NPR

As Republicans struggle in some close Senate races, they look to Colorado for an upset

Republican Joe O'Dea is pitching himself as independent-minded in his campaign against Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet. But on the key issue of abortion, Democrats say he's out of step with the state.

Democrats have been feeling more optimistic about their prospects in this fall's midterm elections lately, but Republicans are looking to the Rocky Mountains to pull an upset in their campaign to flip control of the Senate.

GOP leaders hope their nominee in Colorado — construction company CEO Joe O'Dea — can flip the blue seat red. He's a rare Republican who affirms that President Biden won the 2020 election, and thinks someone other than Donald Trump should lead the party in 2024.

"I'm going to campaign for somebody else and we're going to move the country forward, and that's where I've been," O'Dea said, mentioning Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as alternatives to Trump.

Of the roughly dozen competitive Senate races this election cycle, O'Dea is the one Republican candidate not endorsed by Trump. In the primary, he defeated right-wing

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