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All voter registration statistics are as of Oct. 1, 2022, and provided by the Secretary of State. Redistricting commission ratings for congressional districts are based on election performance in the 2016 U.S. Senate and presidential races, the four top statewide election results in 2018 and the 2020 presidential and senate election results; some experts believe those numbers may overestimate Democratic advantage by as much as 5%.

Republicans are hoping to end a drought in major statewide races this year in Colorado, where the GOP hasn't notched a statewide win since 2014.

The race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Michael Bennet is ranked among the most competitive in the country this year. Going into the election, the chamber is evenly divided, with Vice President Kamala Harris providing the tie-breaking vote, so if either party nets one seat, it would shift the balance of power.

The congressional races profiled in this voter guide are considered to be the most competitive and could determine control of U.S. House, where Republicans need to flip five seats to take the gavel from Democrats.

3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Incumbent Republican Lauren Boebert of Silt is seeking a second term. Her challenger is Adam Frisch, a businessman and former Aspen City Council member.

The district includes all or parts of 27 counties on the Western Slope and across Southern Colorado, including Pueblo County and the San Luis Valley. Its electorate favors Republicans by 9.3 percentage points.

Democrats: 115,070 Republicans: 149,882 Unaffiliated: 213,276 Total active voters: 487,094

DEMOCRAT

Adam Frisch

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Adam Frisch

What's the first legislation you'll introduce if elected?

My first legislation would focus on protecting CD3’s waters and watersheds. We need to provide the resources for local authorities to manage forest and watershed health, expand storage capacity, and prevent outside forces from making decisions about the fate of Colorado’s water.

What is your top spending priority?

My spending priority is funding to manage forests and watersheds, keep them healthy, expand storage capacity, and deal with the consequences of the drought through increased conservation and water infrastructure.

Please describe your positions on:

Energy and climate

I support an all-of-the-above energy policy. Colorado produces the cleanest energy with the highest environmental standards, and we should continue to be an energy leader. We also need to address emissions, and should work to transition to lower carbon fuel sources, be it natural gas and renewables, going forward.

Taxes

We need to keep more money in people’s pockets by lowering the tax burden on lower and middle class American families. I support policies like the Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan that let parents keep more of their hard-earned dollars and cut child poverty rates in half. We also need to streamline our nation’s tax code to make it easier for families and businesses to file taxes and keep more of their paycheck.

Abortion after Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade

No American’s freedoms should be dependent on which state or ZIP code they live in. I believe Congress should enshrine the protections of Roe vs Wade in federal statute to protect reproductive rights and private health decisions.

REPUBLICAN

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert

Boebert's campaign submitted the following answers to our questionnaire on Oct. 24, too late to be included in our printed voter guide.

What's the first legislation you'll introduce if elected?

I’ll introduce legislation to responsibly produce American energy, lower gas prices, streamline permitting, and increase American energy exports that will boost our economy and project American strength while exporting freedom throughout the world. Biden shut down the Keystone XL pipeline on day one and waged an all-out war on American energy, and we are all paying the price for it. Gas is $4 a gallon again, and moms are spending more than $75 dollars to fill up their minivans.High gas prices are one of the root causes of inflation and make everything we need and buy more expensive.

What is your top spending priority?

Cutting wasteful federal spending. Coloradans are struggling right now as they deal with the disastrous effects of Biden and Pelosi's destructive economic policies. They unleashed record inflation on Americans that has decimated our bank and retirement accounts, increased gas prices to record levels, raised utility bills, drove up grocery costs, and made it harder to live for most Americans. The primary root cause of this record-breaking inflation was trillions of dollars of wasteful federal spending. Biden has spent an unsustainable $5.7 trillion already and our national debt now exceeds $31 trillion dollars. We must get our fiscal house in order.

Energy and climate

Gas prices are skyrocketing and 20 million Americans can’t pay their electric bill. I support an all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes hydropower, nuclear, natural gas, oil, and renewables. America makes the cleanest energy in the world and has the highest standards. Our natural gas is 42% cleaner than Russian gas. We should stop begging OPEC, Venezuela, and Iran to produce energy, and instead produce American energy.American innovation in oil and gas drilling made us the global leader in reducing emissions. We can also significantly reduce carbon emissions, improve water quality, and protect the environment by actively managing our forests.

