I'm Joe O'Dea: This is why I want Colorado's vote in the midterm election

The border is overrun, and President Joe Biden does not care. Career politicians like Sen. Michael Bennet have no solutions. The politicians have failed America. Since Joe Biden and Michael Bennet have ignored this historic crisis, I traveled to the border this week to get firsthand insight so we can finally address this crisis in Congress.

It should not be controversial to say Biden’s open border is the reason illicit fentanyl is in our communities, killing Americans. Here in Colorado, the cartels are moving fentanyl right up I-25, leading to a nearly 70 percent increase in overdoses from 2020 to 2021. 

If President Biden’s yes man, Michael Bennet, bothered to speak with Colorado law enforcement they would tell him they cannot keep up with this flood of fentanyl. Just this summer, state and federal authorities made one of the biggest drug busts in Colorado history, the majority of which was illicit fentanyl. Our cops deserve our praise, but it’s not enough. We need a national solution to choke off the supply.

It should not be controversial to say our border is not secure. When you have 2.4 million migrant encounters over the last year – a record – our border is not secure. Weak leaders and a broken system have directly contributed to this moment.

FOX NEWS POLL: POLARIZATION DEFINES THE MIDTERM ELECTION

Biden doesn’t want to talk about this crisis, which is why this administration released the latest batch of stunning illegal immigration figures in the middle of the night last Friday. However, No Friday evening news dump can hide the chaos at the southern border. 

Our national security is being threatened. We’ve seen 98 known or suspected terrorists arrested at the southern border in the last year. This is a record, and it’s nearly four times the previous five years combined. 

Much has been made of Governor Ron DeSantis’ move to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. His action was called cruel. No, what’s cruel is allowing the cartels to run our southern border and torture innocent migrants while flooding our nation with fentanyl that is killing our kids. 

Governor DeSantis’ action wasn’t cruel, it was a plea for help, but Joe Biden and Michael Bennet won’t answer the call.

A SIMPLE GUIDE TO MIDTERM ELECTIONS, HOW THEY AFFECT THE PRESIDENCY, AND MORE

Every state is a border state. The border has become a symbol of failure to solve our nation’s challenges. My race for U.S. Senate is a referendum on Washington’s inaction—on Joe Biden’s failures and Michael Bennet’s irrelevance. 

Here’s one idea with so much common sense the politicians in D.C. wouldn’t know how to react. Instead of spending $80 billion turning the IRS into the fourth branch of government—let’s hire more border agents, secure the border, and then use the rest of the money for state and local grants for 100,000 new cops.

If you want to build a wall—hire a contractor. If you want more talking—hire a go-along, get-along politician like Michael Bennet.

I’ve never run for office before. I was adopted at birth by a Denver cop—I respect the men and women who defend our communities. I got into trouble in public school, so I got yanked out and put in a Catholic school where I washed dishes to pay for tuition. After high school I became a union carpenter before going to college to get my construction management degree. I dropped out a few credits short and started a company that today employs 300 Coloradans. 

I know what it’s like to work—that’s the problem with Washington, D.C., far too many have never had to work a hard day in their lives. 

When I get to the Senate, I’m going to secure the border and fix our immigration system. I don’t care about being politically correct, I care about doing the job. America needs comprehensive immigration reform. 

WHY BORDER ISSUES WILL PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THIS YEAR'S MIDTERMS

When the Senate is closely divided, every Senator has tremendous leverage, and I’ll use my leverage to drive a straightforward two-part solution: secure the border, hire more border agents, a massive commitment to stopping the flow of fentanyl at the source and securing our communities by hiring more state and local police. I’d also support citizenship for the kids, the Dreamers who are here in the U.S. through no fault of their own.

Here's my other promise: when either party needs my vote, I won’t hesitate to hold out and shut the Senate down to build the wall, secure the border, fund this massive investment for state and local police, and protect the Dreamers.

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We don’t just need to build a wall – we need to build an immigration system for the future. That’s why we must find a pathway to citizenship for our Dreamers and streamline our immigration process. It's time to fix our broken system so that those who have waited in line and played by the rules can rightfully become American citizens.

President Biden and Michael Bennet have failed us. This poison is killing our kids and just last year we saw nearly 1,900 Coloradans lose their lives to drug overdose. I don’t know a family that hasn’t been impacted in some way. It’s heartbreaking. 

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I do not have time for weak politicians who talk. It’s time for action. 

Fox News Digital has also invited Sen. Michael Bennet to submit an oped detailing why voters should re-elect him to the U.S. Senate.