A Republican candidate has filed to oppose Democratic state Rep. Meghan Lukens as she runs for re-election to represent the competitive 26th district of the Colorado House, which covers the northwest corner of the state and narrowly favors Democrats. 

Nathan Butler, a Craig City Council member, said his interest in running for a higher office began when he made a tongue-in-cheek comment to his wife in late December about U.S. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert.

“I go, ‘If Boebert for any reason drops out of her race … then I’ll run,” he said. “I was thinking, ‘What are the odds of that?'”

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The next day, Boebert announced she would drop her campaign in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District to instead run in the 4th — a safer district for Republican candidates located on the opposite side of the state. 

Butler soon began looking into how to enter the race but, after attending a meeting of the Moffat County Republicans, he instead decided to run for a state-level seat — House District 26.

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“I knew how far behind I was and that I didn’t have the connections I needed for District 3, and this just made more sense,” he said. “The goal is to make a difference. I wanted to run in an area that made sense and is winnable.”

Butler, who is an Army veteran, was elected to the Craig City Council in November. 

House District 26 encompasses Rio Blanco, Moffat and Routt counties and most of Eagle County. Its population is about 28% registered Republicans and 23% registered Democrats. The largest voting block, like in many parts of the state, is the 48% of the population that is unaffiliated with either party. 

An analysis by nonpartisan staffers at the Colorado legislature shows that House District 26 is one of the most competitive districts in the chamber with only a 2.7% favoring for Democrats. There are six other seats in the 65-person chamber that have a closer split between the two parties.

A few days after Butler filed, Lukens sent out a fundraising email announcing his candidacy and taking an early jab at her opponent over his attendance of the Jan. 6 rally in Washington D.C. She included a link to a Steamboat Pilot & Today article that featured quotes from Butler about attending the rally and marching to the Capitol.

“I was a little disappointed in Meghan for that,” Butler said about the email. 

Butler said while he did attend the rally and march, he only saw peaceful activity and, when he left, there wasn’t any violence occurring. At the time, Butler said he believed far-left groups were to blame for the violence seen in videos from the event, despite national fact-checking organizations rebutting such claims.

Asked about those claims this week, Butler said he didn’t want to discuss it. 

“I would rather we focus on moving forward,” he said. “I understand people are going to want to relitigate it but, as far as my involvement, I showed up to a rally that was peaceful, I marched to the Capitol, peacefully, I stood on the steps peacefully and then I left.”

Butler said he may update his platform as the state’s issues change over the next few months, but right now he’s interested in improving Colorado’s economy, protecting the Second Amendment and addressing the influx of migrants into the state. Butler also said he’s been disappointed in what he sees as Republican inaction over Colorado’s lenient abortion laws.

Butler said he signed a pledge created by the state Libertarian Party that he will be “pro-liberty,” which includes promises like voting to eliminate the state income tax, opposing red light cameras and supporting educational freedom. 

Lukens said she will continue to focus on the economy, the environment and education in her campaign. Lukens also said she will continue to focus on bipartisan initiatives, something she calls “the Western Slope way.” 

Election day is Nov. 5.

Elliott Wenzler is the Western Slope politics reporter for the Craig Press and its sister publications in Glenwood Springs, Vail, Steamboat Springs, Craig, Summit County and Grand County. Reach her at ewenzler@swiftcom.com.