2020 VOTER GUIDE Colorado Advocates for Rural Electrification DEAR CARE MEMBERS, In coordination with Tri-State Generation and Transmission, the CARE Committee is happy to provide you with a 2020 Voter Guide. The intent of the 2020 Voter Guide is not to direct you how to vote, but rather help educate you on the candidates who are up for election November 3, 2020. The CARE Committee has been busy the last few months with interviewing candidates for elected office and making endorsements for candidates that will advocate for and strengthen the voice of Colorado’s electric cooperatives. The CARE Committee uses various criteria to evaluate candidates, including voting records, interviews, campaign literature, and public comments. It is much easier to evaluate an incumbent, as they have a voting record to review. New candidates for public office are difficult to evaluate, as positions change or evolve throughout the campaign and even after the election. The CREA Legislative team works with the CARE committee to meet with candidates - educating them about issues facing electric cooperatives. Not all candidates endorsed by the CARE Committee represent areas served by an electric cooperative. However, all members of the General Assembly ultimately vote on legislation. It is essential to be active in competitive races to support a candidate that will support cooperative issues. Regardless of how you vote come November 3, it is imperative to be part of the decision- making process in choosing our elected officials! Please reach out to CARE staff, Tim Coleman ([email protected]), if you have any questions regarding the information in the 2020 Voter Guide. Troy Whitmore Chair, CARE Committee TABLE OF CONTENTS President of the United States ........................................4 Vice President of the United States ................................5 United States Senate – Colorado ...................................7 United States House of Representatives – Colorado .....8 Colorado State Senate .................................................12 Colorado House of Representatives .............................20 Reference Maps ............................................................48 Colorado Voter Registration and Vote by Mail Information .......................................51 Reference Information ..................................................52 Co-ops Vote .................................................................52 3 PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES JOE BIDEN (D) Joe Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He studied history and political science at the University of Delaware and earned his law degree from Syracuse University. While practicing law at a firm he also worked part time as a public defender. He was a member of the New Castle City Council and was elected to the United States Senate at the age of 29. He served two terms as the Vice President of the United States under President Obama. Biden is married with three surviving children. https://joebiden.com/ DONALD TRUMP (R) INCUMBENT Donald Trump was born in Queens, New York. He was elected President of the United States in 2016. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. Upon graduation he worked for his father’s real estate and construction firm, eventually taking over the business in 1971. Over the course of his career, Trump has built hotels, golf courses, skyscrapers, and various other developments. He also hosted the reality television show The Apprentice. He is married with five children and is the grandfather of seven. https://www.donaldjtrump.com/ 4 PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES KAMALA HARRIS (D) Kamala Harris graduated from Howard University and earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law. She worked as an attorney in the Alameda County District Attorney’s office prosecuting child sexual assault cases. She was elected as San Francisco’s District Attorney and started a program to provide first time drug offenders second chances. She was elected California Attorney General managing a $735 million budget and overseeing more than 4,800 employees. She was elected to the United States Senate in 2016 and serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. MIKE PENCE (R) INCUMBENT Mike Pence is the current Vice President. He was born in Columbus, Indiana. He earned a B.A. in history from Hanover College in 1981 and a J.D. from Indiana University in 1986. After graduating from law school he practiced as an attorney in private practice and later worked as the President of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation. In 1994, Pence left to begin a career in talk radio and host a political talk show in Indianapolis. In 2000, Pence was elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives where he served for 12 years. Pence was elected Indiana’s Governor in 2012. He and his wife Karen have three children. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 5 6 UNITED STATES SENATE – COLORADO JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D) John Hickenlooper is a former Governor of Colorado and former Mayor of the City of Denver. Originally a geologist, Hickenlooper moved on to become a small business owner, opening Colorado’s first brew pub in downtown Denver and opening seven more businesses after that. Hickenlooper is named after his father who passed away when he was eight-years old. Hickenlooper is married and has a son https://hickenlooper.com/ CORY GARDNER (R) INCUMBENT, ACRE SUPPORTED Cory Gardner grew up in Yuma, Colorado, where his family has owned Farm Implement Company for over 100 years, and where his family resides today. He attended Colorado State University and later earned his law degree from the University of Colorado. Gardner currently serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Gardner is a 5th generation Coloradan and he and his wife, Jamie, have three children. https://www.corygardnerforsenate.com/ U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 7 UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – COLORADO COLORADO’S FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT DIANA DEGETTE (D) INCUMBENT Dianna DeGette currently sits on the Committee on Energy and Commerce where she serves as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. In addition, DeGette is the Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus, Vice- Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, and holds membership in 20 Caucuses focused on advancing medical research, culture and renewable energy. A fourth-generation Coloradan, DeGette graduated from Denver’s South High School, received her BA from Colorado College, and her JD from New York University School of Law. She served two terms in the Colorado House of Representatives serving as Assistant Minority Leader from 1993-1995. DeGette and her husband, Lino Lipinsky, have two daughters. https://degette.com/ SHANE BOLLING (R) No biography or website available. COLORADO’S SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT JOE NEGUSE (D) INCUMBENT, ACRE SUPPORTED Joe Neguse is the first and only African American to serve in Congress in Colorado’s history. Neguse is currently the youngest member of Colorado’s congressional delegation, and serves as a Vice-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a Vice-Chair of the Medicare-for-All Caucus, and was elected by his peers to serve as a member of the House Democratic Leadership. Neguse has lived in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District for 18 years and he and his wife, Andrea, currently live in Lafayette. Prior to serving in Congress, Neguse was a member of Colorado University’s Board of Regents from 2009 – 2015, and lead Colorado’s consumer protection agency at the age of 31. Neguse received undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Colorado and co-founded New Era Colorado focused on youth voter registration. Neguse’s parents immigrated to Colorado from Eritrea. https://www.joeneguseforcongress.com/ CHARLES WINN (R) Charles Winn has lived in Colorado for more than 25 years. He’s a former Navy surgeon, physician, and radiologist. Winn grew up internationally due to his father’s military assignments, and those world experiences grew more during his active military years as a naval surgeon. Following his active duty, Winn moved to Denver where he completed his residency in radiology and joined a group practice. https://www.winnforcolorado.com/ 8 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COLORADO’S THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT DIANE MITSCH BUSH (D) Diane Mitsch Bush is a former tenured professor, Routt County Commissioner, and State Representative. She has lived and worked in Colorado’s Western Slope for over 43 years. Mitsch Bush was raised by a single mother and has been dedicated to a lifetime of volunteering and public service. Mitsch Bush first served the community as a social science policy researcher and through citizen advocacy in numerous non-profit groups before running for office and winning her first election for Routt County Commissioner. Mitsch Bush also served as a Colorado State House Representative from 2013-2017. https://dianeforcolorado.com/ LAUREN BOEBERT (R) Lauren Boebert is a Coloradoan living on the Western Slope. She is the founder, owner, and operator of Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado. Boebert is active in her church and has spent years counseling at-risk women at the local jail. Boeber’s husband, Jayson, has worked his adult life in oil and gas fields, primarily in Western Colorado. They are the parents