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Christopher Sweat
Christopher Sweat (Forward Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Colorado's 5th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Sweat completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Christopher Sweat was born in San Jose, California. He attended Palmer High School & Woodland Park High School and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2025. His career experience includes working as a technology consultant for startups in artificial intelligence and cyber security.[1][2]
Elections
2024
See also: Colorado's 5th Congressional District election, 2024
Colorado's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Republican primary)
Colorado's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Colorado District 5
The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. House Colorado District 5 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jeff Crank (R) | 54.7 | 197,924 |
 | River Gassen (D)  | 40.9 | 147,972 | |
 | Michael Vance (L) | 1.8 | 6,458 | |
 | Joseph O. Gaye (Unaffiliated) | 1.1 | 4,094 | |
 | Christopher Mitchell (American Constitution Party) | 1.1 | 4,006 | |
 | Christopher Sweat (Forward Party) | 0.4 | 1,627 | |
 | Marcus Murphy (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 4 | |
| Total votes: 362,085 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Calil Yarbrough (No Party Affiliation)
- Katrina Nguyen (Unaffiliated)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 5
River Gassen defeated Joe Reagan in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 5 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | River Gassen | 50.6 | 20,802 |
 | Joe Reagan | 49.4 | 20,313 | |
| Total votes: 41,115 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- John Edgar (D)
- Orlondo Avion (D)
- David Torres (D)
- Adam Gillard (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 5
Jeff Crank defeated Dave Williams in the Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 5 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff Crank | 65.2 | 56,585 |
 | Dave Williams | 34.8 | 30,257 | |
| Total votes: 86,842 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Rose Pugliese (R)
- Daryl Lopes (R)
- Bob Gardner (R)
- Joshua Griffin (R)
- Doug Lamborn (R)
- Douglas Bruce (R)
- Cory Parella (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Sweat in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Christopher Sweat completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sweat's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- We are heading into wartime, still facing leftover economic turmoil from pandemic-related policies and monetary intervention, and we should be at the top of our game to remain competitive and strong as a people and a nation. But our politicians are out of line, inhibiting our growth. I will focus the house on the most important issues relevant to District 5, be a loud and dominant voice, and motivate other great people to step into leadership to get our country going in the right direction for our kids and our joint future. It’s time for a new party, a new guard, a transition, a movement, and a break up of the ineffective two-party system.
- Technology companies repeatedly prove they are not accountable for the negative impact their systems create in our society. We must preempt them and prepare for a dramatic shift in the supply and demand of skills as technological advancements proceed. Some sectors most threatened by artificial intelligence are the services, which are a dominant part of the labor market in CD5. Growing up in the district, I was taught that you work hard, any job, with no shame, and work your way up. We must keep these pathways open and keep our hands busy so that we can continue to contribute to the growth of our community. While in Congress, I will seek to attract new manufacturing and robotics jobs and innovation projects to help advance our community.
- Both parties thought it appropriate to print trillions of dollars due to pandemic-related policies, yet they cannot pass an annual budget. Then, the Fed took it upon themselves to raise interest rates to the highest in more than 20 years. Ordinary people like us have been hit incredibly hard by the high cost of borrowing, soaring food prices, extraordinary home prices, and historically high rents, while wealthy individuals are the richest they’ve ever been on record. 2/3rds of the $42 trillion of wealth created in the first two years of the pandemic has gone to the wealthiest 1% of the world’s people. Wealth inequality is at an all-time high, and Washington is doing nothing but ‘print and spend’. We must put an end to this bad behavior.
Other figures I look up to are Michael Jordan for his intensity towards his craft and for his business savvy and his brand that extends globally.
