LISA YOUNG: Alex Kelloff, Democrat, who is running for Colorado's 3rd congressional district. Welcome to KVNF and thank you for joining me today.
ALEX KELLOFF: Thank you, Lisa. Good to be with you.
CAMPAIGN:
YOUNG: Alex, you began your campaign just about a year ago and I'm curious as to what you've learned in the last year about CD3 that you didn't know when you first began campaigning.
KELLOFF: Yeah, so thanks. You're right. We started almost a year ago now and the reason we started so early was I've never been involved in politics. So I felt it incumbent upon me to start early, learn from, listen to the constituents of the district.
This is obviously one of the largest congressional districts in the country, 53,000 square miles, 27 counties. And I set a goal for myself to visit all 27 counties before the end of 2025 and we did that. And what I've learned truly, and you think it's obvious when you start the race, but then you learn later on, maybe not so obvious, that rural districts like ours in CD3 do have interests and issues that are specific to rural areas of the United States and to Colorado.
While sure, we share a lot of similar aspects with other districts across the country, this is a rural district and things like rural hospitals are critically important. And so what I've learned is that rural districts like ours do have needs and requirements and necessities that are different from the rest of the country. And therefore, we need elected representatives in Washington that truly will represent the rural interests that we have here.
WHAT CONSTIUENTS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT:
YOUNG: You have visited all 27 counties. Tell me a little bit about the concerns that you're hearing in the district at this time and what are the major issues that you feel do need to be addressed?
KELLOFF: Clearly, cost of living is out of control. And I think, you know, I think we see that across the country.
Specific to here, what I hear most about is cost of health care, cost of affordability of health care, access to affordable health care, access to health care, because as we've seen with cuts that have come from the one big beautiful bill, cutting Medicaid in particular, that disproportionately hits our rural hospitals.
So when you look at rural hospitals in this district, they rely on Medicaid somewhere between 60 and 80 percent, sometimes upwards of 90 percent of their budgets rely on Medicaid funding. And so through the cuts under the one big beautiful bill, as well as the premium tax credits being sunsetted and not being extended, that puts our rural hospitals at risk.
That makes health care out of reach for many. So I hear from many people as I'm traveling around this district that they've gone without health care, that they're no longer insured because they can't afford insurance. So that's that's sort of priority number one.
But then you look at the effects that tariffs have had for our ag industry, fertilizer, parts, diesel fuel, obviously with the war in Iran, gas prices are up, housing's expensive. So affordability, cost of living is the number one issue I hear.
CHALLENGER DWAYNE ROMERO:
YOUNG: Dwayne Romero is a late comer to the Democratic primary. What are your thoughts on him as a candidate and how do you differ from him?
KELLOFF: Well, you're correct. He got in five hours before the deadline to run. And as we talked earlier, I've been at it now for close to a year. And again, I got in early because I wanted to learn from and listen to the constituents. I thought, you know, you need to earn every vote. I don't show up late to work.
And so I was out there earning every vote. I have met with thousands and thousands, probably in excess of 10,000 constituents now, over 130 events. I just don't see, you know, when I when I hear about the negatives and the knock on Jeff Hurd in particular, as I'm meeting both Democrats and Republicans traveling around this district, it's that Jeff Hurd doesn't show up.
He doesn't listen to people. He doesn't meet people where they're at. I see the same for my opponent. He's getting in late. He isn't showing up late. And I just believe it's going to be hard for him to make up ground in three months before the primary.
YOUNG: Romero is said to have the support of Adam Frisch, who ran twice unsuccessfully for CD3, losing narrowly to Lauren Boebert and then to Jeff Hurd. Do you think Frisch's support for Romero will hurt you in the primary? Why or why not?
KELLOFF: Well, I haven't seen that it's helped my opponent. Perhaps the opposite.
I think people did respect Adam for doing the hard work, putting in the miles. He ran twice, as you said. And so I think people respected that. But I think that's why they respect me. And now I'm being seen as the likely contender in the general, because I have put in the miles. I have met with people.
I am out there learning and listening. And I just, again, I don't see in three months how you can cover this massive district and really understand the needs of the people. I'm not sure what my opponent stands for. I respect his background. I respect his military career. And I'll be the first one to say that.
But I don't know what he's running on or what he's running for. Let's talk a little bit about Congressman Jeff Hurd, who is currently serving in CD3 in the Congress.
TRUMP RE-ENDORSES JEFF HURD:
YOUNG: How does the recent endorsement of President Donald Trump change the political dynamics of this race this year? Some say the endorsement will swing Hurd further to the right and make him more committed to the president's agenda. What are your thoughts?
KELLOFF: Well, I think in typical chaotic fashion of this administration and Donald Trump himself, first endorsing, then un-endorsing and re-endorsing has made this a national race. And so I appreciate Donald Trump's ability to make this news headlines, which it did when he re-endorsed Jeff Hurd just a few weeks back.
We had a lot of national press reach out to us, quoted in the New York Times, ABC News, and outlets like that, just because of the national nature of the news making there. I think it will pull Jeff Hurd more to the right, more into the MAGA camp. And so I think, look, I think Jeff Hurd is vulnerable because one, he's aligned himself with very unpopular policies being promulgated by this administration.
I mean, the latest obviously is the Iran war. And I would simply ask people, do you feel better off today than you did when Jeff Hurd was elected about 14 months ago? And the answer I consistently get, almost to a person, is no, we do not.
Cost of living is higher. People are losing their jobs. Young people can't find jobs. So I think people are very disappointed.
