U.S. House, Colorado Congressional District 2

They call it “The People’s House,” because at the bare minimum every U.S. citizen has a Representative in Congress. In theory, that means we can all provide input, though in reality, it’s not so easy to get through to people representing districts of 800,000 people!

The U.S. House of Representatives is one of two chambers in the federal legislative branch. House members propose and vote on legislation, which must pass both the House and the Senate to have a chance of becoming law. The duties of House members differ to a certain extent from Senators in that they have the “power of the purse” – the ability to tax and spend public money for the national government, impeach federal officials (although the Senate must vote to convict or acquit), and the House will elect the President in case no candidate gets the 270 Electoral votes necessary to win the election.

Representatives are elected to two-year terms, and do not have term limits. There are 435 Representatives in the House, including eight from Colorado.

For this guide, I will only write about the race in Colorado’s Second Congressional District, which basically lies in north-central Colorado, including Boulder County, along with Larimer, Gilpin, Grand, Clear Creek, Summit, Eagle, Jackson, Jefferson, and Routt counties. This is a “plurality” election, meaning the candidate with the most votes wins, and it’s not necessary to reach 50%.

Rep. Joe Neguse, Democratic

U.S. Representative Joe Neguse

Neguse is the three-term incumbent Representative from the 2nd Congressional District, having won his Democratic primaries and general elections in 2018, 2020, and 2022. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a juris doctor degree, was elected for a six-year term on the University of Colorado Board of Regents in 2008, served as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Affairs, and ran unsuccessfully for Colorado Secretary of State in 2014.

Today, Neguse is the Assistant House Democratic Leader, also sometimes called Assistant Minority Leader since Republicans are in the majority. His full list of committee and subcommittee memberships is too long to list here, but here’s a link. Notably, he is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee, and the House Committee On Rules. He was also appointed an Impeachment Manager for former President Trump’s second impeachment trial.

The House is part of the federal government’s legislative branch, and Neguse has been a very active legislator. He introduced 80 bills in 2021, and had 14 of them signed into law. Unlike the typical bill signing pinball-score numbers Colorado state legislators have been putting up lately with gigantic Democratic majorities, it’s much harder for members of Congress to get large quantities of bills passed and signed because of the tight partisan balance. Since Neguse was first elected, Republicans controlled the Senate for his first term and Republicans controlled the House in his third term.

According to a Neguse press release, he had the most sponsored bills signed into law among all U.S. Representatives in the 117th Congress (2021-22). The bills referenced in this release included stand-alone legislation and bills incorporated into larger packages.

This is not intended to be exhaustive research, but this story from ABC News suggested the current 118th Congress (2023-24) was on track to be “one of the least productive sessions ever,” with only 34 bills total signed into law in its first year. People who follow national politics might remember that the GOP-controlled House has been mired in dysfunction, including taking many votes before even naming a House speaker when the 118th Congress started, and replacing Speaker Kevin McCarthy mid-stream.

This has been a long way of saying Neguse isn’t as likely to see as many bills signed in the 118th Congress as he did in the 117th Congress, but he is currently sponsoring bills. This includes the “ORBITS Act” to consider programs to remediate “space junk,” the Safe Workplaces Act designed to address workplace violence, and the Reserve Component Healthcare Access and Expansion Act to expand healthcare availability through the Department of Veterans Affairs to include reserves.

For a sample of bills Neguse sponsored that have been signed into law:

The PRICE Act (Promoting Rigorous and Innovative Cost Efficiencies) for Federal Procurement and Acquisition Act directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish an annual report on projects that have used innovative procurement techniques within DHS to accomplish specified goals.
The State and Local Cybersecurity Act provides for collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as corporations, associations, and the general public, regarding cybersecurity.
The Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2019 prohibits employers from retaliating against certain employees who report criminal antitrust violations to the federal government.
The Supply Chain Security Training Act requires the Federal Acquisition Institute to develop a training program for officials with supply chain risk management responsibilities at federal agencies.

For a few of his policy position priorities:

Climate: He believes climate change is an existential threat, and has sponsored legislation that would expand the use of solar energy, increase renewable energy, and invest in regenerative agriculture. He was appointed to the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, which operated from 2019-2023.
Voting Rights: Neguse says voting rights are under attack. He has supported the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and HR 1, a voluminous voting bill that would in part expand voter registration opportunities including through Automatic Voter Registration. Neither bill has been signed into law, though.
Economic Opportunity: He has supported closing the gender pay gap through the Paycheck Fairness Act and raising the minimum wage to $15 through the Raise the Wage Act. His proposal to increase the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, once known as food stamps) by 15% was signed into law in 2021.
Education: Neguse supports ensuring every public higher education graduate finishes debt-free, increasing pay, and supporting rural schools financially. He also worked to successfully secure millions of dollars in increased funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Civil Rights: He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and voted for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House 220 – 212 but has yet to pass the Senate. He is also a sponsor of the EACH Woman Act (Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance), which requires coverage for abortion care through public health insurance programs and insurance plans for federal employees.

Campaign Website: https://joeforcolorado.com/

Marshall Dawson, Republican

Marshall Dawson is making his second run for Congress in the 2nd District in 2024, after losing to Neguse 70% – 28% in 2022. He is an engineer, and runs a development organization for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). He has not yet served in elected office, but did serve as one of the Vice Chairmen of the Boulder County Republicans and as President of Liberty Toastmasters North, where he is now serving as Vice President of Education.

