The Denver Post will profile the five GOP candidates looking to unseat U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, the Democratic incumbent. Republican voters will select that candidate in the June 28 primary.
- June 6 — Robert Blaha
- June 7 — Ryan Frazier
- June 8 — Darryl Glenn
- June 9 — Jack Graham
- June 10 — Jon Keyser
Darryl Glenn wore the serious face of a powerlifter under the bright lights at the Broadmoor World Arena at the Republican state convention in April.
Furrowed brow, eyes trained slightly above the crowd of 4,000, the El Paso County commissioner pressed a full slate of Republican values that earned him the nickname “The Speech.” Glenn declared himself the “unapologetic Christian conservative, pro-life, Second Amendment” candidate who could beat incumbent U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in November.
While pundits, party insiders and opponents see him as the conservative strongman in the Republican primary, they see his chances against Bennet as weak in a general election, when more-moderate, unaffiliated candidates weigh in and Bennet’s financial advantage looms large.
When Republican Ken Buck ran as a strong conservative against Bennet in 2010, exit polls indicated Bennet led Buck with female voters, 56 percent to 40 percent, even though Buck won with men, 54 percent to 43. Bennet beat Buck among unaffiliated voters in the polls, 52 percent to 41.
But don’t expect Glenn to veer toward the middle to score votes, if he wins the nomination … unless God tells him to.
Glenn, 50, said his focus comes from the discipline to prepare, the same way he worked to become a three-time national collegiate powerlifting champion at the Air Force Academy. He has been campaigning for the Senate since January 2015 and preparing “mentally, physically and spiritually” for the race for four years, he said.
On the cover of a 1986 edition of Powerlifting USA magazine, next to the question “Who Is The World’s Greatest Squatter,” Glenn has his eyes focused upward as he brushes his chalked palms together before the lift.
“I open my mind and allow the Holy Spirit to come in,” Glenn said of powerlifting and politics.
Leadership, not compromise
On the Senate campaign trail, Glenn said he won’t work across the aisle with Democrats, if he’s elected.
“I specifically call that out, because Republicans have abrogated their responsibility to lead, so now Republicans are expected to turn to Democrats for leadership, instead of laying out an agenda that Democrats also could agree with and allow them to reach across the aisle to come up with a solution.”
Glenn appears to be a favorite of the most conservative elements of the party.
This week former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed Glenn.
Last month he was endorsed by the Senate Conservatives Fund, a political action committee with Tea Party roots and deep pockets.
“He’s an inspiring leader who will defend the Constitution and stand up to the liberals in both parties,” said Ken Cuccinelli, president of the group.
Running far to the right might serve him well in a five-person GOP primary, but tracking back to the middle to suit a broader range of voters in November could prove tough, said Bob Loevy, a retired political science professor at Colorado College and a Republican.
Although it could be a tough task to sell his staunch conservatism outside El Paso County, Glenn has a reputation as being consistent and brutally honest, with a voting record of being frugal with taxpayers’ money and dedicated to limited government, Loevy said.
“His most important characteristic as a candidate is his consistency,” Loevy said.
No fear
Politicos often use the words “stubborn” or “unapologetic” to describe Glenn.
“He just doesn’t have any fear of anyone,” said Amy Lathen, who serves on the El Paso County Commission with Glenn. “He says, ‘This is who I am. If you don’t like it, that’s fine.’ He’s pretty strong that way.”
But he’ll have to get stronger in the finance department. Bennet is sitting on a war chest of $7.6 million, and he has raised nearly $12 million this election cycle. Glenn has raised $45,462 with $11,313 left, according to Federal Elections Commission documents.
Glenn has been overcoming tall odds a long time. He envisioned a football career as a running back at the Air Force Academy. An ankle injury his senior year at Doherty High School in Colorado Springs, however, turned his attention to weightlifting. He still rises each day at 4 a.m. to work out, he said.
Duty and discipline
After Christianity, duty and discipline are Glenn’s religions.
He grew up in a military family. His father was a master sergeant in the Air Force. His mother was an Army Reservist, finishing as a lieutenant colonel. But while he was raised to be a serviceman, becoming a staunch Republican was his own doing.
Glenn said he was all in for the Reagan Revolution in the 1980s.
“I don’t think they realize how it happened,” Glenn said of his parents. “It just happened over time. I just paid attention to a lot of current events, and I was personally fascinated by what was going on at that time. I knew I always wanted to get involved in politics.”
Politics overlapped with 21 years in Air Force active and reserve duty, before he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2009. His mother switched her party affiliation when her son ran for El Paso County commissioner in 2010, after he had served on the Colorado Springs City Council since 2003.
Secretary of State Wayne Williams worked with Glenn in several capacities. When Williams was an El Paso County commissioner, his district overlapped Glenn’s City Council district. Glenn succeeded Williams on the commission when Williams was elected county clerk.
Williams said Glenn was always responsive to his constituents, whether they agreed with him or not. He called Glenn’s leadership during the 2013 Black Forest fire “his finest moment.”
An “open book”
Although they don’t like his conservatism, top Democratic operatives couldn’t cite anything in Glenn’s past they might use against him in a general-election campaign.
In April Glenn issued a statement to swat down negative overtures on social media about his divorce, which became final in March, even though no mainstream media was reporting on his divorce.
His two daughters, in their mid-20s, wanted to respond, but he chose to and told them to “stand down.”
“I’m not going to allow a rumor to go out there and be unchallenged, especially when they bring my kids into it,” he said.
The statement said in part: “As a Christian, I can absolutely say that these rumors are false, and I made this decision after nearly two years of deeply personal introspection.”
In an interview, Glenn said he didn’t want get into the details of his divorce, because it would violate the privacy of his ex-wife and children. As for his divorce records, Glenn and his ex-wife are divorce lawyers. The only things in their court file is a separation agreement dividing up their property and a financial affidavit documenting their income.
Efforts to reach his ex-wife were unsuccessful, but Glenn said it would be her decision if she wanted to talk publicly about the divorce.
“My life is an open book. I’m almost boring on that stuff,” he said of political scandal. “Any rumor that’s out there, bring it. I’m accountable to my God, and I haven’t done anything I’m embarrassed of.”
About Darryl Glenn
Age: 50
Occupation: El Paso County commissioner and lawyer
Residence: Colorado Springs
Political experience: Colorado Springs city councilman from 2003 through 2010, El Paso County commissioner from 2010 to the present.
Education: bachelor’s degree from the Air Force Academy; master’s degree from New England College; law degree from New England School of Law.
Family: Two adult daughters.
Cash assets: $16,001-$65,000
Debts: None listed
