With interest piqued and independent political money pouring in, a Colorado House District normally known more for its skiing than its politics is preparing for a nail biter of an election.
Ali Hasan, the Republican candidate in House District 56, which includes Eagle, Summit and Lake counties,is challenging incumbent Rep. Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon.
The race was initially tainted by drama earlier this year after Hasan's campaign publicist and former girlfriend filed for a temporary restraining order against him. Since that incident, Hasan has worked hard to win over voters, spending more than $200,000 and knocking on over 18,000 doors. He says those efforts have made a difference.
“I can tell you at the beginning of summer we were down by a huge margin, but I feel pretty good about things right now,” he said.
Since 2002's redistricting, Democrats have won HD 56 in both subsequent elections. In 2006, Dan Gibbs beat Republican Ken Chlouber with 67 percent of the vote. Gibbs was then appointed to the state Senate in 2008 to replace then Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald, who stepped down to pursue an unsuccessful congressional bid. A vacancy committee appointed Scanlan to step in for Gibbs, and now she is campaigning to keep the seat.
The Democrats thought Scanlan was safe, according to Randy Milhoan, chairman of the Eagle County Republicans, but the outgoing, fiscally conservative and socially liberal Hasan is hugely popular. “I think this is one the Republicans can pick up,” he said.
Hasan, 28, lives in Beaver Creek and is the son of managed health-care pioneer and Pakistani emigrants Malik and Seeme Hasan. He was raised in Pueblo before moving to Eagle County at age 10. He went to college in Los Angeles, graduating from Occidental College with a degree in education, environmental science and filmmaking. Hasan worked as a high school teacher and is a regular commentator on Fox News, BBC Radio, and MSNBC. He now spends most of his time focusing on his campaign.
Hasan’s campaign is predominantly self-funded, but he has also received contributions from well-known Republicans including Newt Gingritch, Mark Holtzman, Bill Hybl, Jack Kemp and Hank Brown. Hasan has contributed about $190,000 to his own campaign, and in total, he has raised $234,464 this election cycle. The bulk of his money has been spent on advertising with local media. While Scanlan benefited from high name recognition as an incumbent, Hasan believes his advertising blitz has allowed him to gain ground.
This mountain district boasts the highest concentration of unaffiliated voters, and like a growing number of Colorado districts, it is the unaffiliated voters who will decide the election. While HD 56 is about evenly split between the two major parties, with Republicans making up 28 percent of the registered voters and Democrats making up 26 percent, unaffiliated voters are 44 percent of the total.
According to Hasan, the big issues of concern in his district are transportation and the environment. Hasan has proposed a light rail to the mountains, while Scanlan has advocated for more lanes on I-70.
Meanwhile, Scanlan's fundraising trails with a total of $34,230. She has been largely funded by the House Majority Project, billionaire heiress Pat Stryker and local unions.
Scanlan, 44, is also a Colorado native who works for the non-profit Keystone Center and Keystone Summit School. She graduated from Denver's Regis University with a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in nonprofit organization management.
According to Milhoan, Democrats are getting worried and have responded by diverting 527 monies from the committee "Accountability for Colorado" to Scanlan’s race. 527 committees operate under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code to raise money for political activities. These activities, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, can include “voter mobilization efforts, issue advocacy, and the like.”
Insiders are now predicting the Democrat 527s will spend up to $400,000 to defeat Hasan. "There is a visible shift in the Democrats' strategy," said Milhoan. "This is a race they think they could lose, so they're putting resources here."
Hasan said he’s already seen about four 527 mail pieces promoting his opponent.
Scanlan has also been pushing for more publicity. She recently appeared on CBS 4 News Denver to talk about the beetle issue off the I-70 corridor and also flew to Washington D.C. to plead with Congress for more funding to address the problem.
“Even though I’m running against her, she is still my representative, and I’m very proud that she’s working hard on the pine beetle problem,” Hasan said.
Scanlan did not return Face The State’s request for an interview.