He was raised on a farm in a small community in Kentucky. He then attended the University of Kentucky and earned a degree in Electrical Engineering, then went to work for IBM in Raleigh, but left in 1997 “for new opportunities” in Longmont. As an open-source engineer, Dawson has worked for both big and small companies, and has run his own company.

As of early September 2024, Dawson’s website did not have an issues page. He had filled out a Ballotpedia questionnaire, which includes a small sample of mostly general policy positions regarding pulling back the power of the federal government over the lives of ordinary Americans, reining in inflation and federal spending, and protecting the southern border. Since he has not served as a legislator, he has no voting record on legislation. I’ll update this section if new information comes along, but here’s a brief sample of some of his policy positions from his 2022 run:

He favored spending more on school security within the United States, as opposed to “funding the security of foreign countries.”
Dawson noted in 2022 that deaths from synthetic opioid overdoses had increased by seven times since Neguse took office (NOTE: Of course, the same is true for any legislator who took office at the same time). Dawson supported stronger and better-funded border patrolling efforts to prevent dangerous drugs like fentanyl from coming into the country.
He supported the REINS Act (Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny), which was sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul, and would require that all regulatory actions having at least a $100M effect on the economy must be reviewed and voted on by Congress.
On abortion, he was quoted as saying, “The Supreme Court made the correct decision today in overturning Roe v. Wade…This decision rightfully gives power back to the states.”
Dawson supported reintroducing the Keystone XL Pipeline Construction and Jobs Preservation Act (H.R.684), while supporting efforts to integrate nuclear power into America’s energy infrastructure.

Campaign Website: https://dawsonforcongress.com/

Jan Kok, Approval Voting Party

Jan Kok ran unsuccessfully for Colorado Secretary of State in 2022, finishing 6th in that race, and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House in Congressional District 1 in 2020. According to a Denver Post Q and A in 2020, he is a software and electrical engineer who earned a bachelor of science degree in computer science from CSU, and co-founded The Center for Election Science.

He also did a Q and A with Colorado Community Media in 2020, and largely spoke about his support for election reform, though he also mentioned repealing laws regarding victimless crimes. He is running under the Approval Voting Party banner, and Approval Voting is super-basically a system in which voters can choose multiple candidates for a given race, instead of just one, but readers can learn a lot more at this link.

Kok also told the Denver Post he supports proportional representation for legislative and Congressional races, and supports National Popular Vote. I will update this section if newer information becomes available.

Campaign Website From 2022: https://www.approvalvotingparty.com/jan-kok-sos/

Gaylon Kent, Libertarian

Gaylon Kent has run a number of times for elected office but has yet to win: finishing 2nd of 2 in a Libertarian primary for the U.S. Senate in 2020, 4th in the 2018 3rd Congressional District (CD-3) general election, 3rd in the 2016 CD-3 general election, 3rd in the 2014 US Senate general election, and 2nd of 2 in the 2012 CD-3 Libertarian primary.

His Ballotpedia page lists his occupation as “author,” and says he served in the U.S. Navy from 1983-1987. He has a campaign website, which includes a number of blog posts or recordings about his positions. For a limited and condensed sample:

He supports an end to what he calls America’s “perpetual war,” and would only support war if it’s declared by Congress.
He considered the Israeli response against Hamas immediately following the Oct. 7 attack justified, but says it’s now a genocide.
He supports decriminalizing drugs, and keeping the government out of the abortion debate.

Campaign Website: https://thefreedomtrain.com/

Cynthia Munhos de Aquino Sirianni, Unity Party

Cynthia Munhos de Aquino Sirianni was Paul Noel Fiorino’s choice for running mate in the 2022 Colorado Governor’s election, and Fiorino finished fifth in the 2022 race.

She has a list of roughly 20 policy positions on her campaign website, with not a lot of detail. For a brief sampling:

She supports declaring a climate emergency and implementing carbon taxes.
She supports the right to abortions.
She opposes foreign military bases and military intervention, plus would cut the U.S. military budget.
She supports universal basic income, universal health care, and availability of mental health care as part of our health care system.

Campaign Website: https://free-4912968.webadorsite.com/

Mike Watson, Unaffiliated (Write-In)

Mike Watson is listed on both the Colorado Secretary of State’s and Ballotpedia websites as an unaffiliated write-in candidate for the CD-2 seat. While there is a website URL listed on the Secretary of State’s website, I couldn’t find the actual site as of mid-September even after doing additional searching. I will update this section if more information becomes apparent.

Richard’s Take

Vote Neguse. Skeptics could take this with a small grain of salt because I’m a Democrat and know him to a certain extent, but Neguse is a true superstar right now and you might notice I’m not writing that about most other candidates. With Neguse, you get a deeply experienced and effective legislator whose values fit Boulder’s prevailing values quite well. CD-2 has had some great Representatives over the years, but it’s been really special to have a local congressperson who has been an impeachment manager and assistant Democratic Leader for the entire Democratic House delegation.

If Democrats retake the House in 2024, there’s a great chance that Neguse will be in a very influential position. On top of that, he remains engaged and visible in the district, which is exactly what a Representative is supposed to be. I’m going to keep my endorsement message short here, because I think it’s seriously obvious that Neguse is the best choice.

Dawson has not served as an elected official, though he has respectable professional experience. He’ll get some conservative votes, but probably not a lot of crossover if only because his political resume can’t even remotely match Neguse’s. The other four candidates will probably be distant also-rans, but I’m generally supportive of anyone running for office if they feel the calling, so I included brief mentions of their candidacies.