U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, is being challenged in the Republican primary by Alex Beinstein of Carbondale. While Beinstein earns points for ambition, initiative and civic involvement, it is Tipton the GOP voters should pick for the November ballot.
Beinstein, who is 27, deserves credit for wanting to enter the political fray. But he is aiming high with his first try at elected office. Congress is not an entry-level position.
Moreover, his ideas reflect a mix of standard GOP positions and youthful enthusiasm. Asked about his top issue, he says, “a combination of the tariff and Saudi Arabia. ... We have to change our relationship with Saudi Arabia.”
He has a point about the Saudis, but is that really the most important question facing the country, let alone a first-term congressman? And what tariff?
He is accomplished academically, with a graduate degree from the University of Chicago and a law degree from the University of Maine.
Tipton, 59, is experienced. Before serving a term in Colorado’s House of Representatives in 2006, he was active in the state Republican Party and in working for Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaigns. In 2008, he challenged sitting Congressman John Salazar and lost. In 2010 Tipton tried again, and won, in a year when Republicans were in the ascendancy nationwide.
Tipton won again in 2012 and in 2014. Although the diverse 3rd Congressional District has been represented by members of both parties, and its electorate is split into roughly one-third Republican, one-third Democrat and one-third unaffiliated, an incumbent has a strong advantage anywhere.
Tipton also knows water and natural resources issues, appropriate for someone from Southwest Colorado, and he recognizes to some extent the value of public lands. He helped in the effort to move Chimney Rock, between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs, up to monument status. Most recently, he is opposing the federal government’s misguided claim — without compensation — to water rights owned by private entities on public lands. And when asked about his top issue, he said, “Jobs, the economy.”
Republican voters should choose Rep. Scott Tipton to represent them in the general election.