one candidate and partly due to an article Thompson wrote for Rolling Stone shortly before the election, revealing his strategy. Thompson lost the election with 173 votes to his opponent's 204. In a November 1970 letter to the editor of The Nation, which had run an editorial supporting Aspen's Freak Power Uprising, Thompson stated: "What neither The Times nor The National Observer said, incidentally, is that we ran straight at the bastards with an out-front Mescaline platform." Thompson ultimately took a resigned view of his defeat, telling The New York Times, "If we can't win in Aspen, we can't win anywhere." Related media A documentary film about Hunter S. Thompson's campaign for sheriff called 'Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb' was released December 25, 2020. In July 2021 a film called 'Freak Power: The Battle of Aspen' was released. It was directed by Bobby Kennedy III. References Magazine articles by Hunter S. Thompson Colorado elections 1969 elections in the United States 1970 elections in the United States 1970 documents 1969 United States mayoral elections 1969 Colorado elections Rolling Stone articles Aspen, Colorado Local elections in Colorado