Colorado District 2: Who’s the Republican running against Joe Neguse?

Colorado’s 2nd congressional district remains a solid Democratic seat, even as redistricting shifted its boundaries westward to include Routt County. The last time a Republican held this seat was in the 1970s. And with its new borders, the district has a +34 Democratic advantage, according to the average of eight previous elections.

This year, Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse is seeking a third term in office. He has developed a strong reputation in the House, where he started off his tenure by being selected as one of the co-representatives for his freshman class. He has remained on Pelosi’s leadership team and is currently one of the co-chairs of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. He was also chosen as an impeachment manager for former President Trump’s second impeachment trial.

In recent years, this seat has been a strong jumping off point for democratic candidates seeking higher office. Of the last four predecessors to hold the seat, two went on to the U.S. Senate, and one to the governorship.

Here’s who’s running for the seat.

The Democrat

Joe Neguse — The son of Eritrean refugees, Neguse is the first Black congressman from Colorado. He has been a prolific legislator, passing a total of 14 bills into law (five stand-alone and nine included in other larger bills). He currently sits on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Natural Resources committee — where he chairs the subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands — the Rules Committee, and the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. He is well respected by colleagues in the chamber. He was tapped by House Democratic leadership to help lead the floor response to the election objections on January 6th and helped negotiate a deal that led to a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Neguse has more than $1.6 million cash on hand, as of the most recent campaign filing.

The Republican

Marshall Dawson — The Boulder county GOP vice chair is running to flip the seat. Dawson is a systems and firmware engineer and currently owns his own company, according to LinkedIn. He’s running on a platform that includes government transparency, putting “Congress on record for legislative action,” no micromanaging of the economy and to “empower a stronger America.” His campaign website features images of former Republican President Ronald Regan and former Democratic President John F. Kennedy, Jr., as well as Martin Luther King, Jr., saying it’s time again to believe in the American Spirit. Dawson filed paperwork for his run with the FEC in late March, and hasn’t disclosed any campaign fundraising details as of yet.