Cory Gardner
Bio | Garner is a US Senator for the state of Colorado. Previously, he served as a US Representative for Colorado’s fourth congressional district and in the Colorado House of Representatives. |
Status and Position | Former US Senator of Colorado |
Political Party and Jurisdiction | Republican, Colorado |
Elections | Election Jurisdiction | Started Campaign | Campaign Status | Poll Rankings (of the vote) |
| 2020 Senate Election Colorado 1 | Colorado 1 | Yes | Running | 39.0% |
Campaign Financing | Gardner receives a considerable amount of campaign money from big money donors, who use joint fundraising committees to contribute. |
Voting Rights | Gardner has positioned himself as an opponent to expanding voting rights, and has frequently taken to Twitter to critique proposals to grant voting rights to formerly incarcerated people. |
Opinions on Issues
Issues | Stance | Summary |
| Universal Healthcare | Against | Gardner has been an opponent to many Democratic efforts to work towards universal healthcare. Gardner supports repealing the Affordable Care Act. He has also released statements against Medicare-for-All. |
| Socialized Healthcare | Against | Gardner opposes many elements of socialized healthcare, including the Affordable Care Act and Medicare-for-All. |
| Private Healthcare | For | Gardner opposes proposals that would abolish private health insurance. |
| LGBT Rights | Against | Gardner has consistently opposed policies to increase equality between LGBT and non-LGBT people. Gardner emerged as an opponent to marriage equality in 2015, when it was legalized by the Supreme Court. He has received ratings of 12 and 16 percent from the pro-LGBT rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign, and 100% from the anti-LGBT group, the Family Research Council. |
| Taxes | Against | Gardner is a proponent for decreased taxation. Gardner is a supporter of tax cuts, and voted in favor of the 2017 GOP tax cuts. He has spoken against high corporate tax rates, as well as high income tax rates for the middle class. |
| Flat Tax Rate | For | Gardner signed the Contract From America, a grassroots initiative to push for tax reform. One of its clauses called specifically for a flat-rate tax. Gardner is a supporter of tax cuts, and voted in favor of the 2017 GOP tax cuts. He has spoken against high corporate tax rates, as well as high income tax rates for the middle class. |
| Abortion | Against | Gardner is a pro-life candidate that has supported a number of pro-life initiatives. Gardner has a lengthy history of supporting pro-life causes. During his tenure in the Colorado State Legislature, he sponsored legislation that defined life as beginning at conception and banned abortion even in cases of rape and incest. In the past, he has made comments indicating that he would support efforts to ban abortions federally. More recently, he cosponsored legislation to require medical aid be given to fetuses that survive abortion. Pro-choice groups were critical of this legislation, claiming that it pushes the false narratives that a) late-term abortions are performed on otherwise healthy fetuses and b) 'botched' abortions occur much more frequently than statistics would indicate. For these reasons, Gardner received a 0% rating from the Colorado branch of NARAL (a pro-choice organization) and a 100% rating from the National Right to Life Committee. |
| Gun Control | Against | Gardner has stated bluntly that he does not support gun control, and has a legislative history to back this claim up. Following a wave of mass shootings in 2019, Gardner reaffirmed his opposition to gun control and neglected to affirm his support for less controversial forms of legislation such as universal background checks. Gardner has received an A rating from the NRA. The gun-rights organization has also supplied almost $4 million for Gardner's campaign efforts. |
| Assisted Suicide | Unknown | Gardner has not articulated his specific position on this issue, although he represents a state that has legalized doctor-assisted suicide. Following a wave of mass shootings in 2019, Gardner reaffirmed his opposition to gun control and neglected to affirm his support for less controversial forms of legislation such as universal background checks. Gardner has received an A rating from the NRA. The gun-rights organization has also supplied almost $4 million for Gardner's campaign efforts. |
| Government Interference | Against | Gardner is generally more supportive of measures to restrict government interference. He has spoken specifically against federal interference in business sectors. |
| Planned Parenthood | Against | Gardner has voted 10 times to defund Planned Parenthood, as of 2018. |
| Welfare | Against | Gardner has supported a number of measures to reduce federal welfare spending and increase barriers to welfare. Gardner has cosponsored and voted for legislation that would implement work requirements for welfare recipients. |
| Welfare | Against | Gardner is a supporter the personhood initiative, which would criminalize embryonic stem cell research. |