Taxes

Taxes are too high and Uncle Sam steals too much of our hard-earned money from our paychecks. We should fully repeal the"death tax" as there is no reason to tax people again when they pass the family farm on to the next generation. We should make the tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent to prevent an unnecessary tax hike on the American people and job creators in 2025.Inflation is a hidden tax and American families will each pay a $8,581 Biden inflation tax this year. We should make the tax code simpler and fairer for all Americans.

Abortion after Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade

Now that this decision has been overturned, the people and their elected representatives at the local level have the opportunity tochoose life like never before. Life begins at conception. I will always defend life. I support inclusion of the Hyde Amendment in all appropriations bills and my appropriations request prohibiting federal tax dollars from funding abortions was signed into law. 79% of Americans oppose late-term abortionsand I join them in steadfast opposition to this practice. I will continue to give a voice to the voiceless, protect the unborn, and support the pro-life movement.

7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Democrat Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood and Republican Erik Aadland of Pine are running for the open seat, which has been represented since 2007 by Democrat Ed Perlmutter, who is retiring after this term.

The district includes all or parts of Jefferson County, Broomfield and six counties as far south as Custer County, plus tiny slivers of a few surrounding counties.  Its electorate favors Democrats by 6.9 percentage points.

Democrats: 140,822 Republicans: 125,150 Unaffiliated: 236,589 Total active voters: 511,650

DEMOCRAT

State Sen. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood

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State Sen. Brittany Pettersen

What's the first legislation you'll introduce if elected?

Our number one priority must be protecting our democracy because we cannot work on the urgent needs of our country without it. I will support the passage of the Electoral Vote Count Act and For the People Act. We saw significant vulnerabilities in our system when the Jan. 6th insurrection attempted to overturn a free and fair election, and we must address these gaps to ensure a functioning democracy. My next priorities will be continuing to help our state recover from the pandemic and the economic fallout.

What is your top spending priority?

We must continue focusing on helping families address rising costs by investing in critical services so many people rely on like early childhood education, child care services, higher education, workforce training in critical shortage areas, housing supply and access to capital for small businesses. In order to continue to address our supply chain issues that have led to rising costs, we need to continue to invest in moving goods and services and bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US. I will also fight to protect Social Security and Medicare for our seniors.

Please describe your positions on:

Energy and climate

Climate change is one of the greatest threats we face, and I am committed to championing legislation to help communities deal with the current impacts of the climate crisis and ensure we mitigate its worst effects. I support a rapid transition to renewable energy like wind, solar, geothermal and other emerging clean technologies. I believe the federal government must play a role in building the energy grid needed to support our state’s future energy and transmission needs.

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Taxes

The wealthiest and largest corporations continue to avoid paying taxes while the rest of us are stuck footing the bill. As a state senator, I worked to close offshore tax havens for corporations who were dodging taxes to give millions back to our public schools. I will continue to fight for tax fairness to support working families and invest back in our schools, roads, and small businesses.

Abortion after Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade

I believe that deciding if and when someone wants to start a family is one of the most personal decisions to make and nobody, especially politicians, should make that choice that belongs between a woman and her doctor. Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, we have seen the world cruel world Republicans have created with the dire impacts of draconian abortion bans. I have worked to increase access to contraception and protect abortion rights here in Colorado, and in Congress, will vote to protect those rights for everyone.

REPUBLICAN

Erik Aadland

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Erik Aadland

What's the first legislation you'll introduce if elected?

I want to introduce legislation requiring the federal government to operate on a balanced budget. Resolving our debt and spending crisis, while protecting essential programs such as Social Security and Medicare, is crucial to the future of our country.

What is your top spending priority?

I will advocate for Congress to recommit to public safety. This starts with securing our southern border and stopping the flow of deadly Chinese-manufactured fentanyl into our communities. In addition, we must deal with out-of-control crime by restoring respect for law enforcement and ending all attempts to defund the police.

