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. The political party with the House majority typically elects a member of its party as Speaker of the House, a powerful position that helps determine how the House operates, plus the Speaker is second in line for succession to the Presidency – behind only the Vice President – and could become President if the offices of both the President and Vice President become vacant at the same time.

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. Rep. Joe Neguse

Neguse is the four-term incumbent Representative from the 2nd Congressional District, having won his Democratic primaries and general elections in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. 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 currently 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 although statistics on bills passing have been varied, due in part to the partisan majorities in a given Congress. Since Neguse was first elected, Republicans controlled the Senate for his first term, Republicans controlled the House in his third term, and Republicans had a “trifecta” with majorities in both the House and Senate plus the Presidency in his fourth term.

However, Democrats had their own trifecta for the 117th Congress (2021-23), with majorities in the House and Senate along with having Joe Biden as President. Neguse introduced 80 bills in 2021, and had 14 of them signed into law, most among all U.S. Representatives per a Neguse press release.

When legislative caucuses are in a minority, like House Democrats are today, they might choose to “play defense” through messaging and speeches against majority actions, or initiating legal action. For a few example of Neguse’s actions:

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

  • 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 in the past 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.

Follow The Money: As of Oct. 9, the Neguse campaign had reported $2,742,280.52 in contributions, per the FEC.

Campaign Website: https://joeforcolorado.com/

Kelley Dennison, Republican

Kelley Dennison

Kelley Dennison became the Republican nominee for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District by winning her June 30 primary against Christina Blunt by about 58% – 42%.

Dennison describes herself as a Colorado native, small business owner, and activist. In July 2026, she was 27 years old and claims she would be the youngest woman ever elected to Congress if she wins. Per the Summit Daily, she is a massage therapist from Estes Park. She does not appear to have run for office before, and the Daily reported that she “got her start in politics working as a staffer for Republican Adam DeRito’s campaign for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District primary, though he did not make it onto the June ballot.”

Here are some brief examples of her policy positions:

  • Economics: Dennison wants to reduce what she calls “reckless” federal spending, support American energy independence, increase housing development with one goal of lowering housing costs, and to support workers with job training and a manufacturing resurgence.
  • Environment: She supports protecting Colorado’s water resources, using “proactive forest management” to minimize wildfires, and what she calls “responsible” energy development that includes regulations.
  • Education: She supports educational choice, keeping political “agendas” out of the classroom, prioritizing the basics (such as reading, math, science), and making sure students have availability of career and technical education.
  • Firearms: She supports the Second Amendment, opposes laws that would “punish” responsible gun owners for the actions of criminals, supports stronger enforcement for criminals, supports increased mental health treatment availability, and supports increased firearm safety training.

Campaign website: https://kelleyforco.com/

Gaylon Kent, Libertarian

Gaylon Kent has run a number of times for elected office but has yet to win: finishing 3rd of 6 candidates in the 2024 2nd Congressional District general election, 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 wrote that the war with Iran is “senseless, every death on both sides a slaughter. Iran is a country that poses no strategic threat to us.”
  • 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/

Richard’s Take

Vote Neguse. He’s in my opinion done a stellar job in Congress. Dennison seems to have done a good job getting a campaign going and she won her primary, but she probably won’t be much competition in this general election because she can’t match Neguse’s political resume, plus the political balance of this district very strongly favors Democrats. With that said, I’d like to keep this endorsement short.

I’ll ask readers to remember that it is possible for Democrats to regain the House majority in 2026, even though I know that might depend on whether or not we have honest elections or if redistricting schemes unfairly swing the balance.

But winning the House would in turn win a seriously important lever of federal power. That means in practical terms Democrats would re-gain the “power of the purse” in budgetary issues and possibly enough votes to pass Articles of Impeachment should a certain President almost unimaginably do something rising to the level where impeachment should be considered. Taking back the House could also block bad bills originating in the Senate if Dems are unable to capture the Senate.

So, I strongly recommend against casting protest votes or non-votes in this race. Neguse should probably win even if there is a smattering of protest votes, but what would anybody who’s a centrist or left of center really win by doing that? I’ll say they’d literally win nothing, but you do you.