Colorado State Sen. Laura Woods (R-Arvada) has forgiven Trump for his comments about sexually assaulting women, according to an Associated Press story Monday, raising more questions about the impact of Trump's candidacy on Woods' state senate race that will likely determine whether Democrats flip Colorado's legislature in November.
Woods has made no secret of her longstanding support for Trump, calling him the "people's candidate," but her comments to the AP go further in explaining why she's sticking with Trump: She does not believe she'll win her district unless Trump carries it.
Here's what Woods told the AP's David A. Lieb:
Woods says a Democratic-backed political group has targeted her in automated phone calls linking her to Trump. But Woods, a self-described Christian conservative, says she has forgiven Trump for his sexual comments and will not abandon him.
"I think if Donald Trump wins my district, I'm likely to," Wood said. "And if Hillary Clinton wins my district, my opponent is likely to win."
The comments could explain why Woods turned to Twitter to defend Trump after the Hollywood Access Video was released, retweeting a Breitbart story headlined, "Criminal Aliens Sexually Assault 70,000 American Women -- But Paul Ryan Targets Trump."
On the radio Tuesday morning, Woods said she feels as if her "religious freedom" is under attack by those who question her ongoing support of Trump.
"I'm being called out because I've chosen to forgive Donald Trump's comments [about sexually assaulting women] and support him continually," Woods told KHOW 630 AM's Ross Kaminsky. "So, that's an attack on religious freedom."
Kaminsky did not ask why Woods thinks criticism of her support of trump amounts to an attack on her religious freedom.
Woods' decision to openly forgive Trump, at least for his comments and possibly for his actual alleged sexual assaults, contrasts with other Colorado Republicans who openly declared after the release of the video that they will not vote for the mogul.
It makes for yet another interesting angle on Woods' all-important state senate 19 race, which has yet to attract the attention it deserves from legacy media outlets.