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Robyn Carnes
Robyn Carnes (Republican Party) ran for election to the Colorado State Senate to represent District 16. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Carnes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Robyn Carnes was born in Iowa. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 2001 and a graduate degree from the Denver Seminary in 2006. Her career experience includes working as a business owner and consultant for More than Funds and Kids' Nite Out, vice president of emergency care and expansion for Rescue America, broker associate, and chaplain.[1]
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 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
To view Carnes's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Carnes in this election.
Pledges
Carnes signed the following pledges.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Robyn Carnes completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Carnes' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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People are fed up with the extremes on both sides, and the majority of Coloradans are in the middle. I'm an independent voice focused on people vs. party affiliation, a conservative running a purple campaign. Middle doesn't equal squishy. Rather, it about being sensible and using common sense. I hope to work with both the minority and majority parties - finding those who are reasonable and love their district, state and country, to affect positive outcomes for our community.
Originally from Iowa where I learned a strong work ethic and the importance of humility, I found my way to Colorado to build my life. I've lived in Centennial for 20+ years with my husband, who serves in law enforcement, and two sons, who attend Littleton Public Schools.
My life outside of my professional commitments is just as full and enriching. Nothing beats a robust cup of coffee to kick start my mornings followed by a run with my faithful 84-pound companion, Samson. I'm my boys' biggest cheerleader at their sporting events. My life is a testament to balance, joy, and resilience, a constant source of inspiration.- The best government is balanced government. I'm running to bring back balance under the golden dome. Right now, there is no balance in State government. In fact, today, the State House is so heavily Democratic they hold a super-majority, and the State Senate is just one seat away as well. This is a danger to the state with one political party in control. If we don’t win SD16, Colorado will lose the balance of power across the board.
- My passion is to serve the community. I've been part of Denver's South Metro tapestry for 20+ years. I've worked tirelessly, in various leadership roles to make it a better place. A run for Senate means still serving constituents - in a larger capacity. My experience includes the following: Council Member for Centennial; Vice President of Emergency Care and Expansion - a national non-profit that fights sex trafficking; Business Owner & Consultant; Facilitator, bringing groups to consensus; Broker Associate; Marketing & Hospitality at Visit Denver; Chaplain; 24 Nat'l League of Cities Public Safety & Crime Prevention Committee; '24 Nat'l League of Cities Council on Youth, Ed & Families
- Our future is at stake. Things are not getting any better in Colorado. Four more years of this imbalance and things will be worse. From the high cost of living to housing, public safety / crime and homelessness, there is just too much at stake to not get involved. We can sit on the sidelines and complain, living in fear, or get involved. Now is the time to take a stand for what truly matters.
I will fight to make our state a place where families & our most vulnerable residents can thrive.
Crime & Public Safety
I will fight to create common sense legislation that punishes criminals & protects their victims.
Housing
I will fight to make home ownership a priority.
Homelessness
I will fight to identify root causes & find solutions to decrease homelessness.
Kids' Well-Being
I will fight to protect the well-being of our kids and ensure parental involvement to create a successful future for us all.
Migrants
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People;
The Book of Virtues;
All I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten;
The proper role of government is limited and shouldn’t exceed its delegated powers. It should not redistribute wealth or force citizens to perform acts of charity against their will. Our government should uphold the Constitution and establish the rule of law to define, protect, and enforce our individual rights and freedoms. Government that is limited, lean and balanced is best.
As a Young Adult: Development for a non-profit, 2 years
Uncontrolled Spending: overpromising and underdelivering to Constituents;
Housing: we need more inventory and must free up "builders to build" the "middle housing" (condos, townhomes, etc.);
Homelessness: Let's address root causes vs. just dealing with symptoms. (hand-ups vs. hand-outs);
Bridging the Divide - which seems to be increasing;
El Salvadore's President, Nayib Buckle: Using unconventional means and a tiny budget, he took his country from being the most dangerous to being the safest. This man truly cares about his people, putting others before self and modeling servant leadership;
US Senator Bill Armstrong: A true statesman;
My Co-Councilwoman in D1 and I represent different parties. We agreed early on to put our party differences aside and do what's best for our Constituents. Who's benefitting? Our D1 citizens. This is not always the case with other Councils, Counties or Boards.
1. Does it agree with / support the US and Colorado Constitutions?
2. Is it consistent with American founding principles?
3. How would wisdom prioritize a conflict of rights?
4. Does it reflect the values of my Constituents?
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
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Colorado State Senate District 16 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 9, 2024
