Brittanie Bonanzino
AVP, Communications
Washington
Alyse Knudsen
Manager, Communications
Oregon
Recent Announcements Bring Significant Changes to Colorado’s Federal Delegation
Posted by Ryan Fitzgerald on January 8, 2024
Over the past several weeks, we have observed several announcements that will bring significant changes to the makeup of the Colorado Congressional delegation at the end of this year.
In early November, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO-4) announced his plans to retire from Congress and not seek re-election in the upcoming 2024 election, after serving since 2015. This was not an entirely unexpected announcement, as the GoWest Advocacy Team had heard rumors about this possibility several months earlier in 2023.
Over the Holidays, the Buck announcement continued to have ripple effects, when current 3rd District Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO) made the announcement that should not seek re-election in her current district, but would instead seek to be elected to the seat being vacated by Rep. Buck. Although not currently residing in the 4th Congressional District, Boebert would be moving into a traditionally more conservative district than her current one, but still facing a tough fight from journeyman lawmakers and Republican leaders in what currently might amount to a 7-10 person primary contest.
This past Saturday, the remaining Republican member of the Colorado delegation, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO-5), announced he would also retire following the conclusion of the 118th Congress. This announcement surprised many members of the Colorado Republican elite and potential candidates who have been jockeying to determine who will seek out and win the Republican primary in all three districts.
With Rep. Lamborn’s announcement several Colorado leaders have already started making exploratory comments about their interest or outright announced their intention to seek the 5th District seat being vacated by the nine-term Congressman from Colorado Springs.
With these recent announcements, here are the potential ballots for all three seats as they currently sit, although we have several months to see other announcements and adjustments with the June primary several months away.
District 3:
| Democratic Primary | |
| Anna Stout (D) | Current Mayor of Grand Junction, CO |
| Adam Frisch (D) | Businessman and Former Aspen City Councilman |
| Republican Primary | |
| Russ Andrews (R) | Financial Advisor |
| Ron Hanks (R) | Former State Legislator |
| Jeff Hurd (R) | Attorney from Grand Junction |
District 4:
| Democratic Primary | |
| Karen Breslin | Attorney, Professor and Journalist |
| Ike McCorkle | Retired Marine Corp Officer |
| John Padora | Manufacturing Engineer & Addiction-recovery Advocate |
| Republican Primary | |
| Mariel Bailey | Small Business Owner / Former Trump Administration Staff Member |
| Rep. Lauren Boebert | Current U.S. Congresswoman from District 3 |
|
Deborah Flora |
Conservative Talk Radio Show Host |
|
Ted Harvey |
Former State Senator from Highlands Ranch |
|
Richard Holtorf |
Current State Representative from Akron / Rancher |
|
Trent Leisy |
Agri-Business Owner |
|
Mike Lynch |
Current Minority Leader of the House / Rancher |
|
Jerry Sonnenberg |
Former State Senator and Current Logan County Commissioner |
District 5:
| Republican Primary – Already Announced | |
| Dave Williams | Current chair of the Colorado Republican Party and a former legislator |
| Considering a Run After Lamborn Announcement | |
| Eli Bremer | Former Olympian/Former U.S. Senate candidate |
| Jeff Crank | Radio Host/Americans for Prosperity Regional Director |
| Bob Gardner | State Senator from Colorado Springs |
| Paul Lundeen | State Senate Minority Leader from Monument |
| Wayne Williams | Former Colorado Secretary of State / Former Colorado Springs City Councilman |
| Stan VanderWerf | Current El Paso County Commissioner |
With Rep. Lamborn’s announcement that increases the number to nearly 40 members of the U.S. House that have announced they will not seek re-election or will resign before the end of 2024. Currently, Democrats are slightly in the lead of Republicans who have announced their retirements; however, the vast majority of the Democrats that have made their retirement announcement are running for higher office, like the U.S. Senate or Governor of their State. In the Republican arena, there are many more individuals who have made the decision to retire from Congress outright.
As we head into a pivotal election season, the GoWest Advocacy Team will keep you closely informed about what we are hearing about movements within each of these races and our districts across all 6 states. We will spend time getting to know the front runners in each of the races to determine who our credit union supporters are, and who may not be the best advocates for our movement, as they seek election in these important positions in Government.
Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Colorado Advocacy, Federal Advocacy.
