VOTE411 Voter Guide

I got to live my version of the American Dream after growing up in a middle-class household. And I want to affect policies that will help build a more robust middle class. This can be achieved through a fairer and equitable tax code and working to ensure better economic opportunity in El Paso County so that our community has the opportunity to live their American Dream.

From my time in the Army as a military police officer, I understand how critical it is that we support our veterans. In Congress, I will ensure veterans receive all the benefits they have earned—starting with care at VA clinics. VA medical centers across the country face staffing shortages that increase wait times and reduce access to care. I’ll fight to restore funding, increase staff, and reduce wait times at clinics. I will always advocate for El Paso County veterans and help them navigate the VA system.

Two of the things that make our nation great are the respect for the rule of law and our history as a nation of immigrants – we can honor both. We deserve to know who and what comes across our border. And I am glad we now have a more secure border, but we also must have a safe and orderly process for legal immigration. The recent abuse of ICE against law-abiding American citizens and immigrants is at odds with the rule of law and due process. We need to implement long-term and sustainable solutions – and only Congress can do that. Congress must focus on actually fixing the problem by securing our border, deporting violent criminals, and providing law-abiding immigrants a pathway to legal status – not making us less safe by taking resources away from efforts to crack down on violent criminals and instead arbitrarily rounding up teachers, nurses, grandmothers, and other law-abiding members of our communities. We need leaders in Congress focused on common-sense results to address this complex issue. Jeff Crank has not offered any meaningful solutions and, instead, just parrots political talking points.

The cornerstone of democracy is free, fair, safe, and secure elections. Colorado has a safe and secure election system that maximizes voter turnout. I will defend Colorado from Trump’s political attacks by working to ensure our election laws remain robust and transparent.

My policy priorities are healthcare access, mental health, affordability, and workforce development — and these issues are inseparable. Mental health affects workforce participation. Housing and childcare costs determine whether families can stay in their communities. Workforce shortages affect healthcare access and public safety.

I'm a strong supporter of organized labor because strong unions produce better-trained workers, safer job sites, and stronger local economies. In construction, energy, healthcare, and defense, workforce partnerships help small businesses compete while ensuring workers can support their families.

In CD-5, we have more than 100,000 veterans and approximately 40,000 active-duty service members. Defense policy, veterans' healthcare, behavioral health, and military family support are not abstract policy debates; they're woven into the fabric of our local economy.

That military context also shapes my thinking on military spouse employment, which deserves far more national attention. Frequent relocations, licensing barriers, and childcare costs make it hard for highly skilled spouses to maintain stable careers. As a veteran, I'll fight in Congress to address those barriers and ensure working families — military and civilian alike — can build stable lives here at home.

Good public policy should help people feel more secure, more connected to their communities, and more optimistic about the future. That's the perspective I would bring to Congress.

Our broken immigration system is the result of Congress avoiding hard problems for too long. We need secure borders, functional legal pathways, and policies that reflect both the rule of law and our constitutional values — those goals are not mutually exclusive.

I would have supported the bipartisan Border Act of 2024. It was imperfect, but it represented a serious attempt to address real challenges through negotiation rather than political theater. It included funding for border personnel, faster asylum adjudication, expanded legal pathways for workers and asylum seekers, and stronger border management.

I am also concerned by this administration's rhetoric and policies that treat constitutional protections as optional or inconvenient. Civil liberties are not conditional on citizenship status. We can enforce immigration law while honoring the Constitution.

This issue isn't abstract in Colorado Springs. I've spoken with students afraid to leave campus during lunch because they feared a family member could be detained. That level of fear is not healthy for children, families, or communities.

Accountability must also extend to employers. For years, corporations have knowingly benefited from undocumented labor with little consequence, undermining fair labor standards for everyone.

Colorado deserves leaders who treat immigration as a serious governance issue, not a permanent talking point.

Colorado has one of the strongest election systems in the country because we've worked hard to balance security with accessibility. Public confidence in elections depends not only on safeguards, but on people believing they can fully participate in the democratic process.

I am concerned about national trends eroding that trust. Extreme partisan gerrymandering has weakened competitiveness, increased polarization, and left too many voters feeling their voices matter less than maps drawn behind closed doors. Voters should choose their representatives — not the other way around. Colorado's independent redistricting commissions are a model worth strengthening and replicating nationally.

That doesn't mean election systems should never be questioned or improved. Transparency and continuous improvement are healthy parts of any democracy. But there is a real difference between strengthening election administration in good faith and promoting narratives designed to make Americans distrust their own government.

I am also concerned by the rhetoric that amplifies fear around election integrity without credible evidence. When leaders undermine confidence in legitimate outcomes, they may gain short-term advantage but damage the public trust that democracy depends on. Strong democracies require both secure elections and a public that trusts the process. In Congress, I'll work to bring Colorado's commitment to accessible, secure, and trusted elections to the federal level.