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 website
Sweat's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
What I Believe We are heading into wartime, still facing leftover economic turmoil from pandemic-related policies and monetary intervention, and we should be at the top of our game to remain competitive and strong as a people and a nation. But our politicians are out of line, inhibiting our growth. I will focus the house on the most important issues relevant to District 5, be a loud and dominant voice, and motivate other great people to step into leadership to get our country going in the right direction for our kids and our joint future. It’s time for a new party, a new guard, a transition, a movement, and a break up of the ineffective two-party system. I am sick and tired of outsourcing political decision-making to lawyers and wealthy businessmen detached from today’s reality. Immigration Global immigration flows are changing the dynamics at our southern border, and the federal government is doing nothing to prevent unauthorized people from entering our communities. Over 2 million immigrants entered the United States in 2023, a record high, and only a tiny fraction were deported. The rest are increasing our tax burden and threatening domestic security. We must cap and control the flow of unauthorized immigration with increased border security, increased coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and the ability to detain and expel criminals and those who pose a threat to our safety. Economy, Labor, & Artificial Intelligence Technology companies repeatedly prove they are not accountable for the negative impact their systems create in our society. We must preempt them and prepare for a dramatic shift in the supply and demand of skills as technological advancements proceed. Some sectors most threatened by artificial intelligence are the services, which are a dominant part of the labor market in CD5. Growing up in the district, I was taught that you work hard, any job, with no shame, and work your way up. We must keep these pathways open and keep our hands busy so that we can continue to contribute to the growth of our community. While in Congress, I will seek to attract new manufacturing and robotics jobs and innovation projects that ensure the district is a haven for new technologies and programs to help the community participate in the future of our economy. Cost of Living & Inflation Both parties thought it appropriate to print trillions of dollars due to pandemic-related policies, yet they cannot pass an annual budget. Then, the Fed took it upon themselves to raise interest rates to the highest in more than 20 years. Ordinary people like us have been hit incredibly hard by the high cost of borrowing, soaring food prices, extraordinary home prices, and historically high rents, while wealthy individuals are the richest they’ve ever been on record. 2/3rds of the $42 trillion of wealth created in the first two years of the pandemic has gone to the wealthiest 1% of the world’s people. Wealth inequality is at an all-time high, and Washington is doing nothing but ‘print and spend’. We must cease money printing, ease interest rates, and call for a dramatic reduction in wasteful federal spending. Education Education is critical to achieving a ‘good life,’ but the programs available through traditional academic institutions need to catch up to the labor market and be in touch with the changing pace of the economy. We should be able to reskill people for a fraction of the cost of tuition at a state university, using nuanced solutions to adult learning, the abundance of technology that is available today, and targeted programs that find people with emerging talents or skills, and give them an expedited pathway to a fruitful career, with an income they can own a home and raise a family on. Gone are the days when we sat by while the best jobs went to the children of the wealthiest people, and everyone else was left to pick up scraps or take on extraordinary amounts of debt. It’s time to redefine education, increase accessibility, and help our youth be more competitive in the global economy. Veterans Imagine if the programs we can instantly spin up to print money were spun up for our veterans, some in dire need, educating them on the resources that are available to them from their prior military service, helping them transition back into civilian life, and assisting them in finding new opportunities be it to work in industry, or as an entrepreneur. Our veterans have faced things many of us will not in our lifetimes to protect our freedom, making significant sacrifices for our country. Many of our veterans, when they aren’t able to find options, may turn to alcohol or drugs to deal with their pain. But we should walk hand in hand with them, building and maintaining a robust system that helps veterans use their unique gifts here at home, and we should learn from their commitment to our country. I will advocate for programs to quickly align veterans with the necessary resources they need, including housing, retraining, job preparation, mental health, and awareness programs so that all veterans know who to call and talk to when they are in need, have questions, or need essential assistance. Helping veterans make faster and safer transitions is better for our families and community.[3] |
” |
| —Christopher Sweat's campaign website (2024)[4] | ||
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Colorado District 5 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 30, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Christopher Sweat," May 22, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Christopher Sweat's campaign website, "Main page," accessed September 19, 2024
