The Winner

Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) will represent Colorado’s 7th Congressional District for a third term after defeating Republican Timothy Bennett and four other candidates. The Associated Press called the race at 8:12 p.m. Mountain time on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 5280 reported. ​

Pettersen has 179,406 votes (62.0%) to Bennett’s 102,345 (35.4%), a margin of about 27 points, according to unofficial results on Ballotpedia’s race page. That’s a wider win than in 2024, when she beat Republican Sergei Matveyuk 55.3% to 41.1%.

The Race

Bennett, a retired Army officer who served for nearly 30 years, and Pettersen were both unopposed in their Tuesday, June 30 primaries. Unaffiliated candidate Joe Krzeczkowski took 1.0%, Libertarian Dan Sallis 0.9%, Susan Hall of the Unity Party 0.4% and Lawrence Clark of the American Constitution Party 0.3%. Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the race Solid Democratic, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Democratic, according to Ballotpedia.

The district runs from Jefferson and Broomfield counties in the western Denver suburbs into the mountains and central Colorado, taking in Lakewood, Golden and Breckenridge, Colorado Public Radio reported. It also includes communities in Chaffee, Custer and Fremont counties.

About 723,700 people live in the district, the median age is about 41 and the typical household earns about $104,000 a year. About half of adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Residents are about 80% white, 16% Hispanic, 3% Asian and 1% Black, unemployment is about 3.9%, and about 7% live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

Pettersen’s third term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, 2027. Colorado’s secretary of state must certify the results by Monday, Nov. 30, under state law, according to a Brennan Center guide to Colorado’s certification process.

Pettersen, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, had several of her bills folded into the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. That bipartisan housing law passed Congress in June and took effect July 11 without President Trump’s signature. Her provisions aim to speed up housing construction in rural areas and help communities plan for more homes, according to the New Democrat Coalition’s rundown of the law.

---

AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article