State Sen. Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat, is running for the Colorado congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter.
Pettersen announced her campaign to represent the 7th Congressional District on Tuesday, a day after Perlmutter, an Arvada Democrat, said he wouldn’t seek a ninth term in Congress.
“I am ready to continue Ed Perlmutter’s legacy,” she told The Colorado Sun. “I’ve been wanting to run for this seat for a long time.”
Pettersen, 40, has spent nearly a decade in the Colorado legislature. She has passed several measures responding to the opioid epidemic and the state’s mental health crisis. She was also one of the prime sponsors of the so-called red flag bill that passed in 2019, allowing judges to order the temporary seizure of firearms from someone deemed a risk to themselves or others.
“It has been such an honor to serve at the state level, because we have such an incredible impact and are able to get big things done,” she said. “It’s been the most rewarding work that I’ve ever done. But I’m excited to step up and represent people here in the 7th Congressional District in Washington and take on bigger responsibilities.”
The 7th District is anchored in Jefferson County but its boundaries changed last year during redistricting to incorporate several mountain counties, including Lake, Chaffee, Park and Fremont. The new 7th District is forecast to favor Democrats by 7 percentage points. That’s based on an analysis of the results of eight statewide races between 2016 and 2020.