The Colorado State Republican Assembly

Colorado State Republican Assembly

This has been a year of firsts; my first campaign, my first Caucus, my first County Assembly, and my first State Assembly.

As we awoke this morning at 4:30 a.m. I felt excitement. I was excited about going to the state assembly and excited about the fact that I got to sleep in an extra hour this morning, but that is not relevant to the story. We were ready and out the door by 5:30 and off to pick up my father in law and my campaign manager. Once there everyone jumped in the car and we were gone. There was conversation and I was growing nervous with anticipation. Being that the state convention had nothing to do with my race, why would I be nervous? That was easy, I was asked to speak in front of 5,000 people. I was asked to prepare a speech, which I couldn’t do, because I never have before. I am used to speaking from the hip and using the mood of the room as well as the topics of passion of the moment. This planning of a speech was not something I was used to.

A little history. About a week ago, I was asked to speak and the question of whether I would freeze in front of that many people was proposed. That is never a problem for me, as I thoroughly enjoy speaking with and to people. I was given a general subject and direction, which made designing a speech quite a bit easier. The other problem is that I was given three minutes. That is not long at all for me. My wife thought it funny that someone was worried that I would freeze up in front of a large crowd. I practiced my speech in the car with a three minute egg timer. It was exactly three minutes long. I was ready. It wasn’t a written speech; it was a story speech on bullet points. It could be changed and adapted according to the mood and passion. That meant I had not violated my natural speaking methods. I was ready.

We arrived at the Budweiser Event Center at 6:45 a.m. and many were stirring as they picked up their credentials. The mood was strong and many people were there. We were excited to be attending. Immediately after entering the arena, I felt the buzz it was everywhere. People were talking and they were all excited. I am not just talking about the political junkies, but those who were new to this as I was. It was a different feeling than that of two years ago. I know because everyone I spoke to told me. It was that awakening or new found lack of apathy. This was new and it was a great feeling. People were talking about the candidates and the issues. The air was alive.
I had the opportunity to speak to so many people and hear their concerns and needs. They were able to help me get to know them as well as their concerns. It was also a time for people to talk with me about what was important to them in the upcoming Legislative session. What I found so incredible was the amount of first timers at the convention, and the amount of alternates that were in attendance. We had all heard that most of the alternates were able to be moved to delegate in past years. This year was quite different. There were about 500 delegate seats that needed to be filled. They were filled rater quickly. Even after the 500 or so alternates were moved to delegate, there were a couple thousand alternates left. What was so amazing is how many of them stuck around for the rest of the assembly. This was the first time in many years that a full delegation was present. Talk about excited….

The speeches were given. Candidates for Senator, Governor, Treasurer, Secretary of state, and CU Regent were all heard from. Many were given, but only a few were chosen. It was a great day with ideas and ideology being spread throughout the facility. We were proud Republicans and we were happy to be together.

Seven House of Representatives candidates were able to speak Libby, Christine, Mrs. Kellog, Karen, Edgar, Paulina and I were among those lucky enough to have been heard from such a large delegation. As we were entering the stage, were informed that our time was one minute. Now, if you think back to the beginning of the story, I said that we had three minutes. Hmm. That meant cutting most of the speech. That is ok. Shorter is better. I was able to talk about small business and its importance to our society. I was able to tell the delegation that it was our mission to help by reducing regulation and taxation on businesses, but, the most important thing that I did on that stage was represent my fellow conservatives.

I was proud to be there to represent our conservative views. It was an honor to stand on that stage, look out across the thousands of people and know that they are the warriors, the volunteers, and the elected officials that were truly going to make a difference this election year. The people, who came from each corner of the State to be part of their government, were proud to be there and they were excited to be there.

The ballots were cast as we spoke. It was not long now, as we waited to hear what the outcome of so much campaigning and speaking, would be. We thought it would not be long. There were counties where delegates didn’t get to vote and some where too many voted, some where alternates voted and delegates were overlooked. This sounds horrible, but, there were not that many, and the problem was fixed. Now we would get the results. Still we waited. What could it have been? It seemed like an eternity, and then finally the results were in. The Senate results were given first. Ken Buck received about 75%, Cleve Tidwell 14% and about one percent went to the other candidates. Next came the Treasurers results. JJ Ament was the front runner with about 77% of the vote. Ali Hassan came in a distant second. Cleve and Ali both received enough votes to petition on the ballot. These races were a little surprising, but none were as much of a surprise as the Governors Results. Dan Maes came in with 49% of the vote. What a great showing, but, surely that meant that Scott McGinnis received 51% right? Wrong! He received 48%. This puts Dan on the top line of the Ballot. It was much closer than I think many thought it would be.

Overall, I believe that this was the most exciting process that I have ever been involved in. My wife was having such a great time being part of the different candidate parades and being part of the process. My father in law spent his time in one of the suites and thoroughly enjoyed the assembly. I could not have asked for a better time or a more positive experience.

Congratulations and thank you to all the Candidates who have put your names on the line and lives on hold! No matter the outcome, you are what make this state great. You were involved, are involved and truly make this a great state. Thank you for being positive. We all appreciate your efforts, both past and future. Good luck in your races and future endeavors.

The arena quickly emptied and all that was left was the cleanup. The arena looked as if a tornado had come through. The life that had been there just a few hours before left an air of belief and the vision of our state government to be.

As we traveled home, my wife, father in law and Walt were all discussing the many events that took place. All were filled with excitement. I personally felt a great sense of satisfaction as we reflected on the many things that were said about our campaign throughout the day. We heard that the Ramirez campaign was the example by which many were judging campaigns. We heard that we were doing great things. We heard that our campaign was the one to watch. These were exciting, but what they all mean is that you the volunteers, Walt,the staff and my family have made a difference that can be seen around the state. Our race is about the people we will represent. Let’s keep that momentum up and make that difference take place in the State Capitol in November.
Thank you all for your work, help and contributions.

Robert Ramirez
Candidate HD29
Westminster / Arvada.