(Image courtesy of Salena Zito)

YUMA, COLORADO — Dressed in white slacks, a blouse, and an oversized hat—the kind you wear when the sun and heat are insufferable — Diana Bray walks up to U.S. Senator Cory Gardner along Albany Street with a broad smile on her face and a clipboard in her hand.

Like just about everyone in this town, she extends her hand. Then she introduces herself, which is something just about nobody in this town does. That’s because Gardner knows almost all 3,000 people in his hometown.