STATE SENATE DISTRICT 27
AURORA | Voters in state Senate District 27 will decide between reelecting Democratic state Sen. Tom Sullivan or choosing from his two challengers — Republican Danielle Lammon and Libertarian Michele Poague.
Sullivan is seeking a second term as state senator, having also represented Colorado House District 37, which he was first elected to in 2018. Sullivan is known for advocating gun safety legislation, including helping to pass Colorado’s Extreme Risk Protection Order law, following the death of his son in the 2012 Aurora theater mass shooting.
An Air Force veteran and former U.S. Postal worker, Sullivan also advocates for public schools, affordable housing, workers’ rights, veterans, access to mental health care, reproductive freedom and lower cost of living.
In the 2026 legislative session, Sullivan sponsored and passed legislation to expand the Extreme Risk Protection Orders, ban 3D-printed guns and gun parts and strengthen the state’s worker compensation requirements.
Lammon is a community leader, nonprofit founder, author and retired small-business owner. A Southeast Aurora resident, Lammon is the founder and CEO of the Aurora Fire Foundation, which supports first responders and public safety initiatives, and founder of the Buddy Publishing Foundation, which promotes literacy programs.
For more than a decade, Lammon has led community projects in Aurora, including efforts that helped create the city’s only sensory garden at Star K Ranch and Aurora’s first accessible playground.
Lammon says education and literacy would be among her leading priorities. She advocates directing more funding into classrooms to support teachers.
Lammon says she would defend Second Amendment rights and oppose what she describes as overreaching gun restrictions on law-abiding citizens. She also emphasizes support for law enforcement.
In addition, Lammon says she would advocate for parental rights, including greater transparency in schools and increased parental involvement in decisions affecting children’s education, health and values.
On fiscal questions, Lammon said in campaign material that she pledges to vote to defend Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, reduce regulations, cut government spending and lower taxes. She says limiting government and reducing costs are essential to keeping Colorado affordable for families and workers.
Libertarian Michele Poague is also vying for Sullivan’s seat. Poague, a science fiction novelist, has been heavily involved with local, state and national chapters of the Libertarian Party for more than 30 years. She served as state chair of the Colorado Libertarian Party in 1996 and helped produce the party’s national convention in 2008, according to her personal website. The state faction of the party has granted her a lifetime achievement award.
She has also worked in various roles at Shotgun Willies, nee The Bavaria Inn, in Glendale since 1984. Poague previously ran for office to represent Senate District 29 in 2020 and in 2022 she ran as the Libertarian candidate for lieutenant governor.
Poague does not have a dedicated campaign website, but she previously signed a pledge supporting term limits for federal lawmakers. In past elections, Poague also supported platforms put forth by the national Libertarian Party, including limited government and mechanisms to curb taxation.