A political newcomer is battling to unseat the Republican incumbent in House District 38 in this year’s general election.
Democrat Chris Kolker is running against Republican state Rep. Susan Beckman for the modestly-sized district in the south-central corner of the metroplex.
House District 38 covers Littleton and Centennial, while also abutting Columbine, Greenwood Village and Highlands Ranch. The district runs along State Highway 470 to the south and touches Chatfield State Park in its southwest corner.
Kolker, a financial planner with Christopher Lee Financial in Centennial, writes on his campaign website that he is for “common sense gun control,” including bans on “military-style” weapons, increasing the minimum age to buy a gun to 21, and so-called “red flag” laws that would allow judges to order law enforcement officials to confiscate weapons from people who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.
Beckman voted against the state’s version of a “red flag” bill when it went to a floor vote in the House last session. The bill died in a Republican-led senate committee on a party-line vote shortly thereafter. On her website, Beckman skirts around the issue of gun control, but instead advocates for stronger security protocols — including additional school resource officers — at schools.
Beckman sat on four House committees last session: Appropriations; Finance; Health, Insurance and Environment; and the Public Health Care and Human Services. She sponsored several bills that were eventually signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper, although several of the measures centered on updating language and sunset provisions in existing laws. She also sponsored a successful bill with Democratic Aurora Rep. Janet Buckner that toughens punishments doled out to Department of Human Services employees who are found to have hurt “vulnerable people,” according to the state’s legislative website.
Kolker is a former high school history teacher and husband of a middle school teacher, according to his website.
Beckman, a former Littleton city council member and Arapahoe county Commissioner, was first elected to the HD 38 seat in 2016 after defeating Democrat Robert Bowen by a double-digit margin.
On healthcare, the two candidates disagree along party lines. Kolker supports expanding universal healthcare, according to his website, while Beckman has previously said she does not favor allocating additional funding for Medicaid in the state, and trumpets greater transparency in the industry. Last session, she co-sponsored a failed bill that would have required providers to provide additional details about charges on healthcare bills.
On his website, Kolker writes he is in favor of additional setbacks for oil and gas drilling in the state, specifically between schools and drilling sites. On her campaign site, Beckman writes: “I will fight over-regulation and outside special interests that are threatening to gut our economy, eliminate jobs and take away opportunities. I have experience working with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to create model local government best practices for the oil and gas industry.”
So far, Kolker has out-fundraised his Republican opponent, tallying slightly more than $55,000 in his coffers, according to the latest campaign finance reports. He’s spent roughly half of his contributions so far.
Beckman has raised about $36,000, but spent only about a third of that total. Both Kolker and Beckman have about $26,000 on-hand.
Correction: This story has been updated to provided additional context related to Kolker’s stance on oil and gas drilling setbacks.