Colorado CD2 Rep. Joe Neguse faces challengers from 4 parties

Voters in Colorado's 2nd Congressional District will soon decide if they want to continue to be represented by Joe Neguse — who has held the seat since 2018, when he replaced Gov. Jared Polis — or break the district’s extended history of Democratic representation.

The congressional district, which is now anchored in Boulder and Larimer counties but also includes some of the state’s top tourist destinations, like Breckenridge and Vail, has been represented by a Democratic candidate consistently since the 1970s. Neguse is hoping the trend continues, despite facing several challengers.

Marshall Dawson is running with the Republican Party, Gary Nation is running with the American Constitution Party, Steve Yurash is running with the Colorado Center Party and Tim Wolf is running with the Unity Party.

Dawson and Wolf did not answer multiple interview requests by the Coloradoan, so information for them has been compiled from campaign materials.

Candidates have varied political experience

Neguse is seeking his third term in office. He has spent much of his time in Congress advocating for wildfire relief and affordability, two issues that hit close to home for his constituents along the Front Range.

He has been rather involved during his time in Washington thus far, serving as co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, chair of the National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Subcommittee and a member of the House Judiciary Committee. Neguse also served as a House impeachment officer during the second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

According to his campaign site, Dawson serves as vice chairman of the Boulder County Republicans and vice president of education for Liberty Toastmasters North, an organization focused on improving public speaking skills with content focused on the founding fathers, founding documents, free markets, limited government and more. He was formerly president of the organization.

More:You may be voting in a new district in Colorado this election. Here's why, and how to check.

Third-party candidate Yurash has some political leadership in his party and Larimer County. Until 2019, Yurash was a member of the Republican Party. But when he felt that reforming the party from inside “was a lost cause,” he left to form the Colorado Center Party.

“The Democrats are too far left, Republicans are too far right,” he said of why he formed the party. “I'm dedicated to trying to get something new in the center so that people, voters aren’t on this pendulum back and forth from the extremes … I think the Center Party, eventually, will give some continuity to government.”

In addition to creating the party he’s representing, Yurash also had stints on the Fort Collins Electric Board and the Larimer County Board of Health.

Nation, though never having held office before, told the Coloradoan that — in addition to meeting the constitutional requirements to hold office of being at least 25, a citizen for seven years and residing in Colorado — he felt his life experience and experience working for the state qualify him. He said he spent his early career working for the state in social services and health care policy and financing, which gave him insight into “how politics works.”

Colorado 2022 election voting guide:Top races, ballot issues impacting Larimer County voters

Neguse prioritizes local issues; Dawson focuses on 'peace, power and prosperity'

In terms of what he would prioritize if reelected to serve District 2, Neguse wouldn’t change much.

He has focused largely on mitigating threats of wildfire and drought, expanding economic opportunities and keeping communities safe — priorities he feels align well with the people he’s hoping to continue to represent.

“The priorities that I'm fighting for in Washington mirror the priorities that I believe folks in Fort Collins, in Larimer County more broadly, care about,” Neguse said in an interview. “And the best barometer for that, in my view, is because I spent a lot of time in our community doing town halls and community events. It's important for me to be responsive to the community.”

If reelected, he said he would continue to fight for what he hears constituents being most concerned about: economic opportunity, addressing the consequences of climate change in terms of wildfires and flash floods, and affordable housing.

On major national issues, Neguse stands with his party. He told the Coloradoan he hopes to continue to work to protect women's reproductive rights and sees “addressing the scourge of gun violence in our communities … and enacting commonsense gun violence prevention measures” as a priority.

Dawson, the Republican candidate on the ballot, lists several things he would prioritize if elected on his campaign site, all of which focus on regaining peace, power and prosperity. He says he hopes to improve Colorado’s response to things like school safety and the fentanyl crisis, reduce and cut spending to address inflation, reintroduce the Keystone XL Pipeline Construction and Jobs Preservation Act, and more.

“America doesn’t need to decline into a second-rate country bogged down by bureaucracy, crime and violence, and endless spending,” reads Dawson’s site. “It’s time to regain our peace, power and prosperity.”

Third-party candidates offer ‘none-of-the-above’ option, give insight into their parties

The two third-party candidates who spoke to the Coloradoan — Yurash with the Center Party and Nation with the Constitution Party — both said it’s unlikely they are elected, but it’s important they run.

“I agreed to put my name on there so somebody could, in effect, have a none-of-the-above vote, or some sort of alternative,” Nation said in an interview.

He described the Constitution Party as one that relies on the Constitution as a way out of a divided country by being directed by what is and isn’t constitutional and creating constitutional amendments rather than policies that can be easily overturned.

In an op-ed for the Coloradoan, Nation explained his vision for “a Grand Compromise … perhaps a package of constitutional amendments dealing with issues like immigration, citizenship, the definition of marriage, and even abortion, where both sides can give something to get something.”

He also cautioned against conflating the Constitution Party with conservatives.

“People tend to want to equate the Constitution Party with the conservative party or Republican Party, and I don't see it that way at all,” he said. “I think it doesn't have to be viewed as right versus left; it’s right versus wrong.”

Yurash had similar desires for his campaign, and the Center Party generally.

“We want to be in the center, the middle of every issue out there through using civility in politics to mediate between the two sides,” he said in an interview. “I'm not interested in making major changes. I just want to be in the center. I want to have more continuity in government.”

Yurash’s top priorities are protecting women’s reproductive rights, fixing the supply chain, stopping excessive government spending, and addressing the increase in crime.

Most of his policies — similar to Nation — seek a compromise. For example, he wants to add more sustainable energy but believes creating a timeline to go carbon neutral is unrealistic; he believes having mental health experts help the police is logical but cannot replace them; he thinks some loan forgiveness is acceptable but broad loan forgiveness is “disrespectful” to those who have paid.

Yurash also recognized he has slim chances of winning the district but said that if he gets 5% of the vote he’ll consider it a win because then the Center Party will be formally recognized in Colorado and people could have a new party that has “a real platform and is in the center.”

“We will never achieve a balance in government if only polar opposite candidates get on the ballot,” Yurash says on his website. “Electing just a few Center Party candidates could force both Democrats and Republicans to negotiate a common way forward and eliminate the ‘my way or the highway’ thinking.”

Wolf, who is running with the Unity Party, did not respond to the Coloradoan’s requests for comment and does not have a campaign site. However, the Unity Party is not unlike the other two third parties represented.

His page on the Unity Party of America’s website says that he “holds the view that neither left nor right is right but that we have to seek balance in the way we approach politics. While politics can be a driver of much strife egged on by deep-seeded beliefs, it’s when we open our eyes and ears to see and hear a different perspective that we make real progress.”

Want to know more about the candidates?

To read more about Neguse’s platform, visit https://joeforcolorado.com/.

To read more about Dawson’s platform, visit https://dawsonforcongress.com/.

To read more about Nation’s platform, you can email him at gary.nation.for.congress@gmail.com or read his op-ed in the Coloradoan.

To read more about Yurash’s platform, visit https://coloradocenterparty.org/steve-yurash-for-congress/.

To learn more about Tim Wolf, visit https://unityparty.us/candidates/tim-wolf/.

Colorado 2022 election voting guide:Learn more about the top races, ballot issues impacting Larimer County voters

Molly Bohannon covers city government for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @molboha or contact her at mbohannon@coloradoan.com. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado CD2 Rep. Joe Neguse faces challengers from four parties