Southern Colorado Business Alliance Announces First Legislative Endorsements

Bipartisan slate of 22 General Assembly candidates follows nearly 50 interviews in the organization’s inaugural endorsement cycle, with participation and willingness to engage as the threshold

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Southern Colorado Business Alliance today announced the first legislative endorsements in its history, naming 22 candidates for the Colorado General Assembly following a review process that included nearly 50 candidate interviews.

The slate spans both parties and both chambers: seven candidates for the Colorado Senate and fifteen for the Colorado House.

Endorsements were based on a combination of factors rather than any single test. Every candidate who sought the Alliance’s support completed a detailed written policy survey covering labor and employment law, housing supply and affordability, tax and fiscal policy, healthcare costs for employers and employees, and the economic development tools Colorado uses to attract and retain employers. Every candidate sat for an interview with the Alliance’s committee. Where a legislative voting record existed, the Alliance reviewed it.

The organization also weighed a factor that does not appear on a traditional scorecard: a candidate’s demonstrated willingness to sit down and work through positions they do not share.

“We were not looking for candidates who agree with us on everything. We were looking for legislators who will take the meeting, hear the argument out, and keep the door open when a vote does not go our way,” said Jeff Thormodsgaard, Vice President of Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC of the Southern Colorado Business Alliance. “That willingness to engage across a disagreement is how policy actually gets better. It was part of every decision we made.”

That standard produced a slate that crosses party lines — and in two districts, House District 18 and House District 59, the Alliance endorsed both major-party candidates. The organization said that follows directly from how it set the threshold: candidates who participated in the process earned consideration, and a strong opponent was never a reason to withhold support.

“Participation was the first test and the most important one,” Thormodsgaard said. “Sitting for the survey, taking the interview, and being willing to hear from employers who will not always agree with you — that is what we asked for. In two districts, both candidates did exactly that. We were not going to hold it against either of them that they drew a good opponent.”

The Alliance said its interest in these relationships does not end on Election Day.

“Everyone who sat down with us is going to be a leader in this community whether they win this race or not,” Thormodsgaard said. “People who put their name on a ballot stay involved — on boards, in their neighborhoods, in the next race, in the rooms where decisions get made. Building those relationships now is worth doing on its own terms. It does not expire in November.”

2026 Endorsements — Colorado Senate

2026 Endorsements — Colorado House

Endorsed candidates receive a financial contribution from the Alliance and an ongoing channel to its member employers, who together account for thousands of jobs across the region. The Alliance said it intends to remain engaged with endorsed candidates through the session, not only through the election.

The Alliance interviewed candidates from across Southern Colorado and the state, and not every candidate who participated received an endorsement. The organization thanked all who took part and said it intends to stay in contact with them regardless of the outcome of their races.