And then add on top of that, Jeff Hurd has continued to make promises that he hasn't kept, in addition to not being heard or seen across this massive district. So I think he's very vulnerable there. And I think Donald Trump is just making it easier for us to prosecute our case about why this seat should be flipped November 3rd.
YOUNG: Can you talk a little bit about recent policy? You know, you did talk about the Iran war, but here in CD3, what recent policy or action by Jeff Hurd do you feel most concerned about or disapprove of or have a different perspective on if you were to be our congressman?
KELLOFF: Sure. So when he was running in the 2024 general election, he made promises that he wouldn't support legislation that would cut Medicaid. Well, he did just that with his vote for the one big beautiful bill.
So again, empty promises, not living up to the promises he made. I think also most people don't know this, but Jeff Hurd's first piece of legislation that he proposed was took office was called the Productive Public Lands Act. And when you look at that, it's essentially Project 2025 language that would sell off and lease off our public lands, which are critically important to this district.
Now, thankfully, that hasn't made it through the House committees, but it was essentially the framework that was tried to be included in the one big beautiful bill that received so much pushback from Democrats, but even more so Republicans, that those public land issues were taken out of the one big beautiful bill.
But I want people to know that in the background, the Republicans have continued to push the leasing off and the selling off of our public lands, of which Jeff Hurd tries to walk the fine line that he's not for that. But of course, his Productive Public Lands Act legislation that he proposed was to do just that.
So I think those are two specific things. I think people feel that in their everyday lives. Back to what we were talking about healthcare.
I spoke with a woman recently in Montezuma County who is paying $400 a month for health insurance already. And then once the premium tax credits were not extended, which they could have been under the one big beautiful bill, but they were not, this woman now would be paying $2,000 a month. So five times what she was paying before.
She can't afford that. She's now without health insurance, as is her family.
PRIORITIES FOR ALL AMERICANS:
YOUNG: From a previous interview that I conducted with you when you're in Delta about a year ago at Fuel Coffee, you are really super hyper-focused on CD3 issues.
However, if you're elected to Congress, you will be called upon to make decisions that will affect all Americans. I'd like for you to talk to us today about some of the current issues that are taking place that you're most concerned about and how you plan to govern at a national level.
KELLOFF: Sure. So I'm very focused on, and again, it's part and parcel of this district. There aren't a lot of large employers in CD3. I mean, there are some, and they would be concentrated in places like Pueblo and Grand Junction in particular, and some in Montrose and Durango.
Most of the businesses though are small businesses. And I think that there are a number of large companies in those countries who have really strangled out competition. And I think what we need to do is get back to incentivizing entrepreneurship and small business formation that in my view is a national issue, but would very much benefit this congressional district, CD3.
So how do we do that? I think we need to streamline regulations. I think historically, even through, say, going back to Obama's presidency, there are a number of smart things that were put forth as to how we could streamline regulations. I think at a national level, we need to look at that.
I think we need to reform our tax code. I think people need to pay their fair share. We need to close loopholes.
We shouldn't cap Social Security. So there are a number of things that I think will benefit the country as a whole, but hopefully disproportionately benefit CD3 here. So it's really focused on creating good jobs by incentivizing small business formation, you know, tackling, removing unlawful tariffs that are just a tax on the American people and are driving up costs, and end these needless and unnecessarily wars of choice that are now driving up gasoline prices as well as other inflation across the country.
So these are national issues I would focus on tackling. And just back to just somewhat specific to the district is we need to uphold the rule of law, right? No more unlawful illegal ice actions. But again, that would benefit the country overall.
And we need to protect our public lands. They're called public lands for a reason. We the people own those lands. They are owned by the public, not just, you know, the public lands in CD3. They're owned by all Americans. And we need to ensure that the drought is real.
Here we see every day in the district, we've had the worst winter on record with respect to snowpack since we've been tracking that. And we all know how critical water is in this district in particular, but water is important across the country as well. So we need to focus on ensuring our water space here and is protected for our ag industries as well as outdoor recreation.
DEMOCRATS WANT A FIGHTER:
YOUNG: Alex, in preparation for today's interview, I've been speaking to some of the Democrats here in our county, some of the leadership and just you know, kind of have my ear to the ground, so to speak about this particular race. And I'm hearing primarily from folks now that you have a primary contender in Dwayne Romero, they say they are looking for a fighter. They want someone who's going to take those gloves off when they get to Washington and fight the democratic way.
My question, my final question for you today is, are you that candidate?
KELLOFF: I am that candidate. Exactly. As you just said, having been at it now for almost a year, I've been putting in the hard work. I've done this a hundred percent of my time. I'm not getting paid to do this. I'm not paying myself through the funds that we raise.
So I've been putting in the hard work and I've promised those voters that I've met that I'll continue to do the hard work going forward. Again, I don't show up late to work. I do the hard work and that's what I'm going to continue to do.
And I think I am the fighter. I think when you jump in five hours before the deadline, that's just a reflection of you're not, you're not willing to put in the hard work. You're not willing to go to Washington, D.C. and fight.
I've been doing it for 12 months. If I'm lucky enough to get elected, I'll do it for the two year term and well beyond that when we continue to hold the seat. And I believe that I'm the candidate to take on Jeff Hurd in the primary. He's not showing up. He's not listening. Neither is my opponent.
And I think that's the work one needs to do to affect change in Washington, D.C. I'm doing the work and we're going to continue to do it.
YOUNG: Alex Kelloff, Democratic candidate for Colorado's third congressional district. Thank you for joining KVNF today.
KELLOFF: Thank you so much, Lisa. Nice to be with you.
EDITORIAL NOTE: This interview was conducted prior to the announcement that Rep. Ron Hanks will be facing Congressman Jeff Hurd in the Republican Primary.
