Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) has taken flack from Republicans and editorial boards for, in their eyes, making his campaign all about women’s issues. The TV ad deluge has gotten so intense that he’s picked up the moniker “Mark Uterus.” But now he is getting it openly from his own supporters, too.
The Guardian reported on Monday on a campaign event over the weekend during which Udall was heckled by a Democratic donor on the topic.
“And by the way, I’m proud to stand with Colorado’s women,” Udall said at a Sunday campaign rally. “I’m proud to stand for reproductive freedom.”
“That’s not the only thing you stand for! Jesus Christ!” a voice from the crowd replied.
“I’m sorry?” Udall said.
“That’s not the only thing you stand for!” said the heckler, identified by The Guardian as Leo Beserra, 73, a Wall Street millionaire who is a big financial backer of Colorado Democrats.
Approached by the newspaper after the incident, Beserra sounded off on his displeasure about the Udall campaign’s strategy.
“Who is running the worst campaign? Him. Because fucking abortion is all he talks about,” he said. “He should not talk about it any more whatsoever. There are so many other issues.”
Beserra also dismissed the notion that Democrats were re-creating a strategy that had worked for Sen. Michael Bennet in 2010 and President Barack Obama in 2012.
“Two years ago it might have made sense,” he said. “But didn’t they get an inkling that it wasn’t working [this year]?”
Heading into Election Day, Udall trails Gardner, 46.7 percent to 44.4 percent, according to TPM’s PollTracker average.