| Death Penalty | For | Gardner has voted against legislation that would abolish the death penalty. In 2009, Gardner voted against a Colorado bill to abolish the death penalty in the state. |
| Mandatory Prison Sentence | Unknown | Gardner has not articulated his position on this issue. |
| Military Spending | For | Gardner has supported legislation to increase defense spending and has been critical of Democratic efforts to reduce the defense budget. |
| War on Terrorism | Unknown | Gardner has not spoken specifically on the War on Terror. |
| Foreign Policy International Interaction | For | Statements on Gardner's website indicate that he supports international cooperation to address foreign policy concerns. Gardner's website calls for increased cooperation with foreign allies and the creation of new strategic partnerships, particularly with Asian nations, in order to address growing international concerns. He cites international terrorism and nuclear proliferation, two issues that will presumably require international cooperation to address. Gardner has also penned an opinion piece expressing his support for NATO. |
| United Nations power | For | Gardner has tweeted in favor of increased action by the United Nations to combat human rights violations. |
| Nationalism | Against | Gardner has spoken harshly against the rise of white nationalism in US politics, and has on several occasions called on President Trump to condemn nationalist sentiments within the Republican Party. |
| Free Markets | For | Gardner is a proponent for free-market policies. Gardner is a supporter of free-markets. He has spoken against policies that he has perceived to be a threat to both American and international free-markets. This includes condemning progressive initiatives such as the Green New Deal as resembling socialism and speaking against protectionist trade measures such as President Trump's use of tariffs. |
| Brexit | For | Gardner was one of 45 Republican senators to pledge support for Brexit in a letter to UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. |
| Affirmative Action | Unknown | Gardner has not articulated a clear position on this topic. |
| Government Spending | Against | Gardner's website highlights his commitment to reducing government spending. |
| Charter Schools | For | Gardner authored sections of the Every Child Achieves Act to include recognition of charter schools. |
| Common Core | Against | Gardner has praised efforts to repeal Common Core standards. Gardner has stated that he does not believe that Congress belongs in the classroom, and has spoken against federal education standards. His website praises efforts to roll back Common Core standards. |
| Clean Energy | For | Gardner is a strong supporter of clean energy initiatives and has received recognition from environmental organizations for his support. Gardner has made statements emphasizing the importance of investing in renewable energy sources such as geothermal, solar, and wind energy. Gardner was one of the senators to introduce the Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act, which would incentivize the development of clean energy and expand access to renewable energy development on public land. Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, an environmental group, recognized Gardner as a 'Clean Energy Champion' in 2019. |
| Religious Freedom | For | Gardner is a believer in religious freedom and has been recognized for his efforts to protect religious freedom in the United States and abroad. Gardner is a strong advocate for religious freedom. He was one of the Senators to introduce the bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2019, which aims to protect religious freedom internationally. Gardner was recognized on the International Religious Freedom scorecard as a notable leader. |
| Separation of Church and State | For | Gardner is a strong supporter of religious freedom, and has seldom advocated for policies that would intersect church and state. |
| Slavery Reparations | Unknown | Gardner has not articulated a clear position on the topic of reparations. |
| Border Control | For | Gardner has supported legislation to increase funding for border security. Gardner has spoken in favor of budgetary action that would increase funding for border security. He voted against legislation to block funding for Trump's border wall. |
| Passenger Profiling | Unknown | Gardner has not spoken specifically on this issue. |
| DACA | For | Gardner has stated that he believes Congress should take action to ensure that DACA recipients are offered a pathway to citizenship. |
| Sanctuary Cities | For | Gardner voted for the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act, which would withhold federal funding from identified sanctuary cities. |
| Legalizing Marijuana | For | Gardner has spoken in favor of his state's legal marijuana industry and has introduced bipartisan legislation, such as the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act, which would ease federal restrictions on marijuana. |
