AURORA | Voters have given freshman Congressman Jason Crow, D-Aurora, a second term.
Crow leads Republican challenger Steve House by more than 18 points, as of 8 p.m. Ballots are still being counted. That could change the margin slightly. Crow leads with nearly 58% of the vote.
“It is an honor to once again serve the people of Colorado. When I first ran for Congress, I believed our country needed a new generation of leadership,” Crow said in a statement. “We needed leaders in Congress who would work to protect and improve our access to health care, stand united with our immigrant communities, take action on gun violence, address the climate crisis and so much more.
“These are challenging times for our country and the tough work of rebuilding lies ahead. But I know that there is nothing we can’t do as a nation when we come together with a common purpose.”
In 2018, the Sixth Congressional District seat, which covers Aurora and swathes of the south metro region, was highly contested. Crow, an attorney and former Army ranger, flipped the seat from now-Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, who was in Congress for a decade, by 11 points.
Since being elected, Crow has found himself in the national spotlight, mostly for his role as an impeachment manager early this year. He was one of seven members of Congress who prosecuted the case against President Donald Trump.
His involvement likely would have been a major issue in this year’s campaign had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic, which completely threw campaigning on its head for most candidates.
Instead, House, the former Colorado GOP chairman, focused his efforts touting issues such as health care and COVID-19 recovery, the issue House said he overwhelmingly heard from voters throughout the year.
House hasn’t published a statement about the race yet.
On health care, House said his plan was to implement more transparency in pricing so “all products and services have a price tag.” The Republican is in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act, but told the Sentinel in an interview “Obamacare was a well-intentioned program, but it was put on top of a very dysfunctional market. When you don’t know how supply and demand is going to react, you just don’t have any information about how you’re going to pay for this.”
House was adamant that he would protect pre-existing conditions.
Health care affordability is one that’s also been important to Crow, who co-authored the Freedom from Price Gouging Act in October 2019.
“Coupled with my work to protect coverage for preexisting conditions, increase pricing transparency and address the cost of prescription drugs, we can make large gains towards the goal of universal and affordable health coverage,” he said in a Sentinel policy survey.
Earlier in the day, Crow said the process for voting should be protected, as record numbers of voters turned out in Colorado and many places across the nation.
“President Trump sought to discredit our elections, but despite that – or in spite of it – Americans have turned out in record numbers. This is our democracy at work and we must never take it for granted,” he said. “2020 is not a typical year, and it’s not going to be a typical election night, either. Because of the pandemic and record turnout, we may not know every result right away — it might take some time and a little extra patience. But make no mistake, while this year is different, our basic voting process remains the same. President Trump may try to call the election for himself before the night is over but we live in a democracy, not an autocracy.
“The power belongs to the people. As we await tonight’s results, we must protect the process and make sure that every American’s voice is heard, no matter where they live or who they support. That is the promise of our democracy.”
