Many of U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn’s campaigns been cutthroat affairs. He’s had to fend off a number of his fellow Republicans over the years, and beat out five others in a bloody race when he first won his congressional seat in 2006.He’s dealing with yet another primary this year and he says this one isn’t that bad.“It’s about in the middle,” said Lamborn, a Colorado Springs resident who represents Colorado’s 5th Congressional District. “I’ve had a lot tougher races, and I’ve had a lot easier races.”His middle-of-the-road opponent is political novice Robert Blaha, a wealthy businessman who co-founded Integrity Bank & Trust. He jumped into the GOP primary in January.Blaha has been picking fights, while Lamborn has tried to keep his hands clean.“He’s avoided debates, he’s avoided answering questions about results,” Blaha said Friday.One of Blaha’s refrains has been “0 for 37,” referring to the fact that none of the 37 bills on which Lamborn has been the prime sponsor have been signed into law. Blaha uses that tagline on campaign literature, in interviews, and in radio ads. He even put up an attack Web site, www.therealdouglamborn.com, with the 0-for-37 slogan front and center.Lamborn, however, says Blaha is distorting his time in the House, and that he’s co-sponsored plenty of successful bills and helped defeat plenty of bad measures. Lamborn described himself a “strong voice” for conservatives in Congress, and said he has six years of votes to stand on.“I feel really good about the support I’m getting. People love having a strong conservative in Congress, as opposed to someone with no real record,” Lamborn said. “I don’t want to dignify his statements if I don’t need to.”The congressman has avoided talking about his opponent whenever possible, and has made numerous speeches about Blaha without even saying his name, only referring to his “opponent.”More than one longtime politico has said that’s the way for Lamborn to go — keep Blaha’s profile as low as possible and rely on name recognition. But Lamborn has taken his shots.When Blaha made a misstep at a candidate forum while talking about gun rights, Lamborn’s campaign pounced. The campaign said he was ignorant of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on the 2nd Amendment, the 2008 D.C. v. Heller case that affirmed an individual’s right to own firearms in a “federal enclave,” such as Washington, D.C.“Does Blaha oppose our Second Amendment rights? We have no way of knowing,” read a press release Lamborn’s campaign issued this month. “Do you want to send someone to Washington who can’t admit he does not know what he is talking about?”Blaha’s campaign responded that he’s had a concealed carry permit for years, and is a strong supporter of 2nd Amendment rights.Lamborn has also accused Blaha of trying to buy his way through the primary, after quarterly Federal Election Commission reports in April revealed that Blaha loaned $375,000 to his own campaign.

Lamborn has also questioned Blaha’s decision to petition onto the ballot, instead of facing GOP loyalists at the district assembly.“I don’t think the people of Colorado can be bought so easily,” Lamborn said.Blaha replied that politics is just like any other business — one needs startup capital in order to get going. And he said his support has been demonstrated by both the $60,000 in individual donations raised between January and March, and by the 1,900 signatures he gathered to get on the primary ballot.In the same time period, Lamborn raised $35,000 in individual contributions and $96,000 from political action committees.“Congressman Lamborn spends the majority of his time trying to talk about why he’s recognized by a bunch of different groups and bragging about all the people who think he’s conservative,” Blaha said.Blaha has complained more than once that Lamborn is breaking House of Representatives ethics rules by using government resources to campaign.In January, Blaha charged that Lamborn billed the House for campaign flyers sent to district residents. He made similar accusations in March and early April, and even filed a complaint with a House oversight commission.Recently, the complaint was dismissed, but Blaha tried to use the commission’s decision against Lamborn. He said Lamborn and the commission members are all part of a political establishment that protects its own.“Most voting people would say that it’s not what’s illegal in Washington, it’s what’s legal that needs to be carefully scrutinized,” Blaha said.The primary election is June 26, and mail ballots are going out in El Paso County on June 4.—Contact John Schroyer: 476-4825Twitter @JohnschroyerFacebook Gazette John Schroyer

Doug Lamborn Photo by Gazette File