DENVER (KDVR) — With a little more than two weeks until election day, Congress is still up for grabs for both Democrats and Republicans. Both parties are hoping to win a seat in Colorado that Democrats have held for years.
On “Colorado Point of View,” we sit down with the Democrat hoping to keep the 7th Congressional District blue, current state Sen. Brittany Pettersen. She is taking on Republican Army veteran Erik Aadland this November.
Retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter has held the seat since 2006. But because of redistricting, the 7th District now includes rural and mountain areas, such as Park, Chaffee and Fremont counties, giving Republicans some hope.
The economy will likely also play a factor in who ends up winning in the 7th District, with inflation still near a 40-year high.
“Right now we’ve seen skyrocketing prices because the supply chain has been disrupted globally. So what we need to do is build off of the CHIP act, which is bringing manufacturing jobs back here to the United States,” Pettersen said. “We have relied on other countries to supply critical goods that we rely on. And the pandemic has shined a light on the vulnerabilities we have here.”
On top of the economy and inflation, Pettersen said one of her top priorities if elected to Congress is democratic reform, including voter rights. Her opponent, Aadland, has questioned the results of the 2020 presidential election in the past.
“I am very concerned with people like my opponent, who are election deniers and conspiracy theorists, running across the country,” Pettersen said. “We did see how fragile our democracy is and somebody like my opponent should never be in the position to certify an election in 2024.”
You can watch our full interview with Pettersen on “Colorado Point of View” this Sunday at 7:30 a.m. on Colorado’s Very Own Channel 2.