, and Richard knows what I mean, it’s just got its own little quirks to it that I don’t particularly care for. Outside of all of that, as far as how the car drives and rides and handles and all of that, third row seats, plenty of room inside of the interior itself. It’s luxurious. I did like all of that sides of it. No issues at all, Richard, along any of those lines whatsoever. And again, I like Mazdas in general as far as their reliability and all of that. I guess just where I’m coming from when it comes to PHEVs in general, And I’m sorry, Mazda, for saying this. I don’t see the value, Richard. I just don’t see the value in a short run, you know, 20 mile or so, which is about all you get out of this car on the electric only. I just don’t see the plus of that.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, I guess what I would say, Dad, is if you’re looking to buy this car as an electric, you know, alternative.
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s not.
SPEAKER 13 :
You’re correct. I don’t know if the value is there. However, if you’re looking to buy this car for maybe that little bit of grocery getting, right, Dad, maybe, you know, 15 miles or so down the road, whatever. But then, obviously, once it runs out, it does switch to a more hybrid type of a setup. And in that case, I do think this car does have some value that way. However, like you say, there is a little bit of a price premium for that plug-in electric.
SPEAKER 10 :
And you don’t have the tax breaks anymore that you once had, so you’re not really gaining that like you was.
SPEAKER 13 :
You are correct, and that’s, I think, the key to factoring. However, outside of that goes that I do like the hybrid system from Mazda. It’s not super clunky, not that many of them are anymore, right? They’re relatively simple to use, and they— So I like that. As far as the interior goes, you said it best. These cars, most of them that we get, Dad, kind of have all the bells and whistles on them. Mazda’s second to none in that way. For the value, for the money, it’s really hard to beat all of the interior features that you get that are standard on these vehicles, which is a really nice feature. And like you said, this is a CX-90. This is the bigger. This has got a third row in it. Am I correct?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes, it does. Yes, it does.
SPEAKER 13 :
And so that’s a really nice feature of this vehicle.
SPEAKER 10 :
It does. But I will say this. This is like a lot of the other three row counterparts in that segment. When the third row is up, don’t plan on getting much behind that back seat. You’re going to either have suitcases on people’s laps or you’re going to need a car top carrier or something along those lines. You’re not putting much in the way of cargo when all of the seats are. are up and that’s not a knock against monster richard most of them are that way so there’s only a few exceptions to that like suburbans and so on where you actually gain a lot of extra space in the back or you have extra space in the back when the seat’s up in this case you don’t have much you’re you’re absolutely absolutely correct and that’s i think the well again just something to notice it’s not a knock on it it’s just something that’s a
SPEAKER 13 :
Besides, it is nice to be able to put more people in it, Dad, right? But the flexibility, which I like about this vehicle, is that you can put half of that third row down, still put another person in the back, give you that extra seating, but you still have some cargo room to go along with it. But I’m with you, Dad. I will say I personally do like the looks of this. You kind of talked about it at the start that you kind of like cars with a little bit more shape and figurement. I like the look. I just kind of think it looks a little bit sleek, and you kind of know the vehicle when you approach it. So it really is sort of a, I guess, a viewer’s choice at that point in time.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yep, I fully agree. Again, folks, this is a great car. I have no complaints as far as the rest of it goes. The one complaint I gave you, and looks is looks. Everybody has a different opinion on what looks good, and that’s all in the eye of the beholder as far as how the rest of this car works, operates, functions, and so on. Yeah, is it a car I recommend? Sure. If you like a PHEV, that’s something you’ve been shopping for, you want three rows, this Mazda CX-90 might be just your ticket. Go check that out, by the way, at your local Mazda dealer. When you do, tell them that John and Richard Rush, both from Rush to Reason and Drive Radio, sent you. All right, really quick, Richard, adding anything back into politics? We’ve got about 30 seconds. Anything you want to add?
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, I would just say, you and I did talk about, I would encourage people to… We know the legislature, especially, again, being as deep blue as they are, are going to try to pass some stuff and put some stuff on the ballot that isn’t in our favor. Right. They’ve already done that multiple times. And so get out there again, even though it doesn’t look, you know, looks grim to a lot of people. Right. We still need to get out and vote. And I know we’re early in this, but I would just try to kind of say that early because it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who the candidate is on any side of it, right, Dad? A lot of the other issues down ballot honestly matter more than who the governor is.
SPEAKER 10 :
Very true.
SPEAKER 13 :
And so I would encourage people to still pay attention and still make an effort to get out there and vote.
SPEAKER 10 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
Now back to Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 10 :
All right, got another full hour coming your way, so don’t go away. We’ll be back here in just a few minutes. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
I’m a rich guy
