After Darryl Glenn became the GOP’s U.S. Senate candidate in Colorado, he distributed a fundraising solicitation titled “Black conservative under attack,” which demonized “white liberals” and promises to beat his Democratic opponent “like a drum.”
Glenn pulled off an upset victory in the Centennial State’s Republican primary on Tuesday with the help of endorsements from Tea Party darlings Sarah Palin and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
“I am the Democratic Party’s absolutely worst nightmare,” Glenn wrote Wednesday. “Why is that? Well, you see, I am a black conservative Republican running against one of the most vulnerable Democrats in America in 2016.”
Glenn’s pitch argued that “white liberals have profited while the black community has been left behind” and derides “so-called ‘black leaders’ like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.” His animosity for “white liberals” helped spark his interest in running for the Senate seat, he noted.
“I’m sick of hearing white liberals claim that if you call them out for their failed liberal programs, you’re a racist,” Glenn wrote. “It makes my blood boil — which is part of why I am running.”
Glenn’s email includes two color photos of him and a post-postscript once again mentioning his race.
“P.P.S. I am a black conservative Republican running in the biggest Senate race in America this year — the NUMBER ONE chance for a Republican to defeat a Democrat,” Glenn wrote. “I need your help.”
Glenn’s personal story has many noteworthy details. He is an Air Force veteran and El Paso County commissioner who won his race with an all-volunteer staff against better-funded opponents, as the Denver Post noted.
But Glenn’s focus on race is coupled with a desire to be politically incorrect — his solicitation mentioned “radical Islam” and said “I’m willing to say it even if our president will not” — which likely appeals to Donald Trump supporters in the 2016 election season.
It’s unclear whether Glenn can ride Trump’s coattails in November, but Colorado will certainly play a key role in determining the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.
