‘The candidate for fiscal conservatives:’ Meet the Fort Collins Republican running for president

UPDATE, Oct. 6, 2023: Steve Laffey ended his campaign for president. He also resigned from the Republican Party, saying it has moved toward authoritarianism and away from core principles of freedom and economic growth.

ORIGINAL STORY: In mid-January, Fort Collins resident Steve Laffey announced he would be running for president of the United States in 2024 as a Republican, taking on former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and whoever else throws their name in the ring. But for now, it’s Haley, Trump and Laffey.

Laffey, who has lived in Fort Collins for almost 13 years, told the Coloradoan he’s running for president because he is capable of fixing America, something neither major political party has committed to thus far, and believes he has a strategy voters want to support.

"I am the candidate for fiscal conservatives," he said. "I really don't have time for the nonsense anymore, I never really did .... I just basically hit you over the head with ideas and I follow through and I keep going. And I've been somewhat successful."

So, we sat down to talk with Laffey about his goals, campaign and why he thinks he can be the next president.

Laffey comes from business, but has a political background

Steve Laffey isn’t a stranger to politics, though it’s not where he started. After attending Bowdoin College and then getting his MBA from Harvard, Laffey moved to Tennessee and worked for a wealth management firm where he eventually became the chief operating officer.

But in the early 2000s Laffey said he “felt this real calling to go to Cranston,” where he was from, and run for mayor to help the Rhode Island city out of its financial struggles. Cranston was nearly bankrupt, he said, leading Laffey to successfully run on a platform highlighting his financial expertise.

From there, he continued on to an unsuccessful senate bid in Rhode Island and another unsuccessful bid in Colorado, where he ran for the U.S. House seat in the 4th Congressional District but was beaten by GOP Rep. Ken Buck.

When asked how his past campaigns will help this one, Laffey said he’ll be comfortable because he’s “been through this stuff” and isn’t worried about people attacking him or not receiving support from his party.

“The day Donald Trump attacks me, if he does, is a really good problem, because then I am the breakthrough candidate,” he said.

Laffey told the Coloradoan that “as a business person, as a financial expert, (he) can find the best plan.” He said that unlike the other candidates who are politicians and don’t understand the inner workings of finance and debt and the Federal Reserve, he is prepared to tackle the issues head-on with his relevant knowledge.

‘My qualifications are better, my name recognition is lower’

Though he's held elected office before, Laffey is realistic about the uphill battle he faces for the presidency. But he's confident that if people resonate with his message, his name recognition will grow and his chances will increase.

“I'm just the most qualified guy for the times,” he said. Laffey said along with his graduate degree from Harvard, his background includes running a financial company, teaching at the University of Rhode Island (where he said he taught the top finance course), he “saved (his) hometown from bankruptcy” and homeschooled his children.

“What did the other people do?” he asked. “They've been in office a long time? What did they really do?”

“So, my qualifications are better. My name recognition is lower. That's it.” he said. “It's about name recognition now.”

Campaign issues focus on Social Security, stopping trade with China

Laffey said Social Security in America is the “most stark, incredible disaster.” On his campaign site, he said “the system is in grave financial trouble that can no longer be ignored” and recommended the country enact the personal security system method backed by 2016 presidential candidate and economist Larry Kotlikoff.

Laffey recognized the plan won’t please everyone, saying that in it some younger people may get more and middle-aged people may get less — those already receiving benefits are guaranteed them under his plan — but he said it’s important to set the system up for young people who are paying into Social Security and won’t receive benefits.

“If we don't change it, the young people get nothing,” he said.

He is also passionate about stopping the country’s trade operations with China, saying it’s hurt Americans’ wages and “allowed China to build up its military as it works to supplant America as the world's superpower.”

According to his website, Laffey’s other key issues are:

• Fixing the Federal Reserve

• Stopping corruption in federal government

• Making tax code fair and simple

• Fixing the education system

When asked how his time in Fort Collins influenced the focus points of his campaign, Laffey said: “I don't think the people of Fort Collins have the same daily issues, it's a relatively well-run city.”

Even if he loses, Laffey seeks to ‘change the nature of the debate’

When asked about the likelihood of him winning the nation’s top elected office, Laffey bluntly said “I don’t know.”

But even if he doesn’t make it all the way, his one goal is to get far enough to “change the nature of the debate.”

“People in the Republican Party are going to have the questions,” he said. “(Candidates) are going to have to answer questions like the Federal Reserve, and they don't want to, by the way, because nobody in the Republican world, or even Democratic world, wants the Fed to do what I want it to do.”

Laffey said he’s focusing his campaigning efforts in New Hampshire, where the Republicans are expected to hold their first debate in February 2024. He wants to go door-to-door throughout the state sharing his plan and beliefs, and he’s confident that in doing so he’ll garner enough support to end up on the first debate stage.

Once he’s on the debate stage? The plan is to be the mature one in the room.

“There has to be a moment in which people say, ‘You know what, there's the adult in the room,’ ” Laffey said of himself on the stage. “The other people look like little children, they’re talking about the same old stuff.”

Historically, networks hosting the events have been able to set criteria for qualifying debate candidates, and no network has been selected or criteria made public yet.

In 2016, Fox News and Facebook partnered to host the first debate and required that candidates, among other things, had to have placed "in the top 10 of an average of the five most recent national polls, as recognized by FOX News" ahead of the debate.

Molly Bohannon covers city government for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @molboha or contact her at mbohannon@coloradoan.com. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Meet the Fort Collins 'fiscal conservative' running for president