Chris Kolker
2023 - Present
2029
2
Chris Kolker (Democratic Party) is a member of the Colorado State Senate, representing District 16. He assumed office on January 9, 2023. His current term ends on January 10, 2029.
Kolker (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Colorado State Senate to represent District 16. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Kolker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Chris Kolker was born in Guttenberg, Iowa. As of 2020, he lived in Arapahoe County, Colorado. He earned a bachelor's degree from Clarke College in 1994. Kolker's career experience includes working as a certified financial planner, high school teacher, and business owner.[1][2]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Kolker was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Education Committee
- Senate Finance Committee, Vice Chair
2021-2022
Kolker was assigned to the following committees:
- Technology Committee
- Business, Labor, and Technology Committee
- Senate Local Government and Housing Committee
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 16
Incumbent Chris Kolker defeated Robyn Carnes and Bennett Rutledge in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 16 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Chris Kolker (D) ![]() | 52.1 | 53,740 |
![]() | Robyn Carnes (R) ![]() | 47.8 | 49,302 | |
![]() | Bennett Rutledge (L) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 16 |
Total votes: 103,058 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 16
Incumbent Chris Kolker advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 16 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Chris Kolker ![]() | 100.0 | 14,644 |
Total votes: 14,644 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 16
Robyn Carnes advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 16 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Robyn Carnes ![]() | 100.0 | 10,945 |
Total votes: 10,945 | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kolker in this election.
2020
See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 27
Chris Kolker defeated Suzanne Staiert in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 27 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Chris Kolker (D) ![]() | 55.3 | 51,005 |
![]() | Suzanne Staiert (R) ![]() | 44.7 | 41,222 |
Total votes: 92,227 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 27
Chris Kolker advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 27 on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Chris Kolker ![]() | 100.0 | 26,173 |
Total votes: 26,173 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 27
Suzanne Staiert advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 27 on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Suzanne Staiert ![]() | 100.0 | 14,638 |
Total votes: 14,638 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- James Woodley (R)
2018
General election
General election for Colorado House of Representatives District 38
Incumbent Susan Beckman defeated Chris Kolker in the general election for Colorado House of Representatives District 38 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Susan Beckman (R) | 50.4 | 24,164 |
![]() | Chris Kolker (D) | 49.6 | 23,790 |
Total votes: 47,954 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 38
Chris Kolker advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 38 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Chris Kolker | 100.0 | 10,109 |
Total votes: 10,109 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 38
Incumbent Susan Beckman advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 38 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Susan Beckman | 100.0 | 9,564 |
Total votes: 9,564 | ||||
![]() | ||||
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Kolker was endorsed by the Aurora Sentinel.[3]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chris Kolker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kolker's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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|- 1. A well funded public education system funding that is equitable with high expectations for every child and school, where children's minds are nurtured and challenged is my number one issue. In 2024 we ended the BS factor for the first time in 14 years! I will continue to devote my energy to prioritize public education and push for the school finance act to be heard and voted upon before the general budget bill. We need to better understand the cost of educating our kids. It is why I supported the funding of 2 studies to take place in 2024 to do so before we make any changes to the school finance formula, so we can base improvement on known data. Our kids deserve a well thought out approach that takes all data into consideration.
- 2. Mental healthcare should be a part of what is considered healthcare for all. I am strong advocate of improving mental healthcare for those on Medicaid and in the private sector. I have sponsored and passed numerous bills to expand access for all to mental healthcare and will continue to strive for improvements in our system of care. It is a deeply personal issue for me based on my own experiences living with depression.
- 3. We must continue to push for equal rights for all, protections for our consumers, workers, retirees, and environment through an efficient, transparent, and fair government. This includes but is not limited to; equal protection under the law for all, especially communities of color who have been historically discriminated against and over-prosecuted, protecting workers rights, individual rights to reproductive healthcare, equity for the disabled community, affordable medical care for all, affordable housing for all, the right for everyone to breathe clean air and drink clean water.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2020
Chris Kolker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kolker's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Collapse all
|- A well funded public education system funding that is equitable with high expectations for every child and school, where children's minds are nurtured and challenged is my number one issue. The caveat is our state budget must be given the opportunity to be flexible. I would address working within our budget to find the resources to fulfill the promise of Amendment 23. This requires a technical, mathematical analysis of our current spending. I have already begun and know that we have an opportunity, but it still falls short due to the inflexible constraints of the TABOR and Gallagher amendments. which have so severely restricted what we are able to do for public education and economic recovery in Colorado. I will continue to work to educ
- Affordable health care that must include mental health care is also a priority. I know personally how financially devastating mental health challenges can be. I would address this issue by working with insurance companies, schools, and hospitals to make sure that mental health care is affordable and accessible to those who need it.
- We must continue to push for equal rights for all, protections for our consumers, workers, retirees, and environment through an efficient, transparent, and fair government.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Colorado scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 8.
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2023
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 9 to May 8.
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2022
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 12 to May 11.
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2021
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 13 to June 8.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
Candidate Colorado State Senate District 16 |
Officeholder Colorado State Senate District 16 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 14, 2020
- ↑ Kolker for Colorado, "About Chris," accessed December 29, 2020
- ↑ Aurora Sentinel, "SENTINEL ENDORSEMENTS: Considering integrity, transparency, health care, gun safety and education, our state House picks for 2018," October 18, 2018
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Tammy Story (D) |
Colorado State Senate District 16 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
Preceded by Jack Tate (R) |
Colorado State Senate District 27 2021-2023 |
Succeeded by Tom Sullivan (D) |