Jan 11, 2022 Updated Jan 31, 2022
The announcement Monday by U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Arvada, that he won't run for a ninth term in Congress has started a round of dominoes in Jefferson County. The latest, less than 24 hours later, is state Rep. Lisa Cutter, D-Littleton, who told Colorado Politics she's running for Senate District 20. Cutter made the move after state Sen. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, who initially planned to run for re-election in 2022 to the newly-drawn SD20, announced on Tuesday morning she would run for Perlmutter's seat. Cutter's foray into a Senate campaign resolves one problem: she and Rep. Kerry Tipper, D-Lakewood, were both drawn into House District 28 beginning in 2023. Both could have run for re-election in November, but a primary between the two was out of the question. In Cutter's announcement, posted on Facebook at noon Tuesday, the two-term representative said "after a considerable amount of thought I am excited to announce that I will be running for the Colorado State Senate seat representing Senate District 20. I’m thrilled to let my wonderful supporters (and ideally again my constituents) know as soon as possible." Cutter explained her decision this way: "I want to continue to represent a constituency who is as passionate as I am about issues that really matter to those of us who live along the Front Range, including wildfire mitigation efforts, protecting Colorado’s environment and enhancing our mental and behavioral health systems. Representing Senate District 20 allows me to put my experience gained in the State House to work on these issues from a Senate seat. I want to continue to represent folks whom I’ve gotten to know and appreciate so very much, as this Senate seat is comprised largely of my constituency from House District 25, my current seat." Cutter won her first race for the House in the 2018 Democratic wave year, becoming the first Democrat in state history to represent House District 25, which included the JeffCo foothills. The newly drawn Senate District 20 includes much of the same area: Morrison, Evergreen and north to the boundary with Boulder County. Voter registration, according to the redistricting maps, shows a 7.1% Democratic lean. Cutter's decision leaves, for now, questions about what Tipper will do. She told Colorado Politics she is talking with her family and has not yet reached a decision. A third member of the state House — Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada — also lives in SD20 but told Colorado Politics she isn't interested in the state Senate. She's already filed to run for her current House District 27 seat. No other candidate, Republican or independent, has filed to run for either House District 28 or Senate District 20, according to TRACER, the Secretary of State's campaign finance database