YOUR AD HERE »

Al White ready to take over Senate 8 seat

John Gardnerjgardner@postindependent.comGlenwood Springs, CO Colorado
Kelley Cox Post Independent
ALL |

GLENWOOD SPRINGS Republican Rep. Al White, R-Hayden was elected into his first term in the State Senate District 8 race early Wednesday morning. White beat out Democratic challenger, Ken Brenner of Steamboat Springs by an 11 percent margin.Im tired, he admitted Wednesday morning. I didnt get to bed until early this morning.The four-term Rep. for House District 57 was excited to have the election behind him and to get back to business.Im glad to have the campaign behind me and to able to get back down to the business of being a legislature, White said.White will have little down-time, though, as the states Joint Budget Committee will meet Wednesday, Nov. 12, and White will have to ask to be retained on that committee in his new state senate seat. However, he is currently a member of the committee as a Rep. for HD 57 and said that he felt the existing members will choose for him to remain. While White wont officially be sworn in as State Senator until early January, he will represent Senate District 8 on the Joint Budget Committee if retained.With 55 percent of the votes, White said that it was a combination of things that gave him the advantage in the race over Brenner.It was a combination of experience and accomplishment, White said. The fact that Ive worked with a partisan connection on the issues for Colorado and I truly believe that people recognize that Ive not been a lock-step Republican, and have addressed issues that are important.White, 58, replace Sen. Jack Taylor, R-Steamboat Springs in Senate District 8, who is term-limited and not running for re-election. White is stepping down due to term limits himself in HD 57.White is also fairly familiar with the area of Senate District 8 considering that House District 57 overlaps much of the same territory. District 8 covers Garfield County, along with Jackson, Routt, Moffat, Rio Blanco and most of Eagle County.The only areas Ive not represented in the district are New Castle and Glenwood Springs, so Im pretty familiar with the district and what people think is important, White said. What is different is the current economic issues and how we are going to respond in Colorado to the economic issue that is gripping much of the nation.Brenner kept the lose in perspective.This has been the most interesting year of my life, he said in a prepared statement. I’ve knocked on more than 26,000 doors, learning about the people living in Northwest Colorado and the issues that are important to them. Every minute was worth it.The Steamboat Springs Democrat said he would look for ways to continue to champion the issues that are important to the region.Overall, Brenner lost Garfield County by only 3 votes, with an unofficial count of 9,554 for White and 9,551 for Brenner.Contact John Gardner: 384-9114jgardner@postindependent.com


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.