Two former Air Force officers are competing in the Republican primary to represent state Senate District 9 in northern El Paso County. 

Incumbent Sen. Lynda Zamora Wilson is facing Terri Carver, who served from 2015 to 2022 in the state House. Zamora Wilson was appointed to the seat last summer after Minority Leader Paul Lundeen resigned to work for the American Excellence Foundation. She ran against Lundeen during the 2022 primary. 

The most recent campaign finance reports show Zamora Wilson had about $19,000 on hand for her campaign, while Carver had almost $67,000 on hand.

The victor in the June 30 primary is likely to win the seat in the traditionally red district during the November election and serve in a legislature expected to remain under Democratic control. District 9 includes the northern parts of Colorado Springs, Monument and Palmer Lake among other areas. 

Election officials started mailing ballots Monday to registered El Paso County voters. The primary will decide the Democratic and Republican candidates for major statewide and federal elections, as well as a bevy of local races. Selected candidates will face off in the Nov. 3 general election.

While Zamora Wilson and Carver have similar legislative priorities and both describe themselves as constitutional Republicans, they noted they have distinct professional experiences and have faced off over proposed legislation that would impact law enforcement in the last session. 

Zamora Wilson held technical positions in the Air Force, including jobs that included testing satellites and data analysis to help plan for future needs.

Such a technical background will lend itself to the coming debates over artificial intelligence and data centers, she said. 

She also holds several advanced degrees, including a doctorate in economics, another knowledge base that is sorely needed at the state House, she said.

During her first session, she also earned nearly a perfect score on the Liberty Scorecard, a measure of how well lawmakers vote in favor of values, such as limited government and free markets, she said.

Carver is a former attorney and has more experience in the legislature, she said.  

“I have the experience, track record, and knowledge to improve laws in Colorado. I have a demonstrated ability to pass laws even in the Minority,” she said, in her written responses to Gazette questions. 

Zamora Wilson sponsored eight bills during the last session and none passed.

Carver testified against two of her opponent’s bills because they would have hampered law enforcement’s ability to investigate crimes, she said. 

Zamora Wilson defended the two bills, saying that she wants law enforcement to use new technology such as body cameras, facial recognition software and license plate readers — but there should be guardrails in place around managing data, including how long it is stored, how it is secured, and who can see it.  

“That’s not anti-law enforcement, that’s pro citizen,” she said. 

She said she would work on similar measures if reelected.

However, her legislative priorities would include reducing regulation on businesses to help increase affordability, decreasing the size of government, and defending the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, a portion of the state constitution that requires voters to approve tax increases and limits how fast state revenue can grow. 

“My primary objective is to bring constitutional governance back to Colorado,” she said. “Such that the people are empowered, not the government.”

Zamora Wilson also planned to oppose Colorado’s 2021 plan to reduce natural gas use in homes. She noted that ripping out working natural gas appliances in homes would be a violation of property rights.

Under the state-approved plan, natural gas providers are charged with developing the plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Colorado Springs Utilities’ Clean Heat Plan does not require homeowners to replace appliances, a spokesperson said.  

If elected, Carver expected to address the cost of living crisis, crime, end policies that limit cooperation with immigration enforcement, repeal and modify anti-business laws, and continue her fight against human trafficking. She also planned to defend parental rights, freedom of speech and religion, and gun rights. 

Carver also expected to work on repealing Democrats’ 100% renewable energy mandates that are driving up costs, increasing penalties for serious crimes, and restricting judicial use of personal recognizance bonds, she said.

Carver said some of her most important legislative wins in the minority included imposing mandatory jail time for child sex traffickers and measures that consolidated child sex trafficking charges in different locations into one trial so the child victim only had to testify once.

She also worked on a law that allowed those working on occupational licensing to count their military training to help service members transition to civilian life.