Democratic state Sen. Brittany Pettersen faces off against Republican Erik Aadland in Colorado's 7th Congressional District election

Aadland Pettersen 2x1
Brittany Pettersen's campaign; Erik Aadland's campaign; Insider
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  • Democrat Brittany Pettersen is running against Republican Erick Aadland in Colorado's 7th Congressional District.

  • The 7th District is anchored in Jefferson County.

  • Redistricting made the district less Democratic, but Pettersen is still expected to fill the open seat.

Democratic state Sen. Brittany Pettersen faces off against Republican Erik Aadland in Colorado's 7th Congressional District.

Democratic incumbent Ed Perlmutter, who served Coloradans for 16 years, announced he would not run for reelection, leaving the seat up for grabs.

Colorado's 7th Congressional District candidates

Brittany Pettersen represents District 22 in the Colorado State Senate. Prior to being elected state senator, Pettersen was a Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019.

Perlmutter formally endorsed Pettersen's bid for the 7th Congressional District seat.

Aadland, Pettersen's opponent, is a veteran who served in the US Army for eight years, including two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last June, Aadland announced his candidacy for US Senate, but after struggling to gain traction, he pivoted to the 7th Congressional District when new boundaries for the congressional districts were established.

He defeated his opponents in the three-way GOP primary, bringing in nearly half the vote.

Voting history for Colorado's 7th Congressional District

Colorado's 7th Congressional District is anchored in Jefferson County and stretches into Broomfield and several mountain counties to the west and south.

Joe Biden had a near 23 percentage point margin of victory over then-President Donald Trump under the district's previous boundaries in 2020 before the once-in-a-decade redistricting process following the 2020 Census made it less Democratic.

The money race

According to OpenSecrets, Pettersen has raised $2.65 million, spent $2.25 million, and has $445,000 of cash on hand, as of October 19. Her opponent, Aadland, has raised $1.27 million, spent $1.22 million, and has $49,000 of cash still left to spend, as of October 19.

As of November 3, nearly a dozen super PACs, national party committees, politically active nonprofits, and other non-candidate groups have together spent more than $1.5 million to advocate for or against candidates in this race, including during the race's primary phase.

What experts say

The race between Pettersen and Aadland is rated as "likely Democratic" by Inside Elections, "likely Democratic" by The Cook Political Report, and "leans Democratic" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Read the original article on Business Insider