COS Votes is a constituent-fueled effort to inform voters of Colorado Springs, El Paso County, and Colorado’s Fifth Congressional District (CD5) on issues affecting the majority rather than special interests and ideological hard-liners.
CD5 has been a safe Republican stronghold for over half a century, but the Republican party no longer represents the values of the majority of Coloradans in general or the constituents of CD5 in particular.
The saying “all politics is local” is less true than it used to be, but the results of the 2025 school board elections across Colorado demonstrate that mobilization of less frequent voters in the right political environment can deliver surprising results.
Our congressional representation has devolved into a cult of personality that places fealty to the leader over any of the substantive issues facing the American people and families. It is also our contention that the majority of voters of this district support the Constitutional separation of powers and inveterate individual rights; additionally, they expect our elected and appointed leaders to uphold the behavioral norms, ethics, and integrity established over the course of our 250-year history. Representative democracy requires leadership and constituents that are able to discern common sense policy and priorities from populist paranoia. Our elected representative must be unafraid to speak truth to power on behalf of the people rather than deep pocketed donors and out-of-state dark money. Our district representative must be prepared to hold accountable those who violate the public trust, without regard to party affiliation or personal allegiance. They must be the voice of their constituents, not their donors.