04-02-24 Interview - CD-4 Candidate Deborah Flora

DEBORAH FLORA IS ON To discuss why she is taking a pass on the caucus as she's already made the ballot via petitions. We're also going to talk about the polling here which shows Democrat Ike McCorkle beating Lauren Boebert head to head. He lost handily to Ken Buck last time, so this is a big deal. Find out more about Deborah and support her run by clicking here.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
My friend and candidate for CD four, Deborah Flora, in the studio,
and Deborah has already gotten her nameon the ballot through petitioning. I was
very happy to sign the petition outsideof a grocery store, and then I
went in and asked, turn yourmic on over there. There you go.
I asked everybody in line if theysigned the petition too, and everybody
that I talked to you had.I'm just saying, but the reason you're

(00:21):
in is because you are on theballot. Yes, that's correct, and
you made a choice that I actuallyagree with about the caucus. What are
you going to do for the caucus. Well, it's a great question because
a lot of people may remember thatwhen I ran for the US Senate last
election, I went solely through theAssembly, came thirty eight vote short of
advancing, and someone that was justhuman error. It started late, people
left who were at the end ofthe day just all kinds of wacky things

(00:44):
happened. So when the store openedand we stepped in to run for the
fourth Congressional District, so many ofmy supporters were like, please just don't
put us through that again. Yeah, because it's so unpredictable, and I'm
grassroots. I've been finding along thegood people that will be going to the
Assembly for years. However we've beenseeing is particularly in this race. I
think every time you turn around,there's a new crazy headline, something strange

(01:06):
is occurring. So we did goin and do petitions, and that is
a valid process and it's a lotof work. By the way, we
had volunteers, we had others helpingus. We got thousands of signatures in
twenty one counties, which allows alot of these people to have their voice
heard, all registered Republicans. Soit's a very valid way to do it.
And then after what happened Thursday nightwith a special election, and we

(01:29):
heard from even more people. Theyreached out to me and said, look,
this was crazy. When you haveseven, eight or nine people in
an Assembly situation, anything can happen. So I had so many supporters,
many people going to the Assembly whosaid, please, just don't risk it,
because the reality is, even thoughI have qualified for the ballot with
petitions, if I go to theAssembly on Friday, there's a new threshold.

(01:52):
You have to get ten percent,and if you don't it doesn't matter.
But your petitions. You're off theballot with so much at stake here
in CD four, with how importantit is that we have a candidate,
a Republican nominee that can win andkeep the seat in the red column.
I finally, you know, aftertalking to many people, decided, you
know what, it's just not worthrisking it. We're already on the ballot,

(02:13):
and so we're going straight to theprimary and taking you know, our
case and our persuasion to the primaryvoters, the larger group of people out
there, while respecting those who doserve so much in the Assembly system.
Well, I fully, and Isaid earlier on the show, with the
current leadership of the Republican Party,anything anything could happen. And I don't

(02:34):
mean that in a good way.I just am not confident that the current
leadership will do a good job.And if you're already on the ballot,
would I would not. I don'twant to say waste your time, but
don't waste your time. I dowant to talk about a little bit about
that special election. That was aninteresting outcome, Like I did not see
that coming. I know mister Lopeza little bit. We've always had a

(03:00):
very good relationship he's always been verywelcoming, but to go in and pitch
himself as the polaceholder right right,I was like dang Son, that was
actually a good strategy. But itreally goes to show I think that this
race is still very much up forgrabs, because there was no overwhelming candidate

(03:20):
that that reached that threshold that isin the race to replace ken Buck permanently,
like in the next congress. Right, you had to be a little
I was surprised by the outcome there. Well, we had made the decision
prior to that to not go throughthe Special Assembly. I'd really taken time
to look at it. There's onehundred and eleven people that were potential delegates,
ninety eight ended up being there.I spoke to over half of them,