Please describe your positions on:

Energy and climate

We must protect our environment while restoring sound energy policy and American energy independence. If we steward our natural resources responsibly, we can seek sustainability without diminishing national security, the economy, living standards, or global power and competitive advantage. Wise use of existing sources of energy, coupled with well-researched, market-proven emerging technologies, will enhance lifestyles for everyone while preserving our planet for future generations.

Taxes

We must lower taxes, not raise them. History shows that lowering taxes is a proven boost to the economy. Lowering taxes keeps money in the hands of the people who earned it so that they can decide how to best spend their hard-earned dollars. It acknowledges the truth that while individuals and businesses are incentivized to spend their money wisely, government is not.

Abortion after Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade

Important and life-changing decisions should be made at the individual level. Congress should take no action at all regarding abortion at the federal level. I will not support any federal legislation on abortion whatsoever.

8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Democrat Yadira Caraveo of Thornton and Republican Barb Kirkmeyer of Brighton, both state lawmakers, are running in the newly created district, which was added to Colorado's delegation due to population growth following the 2020 Census.

The district covers parts of Adams, Weld and Larimer counties, including Thornton, Northglenn, Commerce City, Berthoud, Brighton, Johnstown and Greeley. It favors Democrats by 1.3 percentage points.

Democrats: 114,419 Republicans: 101,154 Unaffiliated: 195,591 Total active voters: 419,684

DEMOCRAT

State Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Thornton

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State Rep. Yadira Caraveo

What's the first legislation you'll introduce if elected?

I will focus on legislation that helps working families make ends meet. I’d like to introduce a bill to cap sky high prescription drug costs, like I was able to do in Colorado by creating a prescription drug affordability board that caps the costs of the most expensive prescription medications.

What is your top spending priority?

My priority is to lower costs for working families. I will focus on closing tax loopholes to keep billionaires and huge corporations accountable, while continuing to find ways to help middle class families save money so that working parents don’t have to choose between taking care of their kids and making ends meet.

Please describe your positions on:

Energy and climate

The key to my approach is balance and moderation. I believe in climate change, and I believe we need to pursue an all of the above policy approach to energy. Thousands of families in CD-8 are employed by the energy industry, and thousands are also affected by the realities of climate change. I’ve worked to give localities more say in what types of industry they want near homes and schools. In Congress, I’ll work to make sure we don’t lose current jobs and prepare our kids for high paying renewable energy jobs.

Taxes

We need to level the playing field by ensuring the ultra-wealthy and large corporations are paying their fair share of taxes. In the legislature, I’ve cut taxes for working families and small businesses, and returned cash to the pockets of Coloradans during an expensive summer.

Abortion after Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade:

Congress should restore the right to an abortion established under Roe v. Wade into federal law. Government should never make private medical decisions that should only be between a woman and her doctor.

REPUBLICAN

State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton

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State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer

What's the first legislation you'll introduce if elected?

I would like to help overturn Joe Biden’s executive orders punishing energy workers, particularly the ban on oil and gas exploration on federal lands.

What is your top spending priority?

My priority is to stop deficit spending and start cutting the national debt. Runaway spending is fueling inflation and burdening future generations with massive debt, to the tune of $90,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. That’s just wrong. As Weld County Commissioner, I led an effort to zero out debt while cutting taxes. I’ll take that same zeal for balanced budgets to Congress.

Please describe your positions on:

Energy and climate

Supporting American energy development and energy independence on the one hand and protecting the environment on the other are not mutually exclusive goals. The United States (and Colorado) have drastically reduced greenhouse gas emissions in recent decades. We should be proud of that. But there is no upside to shutting down American oil and gas development and making America dependent upon foreign energy. I will work to promote development of all forms of American energy.

Taxes

Tax rates should be as low, flat, and stable as reasonably possible to help foster economic and job growth in the United States. I am not generally supportive of industry or company specific tax credits and carve outs that benefit certain companies at expense to others.

Abortion after Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade

I’m proud to support a ban on abortion after 15 weeks, with an exception for when the life of the mother is at stake. It’s just common sense. And it’s a clear contrast with my opponent, who has shown no willingness to back down from her extreme position supporting abortions, including taxpayer funding of abortions, up until the moment of birth.