Scott James

By Will Cornelius
The Surveyor

The race for Colorado’s newest congressional district is heating up. On July 12, the 2022 Republican candidate, Barbara Kirkmeyer, announced she would be running for re-election to the state Senate instead of taking another run at the eighth congressional seat. Later that same day, Weld County Commissioner Scott James announced that he would seek the GOP nomination for the seat, in a primary race that is sure to attract others in the coming months.

“I believe in being boldly aspirational, not wildly confrontational,” James said in an interview with the Surveyor. “I think the people of the eighth congressional district deserve better representation than what they’re getting.”

Last November, Kirkmeyer lost a nailbiter to Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo by 1,632 votes in a congressional race that saw over 236,000 ballots cast.
After the 2020 Census, Colorado was awarded an eighth congressional district due to its ever-growing population. In 2021, Colorado’s inaugural Independent

Redistricting Commission finalized new congressional district boundaries. The new eighth district straddles Interstate-25, stretching from Thornton to Greeley and includes Berthoud at its western-most point.

Affordability, employment, public safety and family empowerment are the big issues James sees people in the district struggling with. “I believe more in the power of the individual than I do the power of government and I believe what exists right now is the exact opposite,” he stated.

A former ranch kid turned radio guy and now Weld County Commissioner, James said he wants to turn the focus from the big personalities in the nation’s capital back to families in the eighth congressional district. “Everything needs to come back to character. Washington D.C. is a town completely devoid of character and believe me when you’re pursuing a congressional district — character matters,” he explained.

One obstacle he will need to overcome to do that is putting the GOP over the top against a Democratic incumbent in November 2024. But James thinks the answer is in the Republican’s own backyard. “On the Weld County side of the eighth congressional alone, 12,144 Republicans did not vote. We simply have to ignite the passion again,” he said.

Promoting employment in agriculture and the energy sector are areas he sees as having broad appeal in the eighth district. “We need to reel back in the monetary policies of this president, this administration and the ruling party in Washington D.C.,” James said.

The Colorado native grew up in La Salle and said he has a proven track record in the district. In addition to being a county commissioner since 2019, James spent the prior two decades serving Johnstown as a planning commissioner, a member of the town council and finally mayor for almost three years. “I’m a communicator. I’m a listener. I’m a public servant,” he said describing the skills he has relied on to serve his constituents.

For James, he wants to get away from the political theatre that has become commonplace in the country. “Government when done right, is boring!” he said light-heartedly.

Tired of politics looking more like entertainment than governance, James wants to make government boring again. “Let’s get back to boring government that may not generate the clicks that the media entertainment folks are after. But by God it used to run a nation pretty well.”

The GOP primary for the eighth district will be held on June 25, 2024.