(03:43):
and the vast majority of them agreedthat there's no way that less than
one half of a percent of theactual voters in CD four should select someone
who's running for the primary that wouldpotentially influence that entire race. And because
of that, on principle, becauseI do believe in representative government, because
I do believe in making your caseto the larger populace, I actually decided

(04:03):
not to run for the special election. I actually sent a letter to all
the delegates just advocating not for anyparticular candidate, but for them to select
someone who is not competing in theprimary so that the rest of the CD
four voters will have an opportunity tomake their decision on June twenty fifth.
And I do think it just levelsthe playing field. And you know,

(04:26):
the reality is, you know,Mandy out there, I've won more straw
polls than any other candidate, allof them combined, actually all of them
in Douglas County, which is thepopulation center half of the electorate, And
what happens on the ground, oneon one with voters is very different than
what happens at some of these smallerassemblies. Well, this is for the

(04:46):
whole caucus process, in the assemblyprocess, this is designed to reward party
insiders for their hard work. AndI don't have an issue with that as
a means to say thank you forbeing the boots on the ground for the
republic Pity Like, I don't havean issue with that, but it is
very exclusionary and it is a tinyfraction of the overall Republican Party that is

(05:08):
going to pick the candidates and that'sthe part that makes me uncomfortable, like
I don't love that well. AndI think that you know, those who
do give that time, it's alot of time. I mean, everyone
who's gone through this process. Myletter to them today said thank you so
much for your time and effort,because it takes so much time. And
I highly respect that. I mean, you know, two of my family
members are going to be delegates,and I've been involved in the process.

(05:30):
But the reality is, even thosegood people I've spoken to feel that we
are at a point in time inour party history where we have division,
we have things that are happening,there are backroom deals, there's just all
kinds of stuff that happens. Andif there is this other process which there
is legally to be on the ballotsthrough petitions, and I'm very grassroots,
they've seen me at all these events. I've spoken to everyone. Now,

(05:53):
that's a valid way to do it, and it just allows us to become
simpler. And we're really excited aboutthe fact that now we are focusing on
the primary voters. We're taking ourmessage to them getting great response. And
once again, it's not about notbeing out there. I have been to
over two hundred events since I gotin this race. I put over ten
thousand miles in my car, spentthe majority of my time out in the

(06:15):
Eastern Plains. I love talking topeople answering tough questions. It's simply about
what makes the most sense when somuch is at stake for this very very
important beachhead that we have in Colorado, which is the fourth congressional district seat.
So an interesting poll was released overthe weekend by Democrat Ike mccorkyl and
he ran against Ken Buck in thelast election cycle. And I don't have

(06:39):
the exact breakdown of how that workedout, but we're roughly sixty percent for
ken and maybe thirty eight percent forIke mccorkeyl. So it was a handy
win by Ken Buck. It wasnot even close. And Ike mccorkyle released
a poll this weekend that said itshows him beating Lauren bober by seven points.
Yes. Now, I this isone of the things that has driving

(07:00):
me crazy about these Like when politiciansrelease a poll, give me the tab
sheets so I can see exactly whereyou pulled, exactly who you asked.
The same with the Bobert poll thatshe says she's up all these points.
Let me see who you ask sorash correct, But we don't have access
to that, So I always takea poll with a healthy dose of salt,
you know that. Being said,if there's a possibility that we could

(07:25):
lose the fourth congressional district for me, that is the biggest argument against Lauren
Bobert. Yes, but here's myissue that I'm worried about you and Jerry
Sonnenberg. I am definitely afraid.I don't think there's a lot of other
major players in this race at thispoint. I'm not being dismissive of anybody
else, but I see the strawpoles. I talk to people. Nobody

(07:46):
talks about anybody else. Okay,that's the reality is there. I mean
somebody I hope carry drops out.I don't know. I hope Kerry drops
out because I think you are abetter candidate against Lauren Bobert for a lot
of a lot of identity politics reasonsthat I find distasteful, but they exist

