GOP Senate Candidate Vows to ‘Actively Campaign Against’ Donald Trump If He Seeks 2024 GOP Nomination

CNN’s Dana Bash spoke with candidates running for U.S. Senate in Colorado on Sunday and during her interview with GOP nominee Joe O’Dea pushed the Republican on former President Donald Trump’s culpability regarding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“This past week, the January 6 committee held its final hearing before the midterm elections. You have said Donald Trump could have done a lot more to stop January 6, the insurrection, the violent attack on the Capitol from happening. Do you think what happened on January 6 should disqualify him from being president again?” Bash asked.

“Look, I believe that January 6 was a black eye on the country. I’ve been very vocal that I thought he should have done more to keep the violence from heading towards the Capitol,” O’Dea responded, adding:

Anybody that was violent at the Capitol or tore something apart, they should be held accountable. We’ve got processes in place that hold people accountable and we need to move the country forward.

“So if Donald Trump should run again, I’m going to actively I’m going to actively campaign against Donald Trump and make sure that we’ve got four or five really great Republicans right now. Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, they can run and serve for eight years. I’m going to do my job as a U.S. senator to make sure that they have good campaigns in the primary here. So we have a good selection of candidates for 2024,” he concluded.

O’Dea has previously distanced himself from Trump, who is unpopular in Colorado, saying he hopes he does not run for president again.

Bash asked one more question about abortion before bringing on Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) who is leading O’Dea by almost 8 points in the RealClearPolitics average of polls.

Watch the full clip above via CNN