Dirty Dozen 2002
Wayne Allard (R): Race At A Glance 2002
Colorado Senate
| Wayne Allard (R) | 51% |  |
| Tom Strickland (D) | 45% | |
View Wayne Allard's Dirty Dozen profile
More on Allard's anti-environment record:
See LCV's critically acclaimed TV ads targeting Sen. Wayne Allard:
The Race
The Colorado race, a repeat of the 1996 contest, was a “must-win” for both parties and attracted the attention of many outside interest groups. Corporate accountability was a key issue in this race, with both sides trying to define their oponent as being in the pocket of corporate interests. Incumbent Wayne Allard spent a large part of his campaign trying to convince Colorado voters that he shared their environmental concerns. Yet Allard’s environmental record was in fact the worst of any Colorado Senator. Tom Strickland had a long history of environmental accomplishments, including helping to spearhead Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), which provides funds raised from the state's lottery program for parks, trails, wildlife programs and conservation education.
The Environment
The environment was a hot topic in this heated race. Both candidates tried to portray themselves as environmental heroes using scenic backdrops in their ads and targeting voters with environmentally-friendly messages. LCV polling, conducted in early August by Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research, found that 86% of Colorado voters say that the environment would be an important factor when they cast their ballots. Water quality, air pollution, and renewable energy issues were all at the forefront of the debate.
LCV Activities
Despite Allard’s dismal lifetime LCV score of just 8 percent, he claimed to be the best environmental senator in Colorado history and touted his “Clean 14” list of environmental accomplishments. LCV, in naming Allard to the Dirty Dozen, set the record straight about his anti-environmental record by revealing our own list of Allard’s votes called the “Dirty Thirty”. LCV ran an extensive campaign in this crucial race, spending over $700,000. A field staff of 12 organized hundreds of volunteers to run phone banks and walk precincts around the state. LCV also ran TV ads in the Denver market, reaching 67 percent of the state. In order to break through the glut of negative political advertising that flooded Colorado, LCV used lighthearted ads to highlight 20 of Allard’s votes against clean water, and stress his vote to delay EPA’s tougher standard for arsenic in drinking water. The “Hard to Swallow ” ad was heralded nationally as one of the best ads of the election cycle and was featured on CNN, ABC, and NBC. For the last seven weeks of the campaign, LCV also ran a tough earned media outreach campaign, sending out a weekly press release, “Allard Outrage of the Week,” that detailed his anti-environmental votes and positions. These efforts paid far-reaching dividends, with both the local and national media running stories like “Environmental Groups Target Senator Allard for Defeat” (States News 10/24), “Allard can’t hide from environmental record” (Denver Post 10/15/02), “Environment Key in Colo. Sen. Race” (Associated Press 9/23/02), and “TV ad’s humor is effective: Ad on Allard’s arsenic vote chokes them up” (Rocky Mountain News 10/24/02). LCV also conducted election eve surveys and found that Strickland had gained an edge among independent voters that was mainly fueled by environmental concerns.
