Meet the minor party and write-in candidates running for Colorado's Seventh Congressional District, which covers both Denver’s western suburbs and numerous mountain communities. The district includes the cities of Broomfield, Arvada, Lakewood and portions of Westminster, as well as Lake, Park, Teller, Fremont, Custer and Chaffee counties.
Patrick Bohan, Libertarian Party
Patrick Bohan is currently the vice-chair for Chaffee County Libertarians. According to his website, the main push of his campaign is to bridge the political divide. “No more polarizing politics” is listed at the top of his policy positions. In general, the Libertarian Party opposes most forms of government involvement in people’s “personal, family and business decisions,” according to their website. Bohan has a B.S. in electrical engineering from Penn State University, and worked as a test engineer for Texas Instruments for 22 years.
Ron Tupa, Unity Party
Ron Tupa is a former Democratic state lawmaker; starting in the mid-90s, he represented Boulder for six years in the House and then served eight years in the state Senate. According to his website, Tupa sponsored over 200 pieces of legislation during his 14 year legislative career, with nearly 100 becoming law. On its website, the Unity Party lists its main principles as, “people before party, freedom for the individual, everyone's voice matters and security for the society.” Tupa earned his B.A. from the University of Texas, Austin and has graduate degrees from CU-Boulder and Regis University.
Patrick Flaherty, Unaffiliated - Write-in
Patrick Flaherty is running unaffiliated and a main point on his website is education. He has two sons enrolled in the Colorado education system, which, according to his website, is in major need of revamping, both around curriculum and spending. Flaherty also highlights mental health access in schools and wants to increase federal oversight of schools as well. On his website, he also lists out the need for a responsible government, bridging the racial divide and eliminating money from elections.
