Jonathan Michael Keyser is an attorney and former state representative who served in the Colorado House of Representatives. He represented House District 25, which encompasses Western

Jefferson County, Colorado Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 582,910, making it the fourth-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Golden, and the most populous city is Lakewood. ...

including

Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

, Conifer,

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

, and parts of Littleton,

Golden Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

, and Ken Caryl. He was elected in November, 2014 as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Military service

Born at Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center, Keyser, a graduate of the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and U ...

and recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, served on active duty in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

as an

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way ...

. He served tours in both

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Keyser was also a member of the U.S. Air Force Academy's parachuting demonstration team, the Wings of Blue. During his deployment to Iraq, he served as

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collect ...

and

Central Security Service The Central Security Service (CSS) is a combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense which was established in 1972 to integrate the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Service Cryptologic Components (SCC) of the United Sta ...

Foreign Affairs Directorate

liaison officer A Liaison officer is a person who liaises between two or more organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities on a matter of mutual concern. Generally, liaison officers are used for achieving the best utilization of resources, or empl ...

at the

U.S. Embassy The United States has the second most Diplomatic mission, diplomatic missions of any country in the world List of diplomatic missions of China, after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as obse ...

in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and participated in 31 direct action and

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

missions, resulting in the capture or elimination of 107 high-value enemy individuals. Keyser currently serves in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Legislative career

Keyser's 2014 nomination as

candidate for House District 25 of the Colorado House of Representatives was uncontested at the district caucus. He ran against Democratic nominee Janet Doyle and Libertarian candidate Jack Woehr. The election was the first in Colorado to be completely done with mail-in ballots. Keyser won with 52.2% of the vote compared to 43% for Doyle and 4% for Woehr.

2016 U.S. Senate election

In December 2015, it was reported that he was considering running for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat currently held by Michael Bennet. On January 11, 2016, Keyser announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2016 Senate race. On April 25, 2016, Colorado Secretary of State Wayne W. Williams announced that Keyser failed to qualify for the Republican Senate primary following a review of ballot petition signatures. Keyser successfully appealed Williams' decision and was added to the ballot on April 29, 2016.

References

External links

Hogan Lovells Lawyer Profile

Campaign Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keyser, Jon Living people Republican Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force officers United States Air Force personnel of the Iraq War United States Air Force personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military personnel from Colorado 1981 births