Colorado: who should earn your vote for Congress in 2026

Opinion · The paper’s scorecard

Colorado: every race for Congress on the 3 November 2026 ballot, and how the candidates measure up against our standards.

Sitting and former members are scored on the same key votes, read from the official House and Senate roll calls; each vote links to the record. Candidates who have never served in Congress have no votes to score, and outside the battlegrounds we have not researched them, so they are marked as not scored. Where only one candidate could be measured, the mark rates that record on its own; it is not a verdict on the opponent. How the marks work · All states

U.S. Senate D+6

No mark

Mark Baisley

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

John Hickenlooper

Democrat · incumbent

Scored on 24 key votes · total -2

✗Smaller government
✗Small business over giants
✓Live and let live
✗Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✓Home first, open trade
✓Checks on power
✗Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (12)

Voted against the June 2026 bill adding about $70 billion for immigration enforcement. Source
Voted for the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted for ending the emergency behind the tariffs on Canada (April 2025). Source

Against us (12)

Voted against the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Source
Voted for the Inflation Reduction Act. Source

District 1 D+29

No mark

Diana DeGette (D): incumbent lost renomination.

Melat Kiros

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Christy Peterson

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 2 D+20

No mark

Kelley Dennison

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Joe Neguse

Democrat · incumbent

Scored on 27 key votes · total -4

✗Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✓Live and let live
✗Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✓Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✗Right to bear arms
✗Hard on violent crime

With us (8)

Voted for the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted for the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted against a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source

Against us (19)

Voted against the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted against the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted against a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

District 3 R+5

Leans our way: Jeff Hurd

Leans our way

Jeff Hurd

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 11 key votes · total +1

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
?Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✗Checks on power
?Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (7)

Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source
Voted for the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. Source

Against us (4)

Voted for a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source
Voted against the September 2026 resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran. Source
Voted against the resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities against Venezuela. Source

Dwayne Romero

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 4 R+9

✓ Meets our standards: Lauren Boebert

Meets our standards

Lauren Boebert

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 27 key votes · total +3

✓Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✗Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
~Free speech
✓No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (19)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (8)

Voted against the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source

Eileen Laubacher

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 5 R+5

Leans our way: Jeff Crank

Leans our way

Jeff Crank

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 11 key votes · total +1

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
?Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✗Checks on power
?Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (6)

Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source
Voted for the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. Source

Against us (5)

Voted for a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source
Voted against ending the emergency behind the tariffs on Canada. Source
Voted against the September 2026 resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran. Source

Jessica Killin

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 6 D+11

No mark

Jason Clark

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Jason Crow

Democrat · incumbent

Scored on 27 key votes · total -4

✗Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✓Live and let live
✗Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✓Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✗Right to bear arms
✗Hard on violent crime

With us (8)

Voted for the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted for the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted against a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source

Against us (19)

Voted against the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted against the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted against a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

District 7 D+8

No mark

Tim Bennett

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

Brittany Pettersen

Democrat · incumbent

Scored on 20 key votes · total -6

✗Smaller government
?Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✗Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✓Home first, open trade
✗Checks on power
✗Right to bear arms
✗Hard on violent crime

With us (6)

Voted against a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source
Voted for ending the emergency behind the tariffs on Canada. Source
Voted for the September 2026 resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran. Source

Against us (14)

Voted against the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted against the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted against a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

District 8 EVEN

No mark

Gabe Evans

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 11 key votes · total +1

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
?Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✗Checks on power
?Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (6)

Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source
Voted for the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. Source

Against us (5)

Voted for a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source
Voted against ending the emergency behind the tariffs on Canada. Source
Voted against the September 2026 resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran. Source

Manny Rutinel

Democrat

No votes in Congress: scored on platform and record, promises at half weight · total +1

✗Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
✓Live and let live
✗Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✓No surveillance state
✓Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✗Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (7)

Prime-sponsored HB25-1295 (signed May 20, 2025), creating reciprocity between state and Denver food-truck licences so mobile food vendors need not obtain duplicate local permits. Source
Co-sponsored SB25-014, 'Protecting the Freedom to Marry' (signed April 7, 2025), repealing the unenforceable Colorado statute that defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Source
Co-sponsored SB25-276 (signed May 23, 2025), which among other immigration provisions extends to local governments and their employees Colorado's limits on collecting, disclosing and accessing a person's personal identifying information, with civil penalties; he also wants ICE required to use judicial warrants and wear identification. Source

Against us (11)

Prime-sponsored HB24-1134 (signed May 14, 2024), which raised Colorado's earned income tax credit from 38% to 50% of the federal credit for 2024 and enlarged the state child-care expenses credit. Source
Says childcare should be free for families under an income threshold, the federal minimum wage should be at least $15, and Medicaid and ACA credits cut by HR 1 should be restored, paid for by "taxing the wealthy appropriately." Source
House prime sponsor of SB24-205, Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence (signed May 17, 2024), the first comprehensive state AI law, imposing reasonable-care, impact-assessment and disclosure duties on developers and deployers of 'high-risk' AI systems. Source

Photo credits. Official congressional portraits are works of the U.S. government and in the public domain. Others:

Manny Rutinel: Andybosselman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (file, licence)