Brittany Pettersen Receives Endorsements From All Four Colorado Democratic Representatives

By Sara Wilson, Colorado Newsline

February 1, 2022

State Sen. Brittany Pettersen now has endorsements from every Colorado Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives for her congressional bid.

Reps. Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse and Jason Crow formally endorsed Pettersen on Monday for her campaign to represent Colorado’s 7th Congressional District. Last week, the Lakewood Democrat secured endorsements from Rep. Ed Perlmutter and Sen. Michael Bennet.

Perlmutter, who currently represents the district, announced earlier this year that he is not seeking reelection. Pettersen jumped into the race one day after the representative’s surprise retirement announcement.

Now, she has the support of nearly every Democrat in Colorado’s congressional delegation.

“Colorado’s Democratic congressional delegation has set the bar for what Americans should expect from their representatives in Congress, and I am humbled to earn their support,” she said in a statement.

DeGette, who represents the 1st Congressional District, said in a statement that she is looking forward to working with Pettersen in Washington, D.C. DeGette co-chairs the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus and is an outspoken supporter of abortion access as the future of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance.

“From her leadership on mental health to her staunch advocacy for women and families, Brittany has proven herself to be an advocate for our values who gets results. With the recent attacks on women’s rights, it is more important than ever to elect effective pro-choice women to Congress,” she said.

Neguse, the 2nd Congressional District representative, said he met Pettersen 10 years ago at New Era Colorado, a nonprofit he helped form to educate young voters.

“From her incredible work expanding access to mental health services, to taking on the opioid epidemic, and fighting for early childhood education and development, Brittany has been a champion for Colorado in the State House and State Senate, and I know she will continue to fight for us in Congress,” Neguse said.

Crow, who represents the 6th Congressional District, called Pettersen a proven fighter for her community.

“As the daughter of working-class parents, Brittany Pettersen has always known how hard American families have to work just to make ends meet. As we continue to focus on beating the pandemic and rebuilding an economy that prioritizes working families, Coloradans need servant leaders like Brittany in Congress who truly understand the challenges we face,” he said.

Sen. John Hickenlooper is the remaining Democrat in the congressional delegation who has not yet endorsed Pettersen. He did not respond to a request for comment on the issue as of noon on Tuesday.

Kyle Faust and Julius Mopper, both first-time candidates, have also filed to run for the Democratic nomination in the district.

The Republicans running include Erik Aadland, Laurel Imer, Tim Reichert and Carl Andersen.

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