(08:07):
well. And here's why I say, Mandy, I always tay, people
don't vote for me because I'm awoman, don't vote for me because I'm
the best candidate. But part ofbeing the best candidate is who can win
and keep this seat in the Republicancolumn. You know that that poll that
came out showing Lauren Bobert losing toEike mccorkyl, it actually resonates with everything
we've seen. She was going tolose CD three. Yep, she comes

(08:28):
here. That's a sixty five percentrural district. This district CD four is
seventy three percent suburban and forty sevenpercent unaffiliated. Now, like I said,
I always say I'm out in theplanes more than anywhere. But the
reality is when people are coming downfrom Denver into Douglas County, which is
half of the electorate, if wedo not have someone that can relate to

(08:48):
those people and persuade them, whyour conservative policies are the solutions to everything
they're fleeing? That will lose thisseat in two, four or six years.
And the thing I would say aboutJerry I respect vict him. He's
a good man. But when wehad a forum in Douglas County of two
hundred voters, he got five votesand I won by double digit margins.

(09:09):
Now, why is that it doesn'tnecessarily mean that we aren't talking about a
lot of the same things. It'sdo you resonate? Are you the fighter
that people are looking for to goto Congress at this juncture in our history,
And the difference between myself and Laurenis I will fight, but on
principle and policy, not personal attacks. People are looking for solutions, not

(09:30):
SoundBite and celebrity. That's why we'reresonating, and that's why I do believe
with the wrong Republican nominee, wecould lose this seat and we cannot let
that happen. I also want topoint out to people something that will happen
if Lauren becomes the candidate this race, the fourth congressional race, will be
flooded with national money. Yes there, Ike McCorkle will be the best funded

(09:54):
candidate in the history of congressional racesovernight. If she is the CA there
will be so much money coming inthat it will be overwhelming. And people
need to realize that because it's sheis by far one of those polarizing figures.
She is among the handful of peopleon the left and the right that
are polarizing to everyone. And Ijust don't want and mccorkyl seems like a

(10:18):
nice man. He's a veteran butis ideology. Ideologically, I don't want
him representing me in the fourth well. And actually the Democrats are already working
on this. They actually chose lastnight in their special election their nomination process
a woman named Tricia Calvary's and yougo to her website. She's now the
Democrat nominee for the special election.Everything on her website is all about Lauren

(10:41):
Bobert and how she will beat LaurenBobert. That's her focus, that's the
Democrats focus. That is actually whothey want to be. The Republican nominee
is Lauren because they know they canbeat her. This is why, as
I said in the Senate an election, and it's more true now than ever,
I'm the conservative fighter people can beproud of that will in and keep
this seat and the Republican column.And that is essential if we're going to

(11:05):
begin to do the serious work ofturning Colorado back around again, and we
should because Mandy, our policies arethe best for everyone in this state.
We just haven't communicated it very well. And there are people I met who
a unaffiliated, who were Republicans andleft because they don't like the divisiveness.
They don't like the drama. Theydon't like the Persian Purified movement. They
want to know that it's about solutionsand inviting others to join us. I'm

(11:30):
running for one reason only, andthat is to expand this movement of freedom,
get government out of everyone's lives,make sure they have a say in
their children's education, secure the bordersso we're not being flooded, and fight
for the things that really shouldn't bepartisan. But they are on the conservative
side of the policies. And that'swhat I'm fighting for. You know,
you just brought up the Persian Purifymovement, and this is something I talked

(11:52):
to my friend Kelly Maher about andI think it is probably the most damaging
thing that I've ever seen a partydo, whether it's Republican or otherwise.
And you know, it's the andthis is the reason I like the I'm
wondering who's going to be at theAssembly. I wonder how many of those
people are going to have pledge theirallegiance to dear Leader David Williams. And

(12:18):
I wonder what if anybody is goingto get a fair shake, right,
I mean, I will sad buttrue, and that's what I've been hearing
from a lot of people. Theyhave a lot of concerns about the process.
I respect everyone who's going, butthat's why we made the decision.
And the biggest part about this allwe used to say the Republican Party was
a big tent We do not haveto compromise our tent poles are firmly in
the Constitution. But we can welcomepeople to join us and tell instead of

