Will Walters (Colorado House District 65)
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Will Walters (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Colorado House of Representatives to represent District 65. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Walters completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2024
See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Colorado House of Representatives District 65
Lori Sander defeated Will Walters in the general election for Colorado House of Representatives District 65 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lori Sander (R)  | 62.7 | 38,882 |
 | Will Walters (D) | 37.3 | 23,101 | |
| Total votes: 61,983 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 65
Will Walters advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 65 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Will Walters | 100.0 | 5,365 |
| Total votes: 5,365 | |||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Isaiah Cordova (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 65
Lori Sander defeated Trent Leisy in the Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 65 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lori Sander | 62.4 | 8,765 |
 | Trent Leisy | 37.6 | 5,275 | |
| Total votes: 14,040 | |||
| = 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 Walters's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Walters in this election.
Pledges
Walters signed the following pledges.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Will Walters completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Walters' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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As a parent, grandparent, small business owner and community volunteer, I want to make Northern Colorado better for everyone. For the past 34 years I’ve studied government regulations and helped government agencies in 22 states use technology to save taxpayers money. As a concerned citizen and community activist I’ve fought to hold big companies and government leaders accountable when their actions harm our health, safety, environment or hurt our local farms or businesses. I raised a blended family of 5 kids through public schools here, took in nephews and nieces, hosted exchange students from other countries, and I am in touch with the struggles of affordability facing young adults and families. Growing up with a brother with severe physical and development disabilities influenced me to be protective, empathetic, grateful and to be of service. My grandfather was a WWII vet, and my dad served in the Navy as well, so I am steeped in respect for our veterans and their needs. I have aging relatives and friends and am empathetic to their needs. I have a granddaughter who is the light of my life, and I think a lot about her future and future generations and how the decisions we make will impact them, and I am committed to ensuring a prosperous, safe and healthy future for all Coloradans.
- Big money interests have a disproportionate and distorting influence on politics and on public opinion about issues we face. They also profit off dividing us. But working together is key to our future. I am committed to ensuring regular folks have a voice in the capitol for what matters in our homes and communities. I will bring folks together to find common ground solutions that benefit everyone. I will also ensure we use the best science and data to inform our decision making.
- We must tackle affordability. Costs of housing, healthcare, food and college keep rising, I will seek solutions to ensure we can all thrive, not just survive. I will pursue legislation that stops price gouging and prevents anti-competitive practices that big businesses use against smaller family businesses and farms. I will also use my experience helping state government agencies to make our state make more efficient use of our tax dollars and eliminate unnecessary, inefficient regulations.
- Colorado has precious natural resources that we need to protect for future generations. Water is key to our future, and I will seek innovative solutions to ensure the needs of farmers, families, businesses and environment are met for generations to come. I will work to hold polluters accountable so that we can address the ozone problem that is causing so many health issues and costing taxpayers money. And I will work to ensure that growth pays its own way and doesn't lower our quality of life.
An economy that works for everyone, quality education for our youth and for adults that need vocational training, reskilling and upskilling, and protection of our environment.
I believe the serenity prayer applies to government policy. We need the serenity to accept the things that government cannot fix, the courage to address the issues that government can improve, and the wisdom to know the difference.
An elected official should be honest, transparent, have a strong work ethic, open minded, data and science driven, empathetic, accessible, a good listener, and a good negotiator.
I am a good listener and problem solver.
To listen and understand the needs of their constituents, and to be their voice when crafting policy.
I would like to be remembered as someone who loved my family and friends deeply and worked to make the world a better place for them. I like the idea of my granddaughter retracing our steps in the year 2100, walking with her grandchildren or great grandchildren, from the banks of a still wild and scenic Poudre River, to the fruit orchard we planted together, and telling stories about our time together.
When I turned 12 I lived in a tiny town in Kansas that had about 100 houses and 10 churches and I fixed up an old lawn mower and spent the summer going door to door and mowing lawns for whatever folks would pay.
One of mutual respect and collaboration. A governor should recognize that legislators are closer to and more likely to reflect the will of the people they serve and should resist the temptation to represent big money interests when wielding the veto pen.
