Colorado’s newest congressman, Republican Greg Lopez, is expected to be sworn in Monday.
Lopez won a special vacancy election on June 25 to fill the rest of former GOP Rep. Ken Buck’s term in office for the 118th Congress.
Lopez’s new post gives Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson more breathing room when it comes to votes with 220 Republicans, 213 Democrats and two remaining vacancies.
Since Lopez is not seeking the full term in office, he’ll serve for about six months. The House is expected to be in session in Washington, D.C. for approximately 45 days in that time.
Lopez wrote an op-ed published in The Denver Post after his win. He promised, “Not to buy, sell, or trade individual stocks. Not to miss a single vote. To put people over politics.”
According to Lopez’s campaign finance filing, he has between $25 and $50 million in an annuity and no individual stocks.
Lopez served for four years in the U.S. Air Force in the 1980s, was elected the Mayor of Parker in 1992, serving one term, and ran small businesses. He also worked as Colorado Director of the Small Business Administration during the Obama administration.
In addition to Lopez’s roles in business and government, he’s also had run-ins with the law, including paying a settlement over allegations that he tried to improperly influence the SBA after he left his position to help a friend.
According to House Rules, members-elect can be sworn in without official election certification through a letter from the Secretary of State’s office attesting to the election. Colorado is not expected to have certified results for the June 25 special and primary races until later in July.
The Secretary of State’s office said they sent the House Clerk a letter with the unofficial results. The House Clerk received it on July 3.
Most recently, Republican Rep. Mike Rulli of Ohio was sworn into office about a month after the election when the certified results were received. But the members before him, GOP Rep. Vincent Fong of California and Democratic Rep. Thomas Suozzi of New York, were sworn in a couple of weeks after their special election, once their states sent the Clerk letters attesting the unofficial results.
