The colorado delegation

congressional officials …

Colorado has a dynamic and electorally stable congressional delegation.

Of the ten members in the 2022-2023 class, two are minority representation through the end of the year, with six males and four females comprising the group. Six are lawyers, one is a former mayor of Denver and Governor of Colorado, and one holds a medical degree.

The average tenure for the delegation is 4.4 terms, assuming everyone completes their service through the end of 2024. The longest-serving member has been in Congress since 1997.

One member of the Colorado delegation is a freshman.  None of the senators is facing re-election in 2024. One member has announced that they are retiring from the House.

When you look at these profiles, we have given each a letter grade for their effort this Congress, based on various factors, which you will find in What Is Thomas Looking For? These letter grades are probably pretty familiar to you if you have ever been a school student (we hope the answer to that is we all have!)

If you see a meager score for a particular member, it will probably be due to one or two key factors: ethics challenges or anti-democratic behavior.

• Republicans have been hit hard on their lack of pushback on former President Trump and their support of election denying in the 2020 presidential campaign. The unanswered soaring deficit on their watch, the dismantling of allied relationships around the globe, and opposition to funding anti-authoritarian initiatives. The denial of climate change weighs heavily on us as well. We make no secret that transparency and Government in the Sunshine are important to us, and we further argue that some have been awful stewards of this category. For example, two of the ten Colorado delegation members voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results the same evening as Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

• Democrats have been hit hard for their lack of progress on key matters because they do control the United States Senate and have a razor-close margin in the U.S. House of Representatives. They have not been, in our opinion, innovative or necessarily insistent on finding rational, reasonable solutions to the problems plaguing the American public today. We want to see more and better.

• Both have been dinged for being too partisan and not collaborative where evident. In our opinion, being too doctrinaire or an obstructionist to good government in the 21st century does not get one a good grade from Thomas.

We also indicate what we believe might be the outcome of these Members’ 2024 elections today. The overwhelming majority of House members were re-elected in 2022.

Our prospect ratings fall into three categories:

• Safe Bet - which means what it means. These members of Congress are running strong and look to be overwhelming prospects for re-election at this time. However, we reserve the right to re-categorize their chances if necessary.

• It’s A Race - means this race is too close to call, and we can not reasonably predict who will win this seat.

• Nudging - means the seat is leaning one way or another for this candidate. We have just a small number of current members of Congress in this category. Stay tuned!

So, would you like to meet these fascinating Coloradans? If so, keep reading on!

what is thomas looking for?

Here are the vulnerable races Thomas will be watching in Colorado for 2024:

• CO03 - Lauren Boebert’s open seat (Incumbent R)

• CO08 - Yadira Caraveo’s seat (Incumbent D)

the senators

United States Senator michael bennett (d)

Michael Bennett is Colorado’s senior United States Senator and serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Finance Committee; the Rules and Administration Committee; and the Intelligence Committee.  He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and has a law degree from Yale University.  Married and the father of three, Bennett is serving in his third full term after a special election in 2009.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024

Thomas Rank: A

Website

United states senator John Hickenlooper (D)

John Hickenlooper is a former Mayor of Denver and Colorado Governor who is now the state’s junior senator and is serving his first term in Congress. A geologist and businessman, Hickenlooper serves on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.  The Senator is married and the father of two.

Thomas Take: Not up for re-election in 2024

Thomas Rank: B

Website

the representatives