Former GOP congressional candidate Russ Andrews runs against state Rep. Elizabeth Velasco for western Colorado House seat
Robert Tann Follow
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Carbondale resident Russ Andrews, a Republican, is running to unseat state Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, a Glenwood Springs Democrat, in the November general election.
Velasco currently represents House District 57, which includes all of Garfield and Pitkin counties, and a portion of Eagle County. The district leans Democratic, with Velasco winning reelection in 2024 by more than 10 percentage points against her Republican challenger, Caleb Waller.
Andrews previously ran as a candidate in the Republican primary for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District in 2023, taking on then-incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert before she abandoned that race to run in a different district. Andrews lost the primary the next year to Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd, who went on to win in the general election and currently represents the 3rd District in Congress.
When asked to provide a brief description of himself and his candidacy, Andrews referred to his website, which states that he has lived in Colorado for over 30 years and has a background in engineering and finance. That includes jobs in the defense technology sector and as a financial adviser at Merrill Lynch. Andrews has also served on several Aspen-area boards, including the Independence Pass Foundation, Aspen Camp School for the Deaf and the Aspen Junior Golf Program.
A statement on his website says that Andrews is running for a state legislative seat because he is “tired of watching rural Colorado get ignored, over-regulated, and pushed around by politicians from urban counties who do not understand our priorities.”
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“In much of this state, rural communities produce the food, water, energy, and tourism that keep Colorado going,” the statement continues. “Yet those same communities are constantly being told how to live by lawmakers who treat western Colorado like an afterthought.”
Andrews’ campaign platform includes protecting rural Colorado from “Denver overreach,” advocating for Western Slope water rights, pushing back on “anti-ranching activism,” and defending Second Amendment gun rights.
Other priorities include advocating for more infrastructure investments in western Colorado and preserving the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, an amendment to the state constitution that limits government revenue and spending.
Andrews’ website states that he supports parental rights and that “mothers and fathers — not bureaucrats, activists, or state agencies — should have the final say in the upbringing, education, and well-being of their kids.” His website states that he also believes Colorado has “moved too far, too fast, in abandoning all limits and protections for the unborn.”
Andrews, who entered the race in March, has not yet had to report his campaign contributions on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website, with the next filing due on May 4. Velasco has reported raising $36,146 as of January, with $32,126 in expenses and $4,019 on hand.
