Republican businessman Joe Coors Jr. has formally launched his bid to unseat Golden Democrat Ed Perlmutter in Colorado’s 7th Congressional district.
"Opportunity begins with fixing the economy," said Coors, addressing supporters as he kicked off his campaign at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood Tuesday.
Coors is the great grandson of Coors Brewing Company founder Adolph Coors, and older brother of Pete Coors, who lost to Democrat Ken Salazar in a 2004 Senate race.
The 69 year old Joe Coors Jr. has spent most of his life out of politics, most recently as CEO of an off-shoot of the family’s beer company that sells ceramics.
In an interview after his announcement, Coors said the poor economy motivated him to get in the race.
"I’m so frustrated with what’s going on in Washington DC, with more socialism, more totalitarianism, the whole energy policy, just a whole bunch of stuff and I said, 'I gotta go in there and make a difference,'" he said.
Democrats wasted no time blasting Coors’s bid, saying he’s out of touch with working class voters. The race for the 7th Congressional district is typically one of the state’s more hotly contested, lately it’s swung Democrat.
Congressman Perlmutter has held the seat since 2007.
