Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Jack Graham said he differs from his conservative primary challengers on social issues, saying he supports the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage and that Roe v. Wade is not a "pivotal issue."
During an interview with Denver radio host Dan Caplis on Tuesday, Graham differed with the host’s socially conservative positions.
"I think abortion is always at the center of that question, abortion and gay marriage," Graham said when asked where he comes down on social issues. "I believe deeply in the sanctity of life, it’s the way I’ve lived my life and raised my family. And equally, I feel strongly that America is the land of individual freedoms and liberties. We get to choose to live our life as we see fit and the government should be involved in our lives as little as possible. And so I do feel strongly that a woman should have the right to choose in the context of abortions."
"I think those same principles apply to gay marriage," he continued. "I just don’t believe that the government [should be] involved in people’s personal lives to that extent. And I know how emotional—it’s a very, very important question. And I know how emotionally sensitive this question is. And for me personally, I’ve made my own choices in that regard, but at the same time, I feel strongly that we need to respect the right of women and people to choose.
Based on his answer, Caplis assumed Graham would support the issue of gay marriage being left for the states to decide and not the Supreme Court, adding the high court "clearly overstepped its bounds" in its ruling last June.
Graham disagreed, and said the gay marriage ruling was correct based on the preamble’s right to "the pursuit of happiness."
"Well, I think it’s a U.S. Constitution issue, Dan," he said. "And I think the U.S. Constitution does grant us the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And the pursuit of happiness in the context of getting to choose to live our lives as we see fit, so long as we’re not stepping on other people’s rights in that process."
"And so I think the U.S. Constitution has been ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court, so I don’t think I’m aligned with you on that one," Graham said.
Graham added that he supports limitations on late-term abortions, and defunding Planned Parenthood as long as they perform abortions.
Graham also said Roe v. Wade is not a "pivotal issue," indicating he would support a Supreme Court nominee that would uphold the landmark abortion decision. He also suggested that the Supreme Court is responsible for "enforcing the laws," rather than interpreting the Constitution.
"Would you vote to approve a Supreme Court nominee who believed that Roe v. Wade was correctly decided?" Caplis asked.
"I don’t think that would be a pivotal issue for me," Graham said. "I think that decision has been decided by the Supreme Court. I’m more interested in a Supreme Court—I want to consider the values of a Supreme Court nominee that he is a strict Constitutionally conservative, conservative Constitutionalist that is not going to be legislating from the Supreme Court, but in fact will be enforcing the laws of our Constitution as they are written today."
He continued: "And if today’s social environment, legal environment, whatever, is bringing a different set of circumstances than those that existed when our forefathers wrote those documents, it doesn’t matter, it’s still his or her responsibility to enforce the Constitution accordingly, and our legislators, our Congress, our Senate, and our House of Representatives, it’s their job to legislate if they choose to change the Constitution, not the job of the Supreme Court."
"I clearly differentiate myself from the others" on social issues, Graham said.
The vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a strict originalist, has been a fierce campaign issue in state and national primaries. Democratic incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet supports President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland. Garland praised the author of the Roe v. Wade decision as a "great gift to the country."
Graham qualified to appear on the Colorado Republican primary ballot Wednesday. The former Colorado State University quarterback and athletic director joins El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn as the first Republicans to make it on the ballot.
Several other candidates are expected to qualify for the June primary by submitting 1,500 signatures from each congressional district in Colorado, including combat veteran Jon Keyser, businessman Robert Blaha, and city councilman Ryan Frazier.
During the interview, Graham also distanced himself from his fellow Republicans in the race on the issue of immigration.
Graham said he is not in favor of deporting illegal immigrants currently in the U.S., saying "we need them for our workforce" and "they need to have health care insurance."
"On immigration I think I bring a much more practical, rational solution to the table, focused on the number one, we must secure our borders, full stop," he said. "But beyond that, there’s 11 million illegal immigrants here today, and we’re not going to deport 11 million people and create a police state in that process. We need them for our workforce, let’s bring some practical, common-sense solutions to the table that do include deep background checks to ensure they’re not terrorists, to ensure they’re not bringing criminality to our country."
UPDATE 4/22 11:45 a.m.: