Glenwood Springs resident Cole Buerger announced this week that he’s running for Colorado’s state Senate.
He’s running in Senate District 5, which includes all of the Roaring Fork Valley and parts of the Colorado River Valley.
“We need a senator at the State Capitol who has deep roots in our district, who understands the challenges facing working people, and who has the experience and background to make sure our rural communities get the resources we need to thrive,” Buerger said in a press release announcing his campaign on Tuesday.
Buerger threw his hat in the ring for House District 57 last year, but lost to Elizabeth Velasco in the democratic primary.
He joins Montrose Mayor Barbara Bynum as the second Democrat to announce their candidacy for Senate District 5 in the 2024 election.
Both Buerger and Bynum’s municipalities were only recently included in Senate District 5 after redistricting in 2021.
The district is currently represented by Republican Perry Will of New Castle, who was appointed to the position in early January after Republican Bob Rankin from Carbondale unexpectedly stepped down last winter.
Will, who has a background in wildlife management and was previously a representative in the state house, has also filed paperwork to run for the seat in 2024.
Senate District 5 still slightly favors Republicans after recent redistricting.
According to 2021 data compiled by the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission after redistricting, about 30% of active registered voters were Republicans, 24% were Democrats and 44% were Unaffiliated. Several other smaller political parties make up just under 2% of the district’s voters.
While it’s not a huge lead for Republicans, the nonpartisan redistricting commission analyzed the results of eight recent elections and found that the district favors GOP candidates by three percentage points.
Despite this, Buerger thinks he has a good chance of appealing to voters in the district.
He is a fifth-generation Coloradan who grew up in Silt, and previously worked in international relations and public policy. He now runs a communications consultancy business and a recreation-based event space with his partner on the banks of the Colorado River.
Buerger said all of these experiences would help him tackle important issues facing the district.
“Growing up here on a ranch it's really important to me that we are doing all we can to protect our water, to ensure that small businesses and entrepreneurs can launch and grow, to make sure that people who live here and work here can afford to do so in a dignified way,” he said.
Buerger currently serves on the board of a local watershed organization and is active in the community, volunteering with the nonprofit food pantry Lift Up and as a literacy tutor helping local residents improve their English.
He turned 40 this year and he said it's an asset to be a younger candidate.
“I think that we need a new crop, a new generation of leaders who are focused on not only solving problems so that people have trust in our government, but also ensuring that we are doing everything we can to reform and strengthen the democratic institutions that we have so that we don't lose them,” Buerger said.
The primary for Senate District 5 will take place in June 2024 ahead of the November general election.