(12:41):
telling us I'm sorry, you're alreadyin the ten I'm going to kick you
out. We can stand on policyand principle, and we can still expand
this. When I grew up,it was almost forty percent Republicans. We're
down to twenty four percent. Thatis not the right direction to be going.
And my goal is to begin togrow the again, actually just grow

(13:01):
the moon of freedom again. Itwould just be nice. And I actually
posted on my personal Facebook page,which I never post about politics, it
would just be nice to have someoneto be proud of representing, because I
mean, we are a form ofrepresentative government, which means whoever we elect,
because I'm in the fourth congressional district, whoever we elect is supposed to
be one of us. Right,It's supposed to be a person that represents

(13:22):
me and my fellow neighbors and mycommunity and the value system that we all
kind of share in common. Andthat doesn't mean we all believe exactly the
same thing. But I want someonethat I'm not embarrassed to say, yeah,
that's my member of Congress, andyeah, I'm a Republican and I
don't want to have to hang myhead in shame, and I don't think

(13:43):
that's too much to ask. No, And being a part of the representative
government. I've been living, working, fighting in CD four for years and
part of this accountability. Your neighborsknow you, you know them, You've
been fighting alongside one of another.And in addition, it's in the very
word representative. If you take thatseriously, you represent people, You work
for the citizens. You literally representthem in our nation's capital. And that's

(14:07):
how that job needs to be lookedat. To bring honor to the people
who chose you for this job andrepresent them with excellence. That's my goal.
I'm the conservative writer you can beproud of, and I can win
and keep the seat in the Republicancolumn. You can find out more about
Deborah on her website. I puta link to it on the blog today
Deborah Flora dot com. You canalso see the polling from Ike mccorkyl i

(14:30):
linked to that as well. Ijust I'm increasingly worried that there is too
much there's too many people in thisrace, and I'd like to see some
of the people who truly don't havea chance go ahead and start to drop
out, because if not, we'regonna split the ticket, and Lauren Bobert
is gonna win just because she's gotthe best name ID and people will reflexibly

(14:52):
vote for her. Sometimes some oneof my listeners says he's voting for her
because she's hot, and I waslike, I can't help you with that.
You know, if that's your strategyfor voting, then be sure and
show up the day after the electionsto cast your votes. Do that.
This person just said, you actuallythink this? Do you think CD four
can actually flip to a Democrat?If you talk to people suburban voters,

(15:16):
trust me, they are not justnot in Lauren Bobert's camp. They are
anti Lauren Bobert. Yes, alot of voters. I'm not exactly strike
up a conversation with someone in lineat the grocery store and ask them,
Hey, are you paying attention orare you going If you're in the fourth
congression, you'll be shocked at thelevel of sort of angst about this.

(15:41):
Yeah. And one of the thingsthat people don't realize is with the redistricting
that happened two years ago, it'snot the same district it was before.
It is seventy three percent suburban,it is forty seven percent unaffiliated. So
when you look at that, itis a very different district. And I
do believe that the poll that Ikemccork will put out is reflecting everything we're
hearing. And people could have askedabout CD three, would that have really

(16:03):
actually flipped, Yes, it wasabout to flip to a Democrat. And
that was an R plus eight Republicandistrict, a safe one that was sixty
five percent rural. So the realityis I will be finding for the same
values out in Bacca County, PhillipsCounty, kit Carson County, as well
as Douglas County and Larimer County.I'll be finding for all those same values.

(16:23):
But we have to have someone thatcan keep this seat and Republican column
and resonate with those who are thelargest voting block. Deborah Flora, thank
you so much for coming in andmaking time, and we'll continue to have
conversations as we get closer to theprimary. Oh, this person just said
Deborah Flora is a looker herself texther maybe considered using for My husband appreciates.

(16:48):
Thank you very much