Ron Hanks
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Loren Lowell "Ron" Hanks is an American politician who served in the
Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distri ...
from 2021 to early 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Hanks represented District 60. Hanks generated controversy on numerous occasions, most notably for his participation in the
2021 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...
. Hanks ran for the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
in a bid to challenge
Michael Bennet Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Colorado, a seat he has held sinc ...
in
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
but lost in the primary. He was a candidate for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District in 2024 but was defeated in the Republican primary.


Background

Hanks served for 32 years (active and reserve) in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
. He lives in Cañon City,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
and owns a company called The Western Surveyor.


Political career

In 2010, Hanks ran unsuccessfully for Congress in , located in
Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
. Hanks was later elected to the
Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distri ...
in the 2020 general election. In the June 2020 Republican House District 60 primary, he ran unopposed. In the 2020 general election, Hanks won 62.41% of the total votes cast. After
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
defeated
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
in the 2020 presidential election, Hanks questioned the election results and promoted false claims of voter fraud. In April 2021, Hanks was criticized for joking about
lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...
and claiming the
Three-Fifths Compromise The Three-fifths Compromise, also known as the Constitutional Compromise of 1787, was an agreement reached during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention over the inclusion of slaves in counting a state's total population. This count ...
that designated a slave as three-fifths of a person "was not impugning anybody’s humanity." Hanks claimed his statements were manipulated to make a point he wasn't making. In May 2021, Hanks threatened to assault Colorado House Minority Leader and fellow Republican Hugh McKean over a legislative disagreement. In June 2021, Hanks visited Arizona to observe the controversial Arizona audit. The next month, Hanks participated in a conference hosted by MyPillow CEO
Mike Lindell Michael James Lindell ( ; born June 28, 1961), also known as the My Pillow Guy and Mike Pillow, is an American businessman, political activist, and conspiracy theorist. He is the founder and CEO of My Pillow, a pillow, bedding, and slipper man ...
, known for promoting false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. In August 2021, Hanks attended a rally in Mesa County to support Tina Peters, a local Republican county clerk who was affiliated with groups promoting false claims of election fraud and was later arrested and indicted for seven felony charges related to election tampering and misconduct. Hanks said that the clerk was a "gold star mom and public servant. There is no evidence she did anything wrong". Hanks also accused the investigation of the clerk's office of being a "false-flag operation" despite a lack of evidence or substantiation of these claims. On October 1, 2021, Hanks filed to run for the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
in a bid to challenge
Michael Bennet Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Colorado, a seat he has held sinc ...
in
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
. However, in the 2022 Republican
primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...
for
United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
from Colorado, Joe O'Dea defeated Hanks and one write-in candidate. In December 2023, Hanks announced that he would run in
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
for the open race in Colorado's 3rd congressional district after incumbent Congresswoman Lauren Boebert announced her plans to move and run in the open 4th district. Hanks was defeated in the Republican primary.


2021 U.S. Capitol attack

Hanks participated in the January 6, 2021, attack on the
United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
, saying that "people had already entered the building" by the time he arrived at a designated meeting area. In a fundraising newsletter, Hanks continued to promote conspiracy theories regarding the certification of the 2020 election. He said of the crowd, "It seems more likely that there were people who intended to blend in to the group, then create mayhem and blame it on Trump supporters." He said, "This isn't just an economic system or policy priorities we are arguing about. There is a nuclear and national security aspect to this election that must not fall into the hands of foreign enemies or their domestic agents." Such claims have been debunked by multiple sources.


References


External links


Legislative websiteCampaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanks, Ron Candidates in the 2022 United States Senate elections Protesters in or near the January 6 United States Capitol attack Living people Republican Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives People from Fremont County, Colorado Year of birth missing (living people) Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections 21st-century members of the Colorado General Assembly