DENVER (April 28, 2022) — The Colorado Working Families Party (CO-WFP) today announced its first full round of endorsements for the 2022 election season. Included are races up and down the ticket, from statewide and Congressional seats to County-level contests. In total, twenty-one new endorsees join previously endorsed candidates Sol Sandoval (CD3), Elisabeth Epps (HD6), and Stephanie Vigil (HD16) for WFP’s largest round of primary endorsements yet. [full list below] 

“We know that 2022 is an absolutely critical year,” said Colorado Working Families Party State Director Wendy Howell. “We know that protecting democracy is on the ballot. We know that building an economy that works for all of us is on the ballot. We know that the right to choose is on the ballot. And we know that racial justice is on the ballot. That’s why we’re going to work very hard in support of progressive champions in key races, both in the June primary and in November.”

“The Working Families Party has always been a strong advocate for accessible elections for all working families. I am grateful for their support as we fight to defend democracy,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “This race is nationally targeted. Together, we will defend our gold standard elections in Colorado so voting remains accessible and fair to all eligible Coloradans.”

Many of CO-WFP’s endorsees are running in new or substantially changed districts, like Rhonda Solis, an inspiring Weld County leader running for the State Board of Education in the new Congressional District 8 (D+1); Stephanie Vigil, running in House District 16, another House seat now within reach of Democrats in El Paso County (R+3); and Eliza Hamrick, running in House District 61, a new Centennial/ Aurora area toss up district (D+1). Additionally, many candidates face contested primaries in new Democratic-leaning districts in which the primary has become the most contested race, like Elizabeth Velasco in the Glenwood Springs area House District 57 (D+16) and Mischa Smith in Colorado Springs’ House District 17 (D+13).

“I am excited to be endorsed by the Working Families Party”, said Elizabeth Velasco, candidate for House District 57. “We share values, and in particular the belief that we need to lift up the voices in our communities that too often go unheard in the political arena. Together, I know we can bring bold, progressive leadership to the Western Slope.”

Full List of CO-WFP 2022 Endorsements:

• Jena Griswold, Secretary of State
• David Young, State Treasurer
• Sol Sandoval, US House, District 3*
• David Torres, US House, District 5
• Javier Mabrey, Colorado House, District 1
• Elisabeth Epps, Colorado House, District 6*
• Emily Sirota, Colorado House, District 9
• Rob Rogers, Colorado House, District 14
• Stephanie Vigil, Colorado House, District 16*
• Mischa Smith, Colorado House, District 17
• Said Sharbini, Colorado House, District 31
• Mike Weissman, Colorado House, District 36
• Iman Jodeh, Colorado House, District 41
• Mandy Lindsey, Colorado House, District 42
• Elizabeth Velasco, Colorado House, District 57
• Eliza Hamrick, Colorado House, District 61
• Jeff Ravage, Colorado Senate, District 4
• Julie Gonzales, Colorado Senate, District 34
• Johnnie Nguyen, CU Regent, Congressional District 1
• Joseph Shelton, State Board of Education, Congressional District 5
• Rhonda Solis, State Board of Education, Congressional District 8
• Emma Pinter, Adams County Commissioner, District 3
• Jessica Campbell-Swanson, Arapahoe County Commissioner, District 2
• Amanda Gonzalez, Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder

* An asterisk indicates a candidate who was endorsed prior to the current endorsement round.

The Working Families Party is a progressive grassroots political party building a multiracial, multigenerational, and feminist movement of working people to transform America. In the last year, the Working Families Party waged a $2.5 million voter mobilization effort in Georgia to elect Raphael Warnock to the Senate, helped elect WFP champions Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones in heavily-contested Congressional races, drove a wave of victories for progressives in Rhode Island, shook up the New Mexico Democratic establishment with progressive victories under the banner of “No Corporate Dems,” elected a diverse slate of progressives in Delaware, and helped create the most progressive NY state legislature in decades by winning thirty-three state legislative primaries. Since launching a state chapter in Colorado in 2017, WFP has played a key role in winning paid family leave and a ban on predatory payday lending, has helped to flip the majority of the CU Board of Regents and has worked to successfully elect dozens of bold progressives to state & local offices across the Centennial State.