Republican politician and candidate for the Colorado Senate election, Joe O’Dea made headlines on Friday night, October 28, during the final debate with incumbent Senator Michael Bennet at Fort Collins. The debate was televised as O’Dea accused the Democrats of the rising inflation and spoke about gun control, abortion and other issues.

The Republican candidate distanced himself from former US President Donald Trump in the debate. He also launched a scathing attack on the incumbent Senator for the rise in inflation and had different opinions from Bennet on immigration into the United States.

Also Read: Colorado Senate debate: Michael Bennet, Joe O’Dea spar on abortion, crime and inflation

Who is Joe O’Dea?

Joseph Matthew O’Dea is the Republican candidate for the 2022 US Senate election in Colorado. He is also a first-time nominee and is also the founder and CEO of a construction company in Colorado.

He was born in 1961 in Colorado and completed his education at Colorado State University. O’Dea beat Ron Hanks in the Republican primary on June 28, 2022. He has often referred to himself as “a Republican Joe Manchin” and maintained that he remains interested in working with people from both sides.

The GOP candidate raised $2 million for his US Senate election campaign by July 2022. However, it is believed that half of the total contributions came from himself.

He accumulated 319,315 votes in the Republican primary, which was 54.6% of the total votes. Meanwhile, his opponent Ron Hanks received 265, 532 votes in the election, accumulating 45.4% of the total votes.

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While O’Dea tried to distance himself from former US President Donald Trump, despite voting for him in the past, he was criticised by the latter recently. “A BIG MISTAKE!” Trump wrote on Truth Social after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis endorsed the Republican nominee’s candidature.

O’Dea is also one of the few Republican politicians who have said that he supports abortion in particular cases. He has also said that we will not be backing Trump if the former US President decides to contest in the presidential elections in 2024.