Neal Walia
Neal Walia (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Colorado House of Representatives to represent District 9. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on June 30, 2026.[source]
Walia completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Neal Walia earned a high school diploma from Mountain Vista High School, a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2011, and a graduate degree from the University of Colorado Denver in 2016. His career experience includes working in government affairs.[1][2]
Elections
2026
See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on June 30, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 9
Matthew M. Curry, Samuel Valeriano, Monica VanBuskirk, and Neal Walia are running in the Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 9 on June 30, 2026.
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 = 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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Endorsements
To view Walia's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2022
See also: Colorado's 1st Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Colorado District 1
Incumbent Diana DeGette defeated Jennifer Qualteri, John Kittleson, and Iris Boswell in the general election for U.S. House Colorado District 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Diana DeGette (D) | 80.3 | 226,929 |
 | Jennifer Qualteri (R) | 17.5 | 49,529 | |
| John Kittleson (L) | 2.2 | 6,157 | ||
| Iris Boswell (G) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 70 | ||
| Total votes: 282,685 | |||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Dom Waters (Unity Party)
- Steven Childs (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 1
Incumbent Diana DeGette defeated Neal Walia in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 1 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Diana DeGette | 81.1 | 79,391 |
 | Neal Walia | 18.9 | 18,472 | |
| Total votes: 97,863 | |||
| = 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
- Dom Waters (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 1
Jennifer Qualteri advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 1 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Qualteri | 100.0 | 18,568 |
| Total votes: 18,568 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Walia's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Neal Walia completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Walia's responses.
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Walia has spent more than a decade advancing people-centered policy at the local, state, and national levels. He most recently served as Director of Policy and Government Relations at the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians, where he helped pass legislation ending non-compete agreements in Colorado’s health-care system and advancing mental health protections for physicians. Previously, he was Deputy Director of the Asian Pacific Development Center, overseeing programs supporting education, mental health services, and pathways to citizenship for immigrants and refugees.
Walia also helped lead transition work for the Mayor of Denver to establish an Office of Neighborhood Safety focused on social and economic determinants of safety. As Chair of the Colorado South Asian Democrats, he has led voter engagement efforts, trained candidates, and worked to close representation gaps. A former congressional candidate, he is running to deliver Primary Care for All, fully fund public education, expand affordable housing, and protect workers and tenants.- People-Centered Leadership: I am a community leader and policy advocate with a proven record of delivering results for working families. I’ve helped pass legislation expanding access to health care, ending non-compete agreements, protecting workers, and advancing immigrant inclusion. I’m running to bring experienced, people-centered leadership to the legislature-focused on outcomes, accountability, and policies that materially improve people’s lives, not corporate interests.
- Working Families First: Working families are being squeezed by rising costs and stagnant wages. I’m running to deliver Primary Care for All, expand affordable and mixed-income housing, strengthen tenant protections, and fully fund public education. These investments are essential to economic stability and opportunity. Government should make life more affordable and secure for the people who power our economy-not just those at the top.
- Representation, Justice, and Accountability: As the son of Indian immigrants, I understand how policy failures and lack of representation harm communities. I’m running to close representation gaps, protect immigrant families, and ensure all residents can live without fear and fully participate in civic life. I will challenge corporate influence, defend civil rights, and fight for an inclusive democracy where government works for everyone-not just the powerful.
State Senators James Coleman and Julie Gonzales; State Representatives Steven Woodrow, Naquetta Ricks, Eliza Hamrick, Junie Joseph, and Kenny Nguyen; Denver City Councilmembers Jamie Torres and Sarah Parady; Arapahoe County Assessor PK Kaiser; Erie City Councilmember Anil Pesaramelli; Centennial City Councilmember Ashish Vaidya; Edgewater City Councilmember Hannah Gay Keao; Westminster City Councilmember Obi Ezeadi; and Lafayette Mayor Saul Tapia Vega. Organizational endorsements include the Denver Chapter of Progressive Democrats of America and CU Regent Wanda James’ Warrior PAC.
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.
2022
Neal Walia completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Walia's responses.
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- We need a just transition to green jobs and infrastructure built around decarbonization and economic democracy.
- Housing is a human right and too many families face increasing burdens that do not allow us to thrive.
- Healthcare for the common good is something we can win through Medicare for all. We need to address systemic problems at their roots and promoting policies that create healthier environments for our communities.
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.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate Colorado House of Representatives District 9 |
Personal |
Footnotes
