Kathryn “Kathy” Green of Florence was a “placeholder” candidate in the 2022 election, waiting for another Democrat to come forward so she could bow out of the race. No one showed up to take her place, though, and this year, she’s decided to go all in as the Democratic challenger to incumbent Rep. Stephanie Luck for the Colorado House District 60 seat.

“I wasn’t really prepared in 2022, so I decided this time I’d sign up, start early, be visible, seeing and talking to people and finding out what they’re interested in, which is very critical,” she said. “I’d like to win this seat because I think I would give the voters a better representation than the current representative.”

Luck, a Republican who lives in Penrose, had represented House District 47 from the time she was elected in 2020 until Jan. 9, 2023, when redistricting changed the boundaries.

Her residence then fell in District 60, which now covers all of Custer, Fremont and Teller counties, along with portions of Chaffee and Pueblo counties.

Luck, a Colorado native who has a law degree and has worked as a consultant, law professor and most recently a sixth-grade teacher, says on her website she is “a passionate advocate, a fighter, a dreamer, a friend.”

“I am a Constitutional conservative wholly committed to rebuilding good governance in our beautiful state,” she says on her website.

Luck did not respond to Gazette requests for comment for the Voter Guide.

“Our nation was founded on a set of principles that lead to order, prosperity, goodness and freedom,” her website says. “I want to work with you to restore these principles to their rightful place in our state government.”

With 85% of the district being rural residents, Green said she wants to work on rural issues such as health care, as well as women’s health care, which she said includes abortion but also how women’s health care is different from men’s health care and should be treated as such.

“One of the things that’s important is doing the things that’s requested by the voters in the district,” she said, “and they have been very vocal and want me to follow up on these issues.”

Green, who has lived in Florence for five years, also supports veterans’ issues and Social Security, Medicare and PERA benefits.

“12.4% of the people in the district have veterans’ status, and they’ve talked to me about how the closest veterans’ center is in Pueblo, Salida or Colorado Springs, which makes it harder for veterans who are older or disabled to get to a center,” Green said.

Among the issues Luck supports are local control, religious freedom, gun rights, parental rights, teachers and school choice, free markets, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, rural lifestyles, water rights and pro-life policies, according to her website.

Green has about $2,400 in contributions, according to the Sept. 30 financial filing with the state. Luck has raised about $6,400.

Contact the writer: 719-476-1656.