Chris Hansen (Colorado)
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Chris Hansen (Democratic Party) was a member of the Colorado State Senate, representing District 31. He assumed office on January 21, 2020. He left office on January 9, 2025.
Hansen (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Colorado State Senate to represent District 31. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Hansen resigned from his seat on January 9, 2025 to become the chief executive officer of the La Plata Electric Association.[1]
Biography
Chris Hansen was born in Goodland, Kansas. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Kansas State University, a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in economic geography from Oxford University. He served as a research fellow with the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. His career experience includes working with renewable energy and electricity companies and teaching courses at the University of Colorado. He has served on the executive committee of the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation Board, the executive committee of the Central City Opera Board, and the advisory board for the University of Colorado, Denver Business School.[2][3]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: [email protected].
2023-2024
Hansen was assigned to the following committees:
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2021-2022
Hansen was assigned to the following committees:
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2019-2020
Hansen was assigned to the following committees:
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2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Colorado committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources |
| • Appropriations |
| • Transportation and Energy |
| • Capital Development |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 31
Incumbent Chris Hansen defeated David Aitken in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 31 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Chris Hansen (D) | 83.9 | 75,769 |
 | David Aitken (L)  | 16.1 | 14,515 | |
| Total votes: 90,284 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 31
Incumbent Chris Hansen advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 31 on June 25, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Hansen | 100.0 | 23,007 |
| Total votes: 23,007 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
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Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Hansen in this election.
2023
See also: Mayoral election in Denver, Colorado (2023)
General runoff election
General runoff election for Mayor of Denver
Michael Johnston defeated Kelly Brough in the general runoff election for Mayor of Denver on June 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Michael Johnston (Nonpartisan) | 55.2 | 89,889 |
 | Kelly Brough (Nonpartisan) | 44.8 | 73,097 | |
| Total votes: 162,986 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for Mayor of Denver
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Denver on April 4, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michael Johnston (Nonpartisan) | 24.5 | 42,273 |
| ✔ | | Kelly Brough (Nonpartisan) | 20.1 | 34,627 |
 | Lisa Calderón (Nonpartisan) | 18.1 | 31,164 | |
 | Andy Rougeot (Nonpartisan) | 11.5 | 19,927 | |
 | Leslie Herod (Nonpartisan) | 10.7 | 18,506 | |
| Chris Hansen (Nonpartisan) | 4.8 | 8,309 | |
 | Deborah Ortega (Nonpartisan) | 4.5 | 7,739 | |
 | Ean Tafoya (Nonpartisan) | 1.6 | 2,700 | |
| Terrance Roberts (Nonpartisan) | 1.0 | 1,757 | ||
 | Thomas Wolf (Nonpartisan) | 1.0 | 1,747 | |
 | Trinidad Rodriguez (Nonpartisan) | 0.7 | 1,240 | |
| Aurelio Martinez (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 755 | ||
 | Al Gardner (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 725 | |
 | James Walsh (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 722 | |
| Renate Behrens (Nonpartisan) | 0.1 | 184 | ||
| Robert Treta (Nonpartisan) | 0.1 | 169 | ||
 | Abass Yaya Bamba (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 24 | |
 | Jesse Parris (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 11 | |
 | Paul Fiorino (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 5 | |
| Matt Brady (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 4 | ||
 | Marcus Giavanni (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 1 | |
| Danny F. Lopez (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Total votes: 172,589 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Sylvia Herring (Nonpartisan)
- Kwame Spearman (Nonpartisan) (Unofficially withdrew)
- Anna Burrell (Nonpartisan)
- Alex Valdez (Nonpartisan)
- Sean Gallegos (Nonpartisan)
- Kenneth Simpson (Nonpartisan)
- Alex Cowans (Nonpartisan)
- David E. Stevens (Nonpartisan)
2020
See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 31
Incumbent Chris Hansen defeated Doug Townsend in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 31 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Hansen (D) | 76.7 | 74,288 |
 | Doug Townsend (R) | 23.3 | 22,562 | |
| Total votes: 96,850 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 31
Incumbent Chris Hansen defeated Maria Orms in the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 31 on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Hansen | 52.7 | 24,439 |
 | Maria Orms | 47.3 | 21,916 | |
| Total votes: 46,355 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 31
Doug Townsend advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 31 on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Doug Townsend | 100.0 | 6,762 |
| Total votes: 6,762 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Colorado House of Representatives District 6
Incumbent Chris Hansen won election in the general election for Colorado House of Representatives District 6 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Hansen (D) | 100.0 | 32,899 |
| Total votes: 32,899 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 6
Incumbent Chris Hansen advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 6 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Hansen | 100.0 | 15,512 |
| Total votes: 15,512 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Elections for the Colorado House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 28, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 4, 2016. Incumbent Lois Court (D) did not seek re-election.
