District 4 Republican candidates still will vote for Trump after guilty verdict

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado Republican congressional candidates were in the hot seat with a televised debate in Denver Thursday night.

FOX31 was there as candidates for Colorado’s 4th district, which includes portions of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder and Douglas County and parts of Larimer County, took to the podiums to sway voters.

The former president was always going to be one of the topics at the debate, but after the guilty verdict was handed down Thursday afternoon, a question surrounding him led off the debate.

“Please raise your hand if you intend to vote for Donald Trump for President even though he is now a convicted felon,” asked the moderator at the debate.

All six contenders in the District 4 race vying for the Republican nomination all unanimously raised their hands — four of them before the full question could be asked. Among the candidates on-stage Thursday were Jerry Sonnenberg, Richard Holtorf, Mike Lynch, Peter Yu and Deborah Flora and Lauren Boebert.

Boebert announced in December that she would be changing districts, citing family reasons after her divorce, leaving the area she grew up in. She spoke with FOX31 before the debate after sitting in on Trump’s trial.

“This is a sad day for Americans to have president trump a former president the leader of the Republican Party the frontrunner for the 2024 election to be convicted for a felon,” said Boebert. “My initial reaction to the verdict in the trump trial is a miscarriage of justice. This is political persecution. He’s going to get more support than ever from this. We have already seen campaign sites having difficulty operating because of the amount of support coming in for President Trump.”

Representative Jason Crow sent FOX31 a statement.

“Trump’s guilty verdict is a somber moment for our country. It’s also a moment to reaffirm our dedication to the rule of law. A jury heard the evidence, weighed the arguments, and unanimously decided to convict. Trump has repeatedly disregarded the law. But in America nobody is above or below the law, even a former president.”

FOX31’s Political Analyst Michael Fields also weighed in.

“I thought there might be one juror that would not convict him,” he said ” I thought it would be a hung jury but obviously that didn’t happen. I don’t think anybody was super surprised. I think more likely than not he was going to get convicted given the makeup of the jury being in New York, Manhattan, etc. I do think this sets a dangerous precedence. This isn’t going to be the last time now that a former present will be convicted of a crime. “

The Democrat candidates didn’t debate Thursday night. However, the contenders in the race are Trisha Calvarese, John Padora and Ike McCorkle.

McCorkle sent FOX31 this statement:

The past eight years have laid bare the critical vulnerabilities of our constitutional democracy. The dangers posed to the integrity of the Federal Republic have never in our lifetimes been as omnipresent as they are today. While our Republic’s foundations, the court’s integrity, and the rule of law have been threatened and dismantled in many ways during the previous administration, we remain a Nation of Laws and order! 

While encouraged by the just and prudent verdict, I remain deeply concerned for the Constitutional integrity of the Representative Government that I serve and swore to defend. The rights and liberties we all cherish are still threatened by the forces that the previous administration and President have unleashed. Only American unity can ensure the survival of our nation.

Celebrate this win for the Democratic Republic but remain vigilant. There is much work left to do.

The threats to women’s rights and to our children’s future in a legitimate democracy remain. The only way to ensure the continued existence of the liberties we cherish is to elect the strongest and most honest majority in American History. We must expand the Court, end Citizens United, restore and expand women’s rights, abolish corruption from Congress, and ensure that every American is equitable under the law.

The hard work and defense of democracy has just begun and the threat to our liberty, freedoms, and the Western Alliance is still very real. Thank God the judicial system is still willing to hold a former president accountable under the law.

Now it is up to us, to you and me to remain vigilant and to do our part this November. Let’s take back the Congressional majority, and ensure that our posterity has a functional Congress and government that they can trust! We owe it to all those who have given their lives to ensure the Republic endures and we owe it to our children to remain vigilant and continue the FIGHT!

Constitution, Country, Corps, Family… in that order!

Ike McCorkle, Democratic candidate for Colorado District 4

Boebert told FOX31 she trusts the appeal process and that Trump will get the conviction undone.