Colorado Representative Jared Polis will announce his bid for Colorado Governor this week, the Denver Post writes.
“This is a campaign of big, bold ideas, and I’m trying to make them happen. We want a Colorado that works for everybody”, Polis said in an interview with the Denver Post on Sunday.
Polis will face stiff competition from four other Democrats, as Representative Ed Perlmutter, former state Senator Mike Johnston, former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy and businessman Noel Ginsburg, are also vying for the position in next year’s election.
A number of Republicans are also running in the race, including Mitt Romney’s nephew Doug Robinson, George Brauchler, the prosecutor in the Aurora theater shooting case; and former state legislator Victor Mitchell.
Democrat John Hickenlooper, the current Governor, is ineligible to seek another term.
Polis, who would be Colorado’s first openly gay governor if elected, told the Denver Post that his platform would focus on getting the state to 100 percent renewable energy by 2040, providing free access to full-day preschool or kindergarten for those 3 and older, and encouraging companies in Colorado to provide stock options to employees.
The 42-year-old Democrat, who has served Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District since 2009 and ranks as one of the wealthiest members in Congress, said “rather than spending my time in the living rooms of millionaires and billionaires,” he plans to attract a broad base of support.
The five-term U.S. lawmaker plans to make stops in Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver and Boulder on Monday to officially announce his candidacy.
Polis will complete his term in Congress in 2018 regardless of the outcome of the governor’s race, but if he doesn’t succeed in the primaries he won’t be able to run for his congressional seat in the next election.
Polis founded several entrepreneurial ventures over the years, including Blue Mountain greeting cards, ProFlowers and other online companies, and also founded two nonprofit public charter schools for at-risk students. His campaign touts him as “a recognized leader on education, immigration, civil rights, environment and technology issues.”
The primary election for governor is set for next summer, and the general election will be held November 6, 2018.
Be the first to comment