Chris Hansen ran unopposed in the Colorado House of Representatives District 6 general election.[4][5]
| Colorado House of Representatives, District 6 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Chris Hansen (unopposed) | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State | ||
Chris Hansen defeated Jeff Hart in the Colorado House of Representatives District 6 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| Colorado House of Representatives, District 6 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Chris Hansen |
58.27% | 5,532 | |
| Democratic | Jeff Hart | 41.73% | 3,962 | |
| Total Votes | 9,494 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chris Hansen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2023
Chris Hansen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hansen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- As Mayor, my top priority will be public safety. Denverites and visitors deserve to feel safe in our neighborhoods, parks, and streets and I will commit to rebuilding and improving our Public Safety Department. We will invest in training, hiring, and retaining officers, as well as funding the STAR program so that co-responders can address issues related to mental health and substance use, which will allow our police to perform their core functions: preventing, responding to, and solving crimes. A safer Denver is possible with targeted gun crime prevention, increased patrol of hot-spots, and robust accountability.
- With regard to the homelessness crisis, the status quo is not working. It is clear that Denver needs a new leader to make real progress on addressing homelessness and ensuring our streets, sidewalks and public areas are open for all Denverites to utilize. As Mayor, I will reevaluate Denver’s failing approach to homelessness, reimagine systems to disrupt the cycles perpetuating the problem, and reinforce the existing laws and regulations to ensure that everyone in Denver, housed or unhoused, stays safe. A key part of my homelessness plan is to audit existing programs because we are spending enormous amounts of money without getting results we all deserve.
- I envision Denver as a connected, thriving, dynamic city, with strong neighborhoods, a vibrant downtown and a world-class airport. We can dramatically improve air quality and reduce emissions if we focus on adding population density in areas with high-quality public transit that is electrified. We must enable residents to meet all of their needs by using a combination of highly efficient public transit, connected bike lanes, EV charging infrastructure, and making our streets safer for pedestrians. My systems engineering background combined with my extensive legislative experience will enable me to deliver this vision of a connected, green, dynamic city.
-Former U.S. Congressman David Skaggs
-Mayor of Fort Collins Jeni Arndt
-Former State Senator Lois Court
-Former State Senator Joyce Foster
-Former State Rep. Joe Miklosi
-Former President of Denver Public Schools Board of Education Mary Seawell
-Teamsters 17
-Teamster 455
-Colorado Cleantech Industries Association
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2020
Chris Hansen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hansen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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In 2012, he was selected as a Marshall Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund and in 2017 was selected as a Public Leadership Fellow at Harvard University by the Gates Family Foundation. In 2019, he was selected as one of fifteen leaders from across the country to join the NewDEAL (Developing Exceptional American Leaders), a selective national network of rising state and local elected officials.
In addition to his current role in the state senate, Hansen serves as the Co-Founder and Director of Programming at the Colorado Energy & Water Institute, and as Co-Founder of the Colorado Science and Engineering Policy Fellowship.- Carbon-Free Colorado: Carbon pollution is having a real and serious impact on Colorado families and livelihoods. We must work together to reduce our carbon emissions and stave off catastrophic climate change, and I will strive to foster collaboration towards this goal within our state and with our neighbors.
- Funding Education: Since 2008 nearly $1 billion has been taken out of Colorado classrooms every year. I believe that we must reinvest in public education, rethink the way we evaluate our students, and honor the incredibly important work of being a teacher. I support amending TABOR to reverse the massive budget cuts in our education system.
- Ending TABOR: Our government has been handcuffed by the effects of TABOR since 1992, forcing drastic cuts to vital services. This is why I joined the lawsuit to repeal TABOR on my first day in office. CO families have felt the negative consequences of TABOR for far too long. It's time we get our government and our state back on track.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2016
Hansen's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
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” |
| —Chris Hansen[9] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Colorado scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 8.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 9 to May 8.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 12 to May 11.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 13 to June 8.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 15.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 4 through May 3.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the 72nd Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 10 through May 9.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 71st Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 11 through May 10. There was also a special session from October 2-3.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Colorado State Senate District 31 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ The Colorado Sun, "Colorado Sen. Chris Hansen plans to resign from the legislature Jan. 9 as he starts new job as utility CEO," November 13, 2024
- ↑ HanseforColorado.com, "Biography," accessed June 28, 2017
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 11, 2020
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "General election candidates," accessed August 16, 2016
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 14, 2016
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate List," accessed May 3, 2016
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "June 28, 2016 Primary Election," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Chris Hansen, "Issues," accessed June 20, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lois Court (D) |
Colorado State Senate District 31 2020-2025 |
Succeeded by Matt Ball (D) |
| Preceded by - |
Colorado House of Representatives District 6 2017-2020 |
Succeeded by Steven Woodrow (D) |
