Colorado

Ike McCorkle is challenging the Republican incumbent for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. The single father of three kids believes the people in the district deserve a representative who is dedicated to them, not the elite. In order to get Big Money out of politics, he supports a publicly funded, transparent system of campaign financing and wants to see the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling overturned to limit the influence of special interest groups that are buying much of our governmental leadership.

McCorkle is also an unabashed environmentalist who intends to fight for a Green New Deal not just to address the existential threat of climate change and rapidly transition energy production but to reinvest in rural America and create thousands of good-paying jobs in his district. Other policies he supports are ones that will expand equity and opportunity for everyone, including Medicare for All, tuition-free public college, reducing college debt by imposing a tax on Wall Street speculators, and a universal basic income system.

A retired Marine Corps officer and special operator who served for 18 years, six deployments, and four combat tours, McCorkle seeks to bring dignity and integrity to Congress and restore trust and confidence in government. He is a clear progressive choice who, if elected, plans to bring people with diverse backgrounds and beliefs together to build an American society where we lift each other up so that we all benefit together.

The incumbent he faces is U.S. Sen. Ken Buck, a former prosecutor and district attorney in Weld County who has been in Congress since 2014. His legal career has been marred by numerous ethical scandals, including compromising a case against Republican donors and declining to prosecute a sexual assault, instead blaming the victim. Since he has been in Congress, Buck has toed the party’s extreme right-wing line. He is anti-choice, opposes reasonable gun safety legislation, and has said that being gay is a choice. Buck also voted in favor of the 2017 tax reform bill, which heavily favored the wealthy and corporations while increasing tax burdens on the middle class. 

With all this in mind, Buck must not remain in office. Progressives should cast their vote for McCorkle.

David Torres is the progressive candidate running in Colorado's 5th Congressional District against the far-right conservative incumbent Rep. Doug Lamborn. Torres grew up in Colorado Springs and served in the Air Force Reserves at Petersen Air Force Base. A political newcomer, Torres is focused on helping veterans, reducing gun violence, and making education and health care accessible to all.

Torres' opponent, incumbent Rep. Doug Lamborn, is a reliable vote for the far-right agenda who has recently became ensnared in ethics investigations over his misuse of staff for personal errands and even allowing his son to live rent-free in a U.S. Capitol storage lot. Despite Lamborn's slavish devotion to Donald Trump, Trump chose to move the U.S. Space Command away from Colorado Springs to reward more reliable supporters in Alabama. Rep. Lamborn was also one of the members of Congress who voted against certification of President Joe Biden's victory on January 6th, 2021.

Rep. Lamborn is a prime example of safe-seat corruption and contempt for the dignity of their office. David Torres would be a welcome and long-overdue change in the 5th Congressional District's leadership.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a lawyer and former Army Ranger who completed three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is running for reelection in Colorado's 6th Congressional District. In 2018, he defeated longtime Republican incumbent Mike Coffman to become the first Democrat ever to represent this district.

Before serving in Congress, Crow spent years helping veterans like himself who struggled to receive benefits, focusing his work on veteran homelessness and substance abuse issues. Then, during his first term, Crow stepped into the national spotlight as one of the seven impeachment managers who argued for Donald Trump’s removal from office during the Senate trial. Crow made the case that Trump put both Ukraine’s safety and the U.S.’s national security at risk by withholding military aid in exchange for political favors.

Crow’s district is the most diverse in Colorado, with 1 in 5 residents being born outside the United States; Crow has said this is what makes his community such a special place to live. He supports protecting DREAMers and passing comprehensive immigration reform and has called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to end its contracts with private prison companies.

Crow has worked on instituting campaign finance reform. The first bill he sponsored, the End Dark Money Act, would prevent mega-donors from being able to hide their political contributions. His other priorities include preventing gun violence, combatting the effects of climate change, ensuring small businesses are able to thrive, and fighting for a bold investment in America’s infrastructure.

Rep. Crow's opponent Steven Monahan is a political newcomer and officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve. In Monahan's candidate questionnaire from the Denver Post, Monahan repeated discredited talking points about the Inflation Reduction Act and expressed support for the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Rep. Crow has served the residents of the 6th Congressional District with distinction and is the clear progressive choice in this race.

State Sen. Brittany Pettersen is the progressive candidate running for the open 7th Congressional District seat being vacated by retiring long-time Rep. Ed Perlmutter. Pettersen has represented the west Denver suburbs since her original election in 2012 to the Colorado House, then succeeding Sen. Andy Kerr in Senate District 22 in 2019. Pettersen is opposed by Erik Aadland, an avowed election conspiracy theorist with no experience in public office.

In the Colorado General Assembly, Pettersen has been a leading advocate for criminal justice reform and combating the opioid addiction crisis that threatens communities across the state and nation. Pettersen helped pass landmark Equal Pay for Equal Work legislation which has been modeled in other states. Pettersen was one of the sponsors of the Colorado Option health insurance reform measure intended to reduce premiums on the individual market by up to 20%. In Congress, Petterson has promised to fight for the repeal of the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts and a fairer tax policy for all Americans.

Erik Aadland is an Army veteran with no political experience best known for his belief that the 2020 presidential election was "rigged." Aadland supports sweeping cuts to federal spending that would endanger social safety nets like Medicare and Social Security, and refuses to confirm that humans are impacting the global climate. Aadland also opposed Colorado's law codifying abortion rights while supporting the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

Pettersen is far and away the superior candidate to succeed Rep. Perlmutter and continue to provide strong progressive leadership to the 7th Congressional District.

Dr. Yadira Caraveo, who has served in the Colorado House of Representatives since 2019, is the progressive candidate in Colorado's brand-new 8th Congressional District, one of the most evenly-divided and competitive congressional districts in the nation. Her race is proving to be one of the most important 2022 electoral battlegrounds.

Caraveo is a pediatrician who graduated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. In the Colorado House, Caraveo has played a major role in the passage of health coverage, prescription drug affordability, education, economic development, and legislation to reduce toxic air pollution. Caraveo is a proven supporter of abortion rights, helping pass legislation to protect abortion rights in Colorado ahead of the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade. Caraveo has a reputation at the state capitol as a tireless organizer who is constantly in touch with her constituents through town halls and other outreach campaigns.

State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer first became known outside Weld County when she helped organize a ballot initiative campaign to begin the process of seceding from the state of Colorado and forming the new state of "North Colorado" with Greeley as its capital city. As a Weld County Commissioner and then in the Colorado Senate, Kirkmeyer earned a reputation for uncompromising anti-abortion grandstanding and total devotion to the oil and gas industry over the best interests of her constituents. Kirkmeyer was criticized as county commissioner for reimbursing herself over $70,000 in taxpayer dollars for vehicle expenses.

Yadira Caraveo represents the very best in elected leadership in Colorado today, and is the easy choice to recommend for Colorado's 8th Congressional District.