Affordability and growth
Yes, my experience interpreting laws and regulations and helping state government agencies around the U.S. implement their programs more efficiently gives me a better understanding of how government programs work and how to make them more efficient to save taxpayer dollars. Understanding how the lawmaking process works can also make me more effective at getting legislation optimized and passed. Fresh perspectives from operating in the private sector and non-profit sectors can also be beneficial.
Yes, relationship building is an important foundation for being able to find common ground and compromise for the greater good instead of being polarized.
As a state legislator, Abraham Lincoln was known for being pragmatic and working across the aisle, his commitment to law and order, and advocating for policies to foster economic growth.
I met a couple running a small bicycle repair business, and tears welled up in the woman’s eyes as she told me how the State Children’s Health Insurance Program saved her son’s life because they would not have been able to afford the life-saving surgeries he needed.
While the executive branch needs emergency powers to act swiftly in a crisis, legislative oversight is essential to ensure such powers are not abused or extended unnecessarily. A balanced approach, where the legislature grants emergency powers with clear limits and retains oversight, is the best way to preserve democratic principles while ensuring an effective response to emergencies.
Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources; Finance; Appropriations; Health & Human Services; Business Affairs & Labor; Energy & Environment; Transportation, Housing & Local Government
Governments and government officials should operate with full transparency and should be held accountable for their actions. I do not believe in unlimited spending by dark money groups. Republicans have steadfastly fought to protect the influence of dark money and shield billionaires.
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
Footnotes
Current members of the Colorado House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Julie McCluskie
Majority Leader:Monica Duran
Representatives
District 1
Javier Mabrey (D)
District 2
Steven Woodrow (D)
District 3
Meg Froelich (D)
District 4
Cecelia Espenoza (D)
District 5
Alex Valdez (D)
District 6
Sean Camacho (D)
District 7
Jennifer Bacon (D)
District 8
District 9
Emily Sirota (D)
District 10
Junie Joseph (D)
District 11
Karen McCormick (D)
District 12
Kyle Brown (D)
District 13
Julie McCluskie (D)
District 14
Ava Flanell (R)
District 15
Scott Bottoms (R)
District 16
Rebecca Keltie (R)
District 17
Regina English (D)
District 18
Amy Paschal (D)
District 19
Dan Woog (R)
District 20
Jarvis Caldwell (R)
District 21
Mary Bradfield (R)
District 22
Kenneth DeGraaf (R)
District 23
Monica Duran (D)
District 24
Lisa Feret (D)
District 25
Tammy Story (D)
District 26
Meghan Lukens (D)
District 27
Brianna Titone (D)
District 28
Sheila Lieder (D)
District 29
Shannon Bird (D)
District 30
Rebekah Stewart (D)
District 31
Jacque Phillips (D)
District 32
Manny Rutinel (D)
District 33
District 34
Jenny Willford (D)
District 35
Lorena Garcia (D)
District 36
Michael Carter (D)
District 37
Chad Clifford (D)
District 38
Gretchen Rydin (D)
District 39
Brandi Bradley (R)
District 40
Naquetta Ricks (D)
District 41
Jamie Jackson (D)
District 42
Mandy Lindsay (D)
District 43
Robert Marshall (D)
District 44
Anthony Hartsook (R)
District 45
Max Brooks (R)
District 46
Tisha Mauro (D)
District 47
Ty Winter (R)
District 48
Carlos Barron (R)
District 49
Lesley Smith (D)
District 50
Ryan Gonzalez (R)
District 51
Ron Weinberg (R)
District 52
Yara Zokaie (D)
District 53
District 54
Matt Soper (R)
District 55
Rick Taggart (R)
District 56
Chris Richardson (R)
District 57
District 58
Larry Suckla (R)
District 59
Katie Stewart (D)
District 60
Stephanie Luck (R)
District 61
Eliza Hamrick (D)
District 62
Matthew Martinez (D)
District 63
Dusty Johnson (R)
District 64
Scott Slaugh (R)
District 65
Lori Sander (R)
Democratic Party (43)
Republican Party (22)
