Kevin Van Winkle

Kevin Van Winkle
Board of County Commissioners of Douglas County from the 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 17, 2024
Preceded byLora L. Thomas
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 30th district
In office
June 13, 2022 – December 17, 2024
Preceded byChris Holbert
Succeeded byVacant
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 43rd district
In office
January 7, 2015 – June 13, 2022
Preceded byFrank McNulty
Succeeded byKurt Huffman
Personal details
Born1981 (age 42–43)
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKelly
ResidenceHighlands Ranch, Colorado
Alma materMetropolitan State University of Denver
ProfessionSmall business owner
Websitevanwinkleforcolorado.com/home/

Kevin Van Winkle (born 1981) is a Colorado politician serving as a Douglas County Commissioner. He is a former member of the Colorado Senate, representing the 30th district in Douglas County. Previously, he served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 43rd District, which encompassed Highlands Ranch, Colorado. A Republican, Van Winkle owns a small business based in Highlands Ranch.

Education

He earned a bachelor's degree from Metropolitan State University of Denver.[1]

Political career

Van Winkle was first elected to the State House in 2014, winning 63.3% of the vote against his Democratic challenger in the general election. Running for re-election in 2016, he again beat his Democratic opponent, winning 60.34% of the vote.[2][better source needed]

In December 2020, Van Winkle promoted allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, pushing conspiracies about Dominion Voting Systems and endorsing a petition that falsely claimed that there was fraud in the election.[3]

In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, on December 7, 2020, Van Winkle and 7 other Republicans demanded to the Speaker of the House KC Becker that a committee be formed on "election integrity" to conduct an audit of the Dominion Voting Systems used in Colorado's 2020 elections in spite of no evidence of issues. The request was rejected, with Becker criticizing it as a promotion of "debunked conspiracy theories."[4]

Following the resignation of state senator Chris Holbert, a Republican vacancy committee appointed Van Winkle to represent District 30 in the State Senate. He was sworn in on June 13, 2022.[5][6]

In the 2022 elections, Van Winkle was a candidate to represent the newly reapportioned District 30 in the Colorado Senate. The district includes a part of northern Douglas County.[7] Van Winkle's candidacy was successful. In the general election for Senate district 30 held on November 8, 2022, he defeated his Democratic Party opponent, winning 53.82% of the total votes cast.[8]

In 2024, Van Winkle ran to represent district 3 of the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners. In the Republican primary election held June 25, 2024, he faced two opponents, John Carson and Priscilla Rahn. Van Winkle won the primary, getting 40.58% of the votes cast.[9] In the general election held November 5, 2024, Van Winkle defeated Democratic candidate Josh Smith.[10][11] Following his election to the Douglas County Commission, Van Winkle announced that he would resign from the State Senate, two years into his four-year term.[12] He was subsequently appointed to the vacant seat on December 17, 2024.[13]

References

  1. ^ Q&A with Kevin Van Winkle: Republican, candidate for state House District 43 Archived 2016-10-20 at the Wayback Machine. Castle Rock News-Press, October 19, 2016. Viewed: 2017-01-18.
  2. ^ Ballotpedia. Kevin M. Van Winkle. Viewed: 2017-01-18.
  3. ^ Price, Sean (2020-12-22). "CO Republicans Promote Petition Alleging "Deep State" Election Conspiracy". Colorado Times Recorder. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  4. ^ Hindi, Saja (2020-12-08). "GOP demand for probe of Colorado's Dominion voting system part of "debunked conspiracy theories," House speaker says". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  5. ^ @ColoSenGOP (2022-06-13). "Please welcome Colorado's newest State Senator, Kevin Van Winkle" (Tweet). Retrieved June 14, 2022 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Harford, McKenna (June 6, 2022). "Huffman appointed to HD43 state rep. seat". Highlands Ranch Herald. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  7. ^ Wyloge, Evan (November 24, 2021). "With new state House and Senate maps, let the games begin". Colorado Politics. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  8. ^ "Colorado election results: November 8, 2022, general election state senator district 30". Colorado Secretary of State. State of Colorado. n.d. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "Douglas County Commissioner District 3 Republican Party Primary". Colorado Secretary of State. July 12, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  10. ^ "Douglas County Commissioner District 3". Colorado Secretary of State. November 15, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Festenstein, Noah (November 7, 2024). "Teal, Van Winkle win Douglas County commissioner seats, early results show". The Denver Gazette. Archived from the original on November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  12. ^ Metzger, Hannah (November 25, 2024). "Three Colorado senators announce resignations two weeks after being re-elected". Westword. Denver. Archived from the original on November 25, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  13. ^ Wilson, Sara (December 17, 2024). "State Sen. Kevin Van Winkle appointed to Douglas County commissioner seat". Colorado Newsline. Retrieved December 17, 2024.


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