Weld DA Buck says he’ll vote against secession

Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, says he will vote against a proposal for his county and 10 others to secede from Colorado.

Buck told The Denver Post Wednesday it makes more sense to defeat politicians who he said are out of touch and have left some northern Colorado residents feeling ignored.

Voters in the 11 counties will cast ballots Tuesday on whether their county commissioners should pursue seceding from Colorado and forming a new state.

The vote is only an initial step. Secession eventually would need congressional approval. No state has successfully broken off since West Virginia in 1863.

Buck is one of at least three Republicans seeking their party’s nomination to oppose Democratic Sen. Mark Udall in 2014.