Kevin Grantham (born June 29, 1970) is an American politician who serves on the county commission of

Fremont County, Colorado Fremont County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,939. The county seat is Cañon City. The county is named for 19th-century explorer and presidential candidate John C. Frémont. Fre ...

. He served in the

Colorado Senate The Colorado Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of about 123, ...

from the 2nd district as a member of the Republican Party from 2011 to 2019. He served as president of the state senate during his tenure. Grantham was born in

Ordway, Colorado Ordway is a Statutory Town in and the county seat of Crowley County, Colorado, United States, that is also the most populous community in the county. The population was 1,080 at the 2010 census. History A post office called Ordway has been i ...

, and educated at

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

. His father had been the chair of the Crowley County Republican Party and his son later served as a county clerk and recorder. He served on the board of adjustments and city council in

Cañon City A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

before he was elected to the state senate. He served as the chair of the Appropriations committee in the state senate. He served as the Republican caucus whip and later as president of the state senate. Grantham was criticized for his handling of sexual harassment allegations during his tenure as president. He was elected to the Fremont County Commission after leaving the state senate.

Early life and education

Kevin Grantham was born in

. His father served as the chair of the Republican Party in

Crowley County, Colorado Crowley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,922. The county seat is Ordway. History Crowley County was created by the Colorado legislature on May 29, 1911, out of the northern ...

. He graduated from

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in religion. He married Caroline, with whom he had two children. His son, Justin, serves as the county clerk and recorder in Fremont County.

Career

Colorado Senate

Elections

Grantham defeated Matt Heimerich in the 2010 Republican primary for a seat in the

from the 2nd district, and won against Democratic nominee Gloria Stultz in the general election. He defeated

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

nominee Martin T. Wirth in the 2014 election.

Tenure

During Grantham's tenure in the state senate he served on the Agriculture and Natural Resources, State Veterans and Military Affairs, Finance, and Joint Budget committee. He served as the chair of the Appropriations committee. He replaced Senator Steve King on the Legislative Audit committee while King faced felony charges. He supported

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

during the 2012 Republican presidential primary and served as an unpledged delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

. He served as the whip for the Republican caucus from 2012 to 2014. On November 10, 2016, he was selected to serve as the president of the state senate. Grantham was criticized for his handling of sexual assault and harassment claims against member of the state senate due to partisanship. He stated that Senator

Daniel Kagan Daniel Kagan (born January 1953) is an American politician who served in the Colorado Senate from the 26th district from 2017 to 2019, and in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 3rd district from 2009 to 2017, as a member of the Dem ...

had acted improperly before an investigation was started while he stated that investigations into Republican senators

Randy Baumgardner Randy L. Baumgardner is an American politician who served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 57th district from 2009 to 2013, and in the Colorado Senate from the 8th district from 2013 to 2019, as a member of the Republican Party ...

Larry Crowder Larry Crowder is a former Republican legislator in the American State of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado Senate in 2012, he represented Senate District 35 which encompasses parts of Pueblo County, and all of Alamosa County, Baca County, Ben ...

, and Jack Tate were flawed. He requested for

Beth McCann Beth McCann (born February 10, 1949) is an American politician who serves as the current Denver District Attorney, the first woman to hold the office. A Democrat, McCann beat her opponent, independent Helen Morgan, winning 74% of the vote in th ...

, the Denver District Attorney, to start investigations on all sexual harassments complaints filed against state legislators. He stated that he did not believe the sexual harassment complaints against Baumgardner despite the investigation stating the complaints were credible. Grantham voted against expelling Baumgardner from the state senate and refused to ask him to resign.

Local politics

Grantham served on the board of adjustments in

Cañon City, Colorado Cañon City is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 17,141 at the 2020 United States Census. Cañon City is the principal city of t ...

, from 2005 to 2007, and as its chair in 2007. He elected to the city council from an at-large seat in 2007. He served as the chair of the Fremont County Republican Party from 2007 to 2010. Grantham announced on November 14, 2019, that he would run for a seat on the Fremont County Commission from the 1st district and was elected without opposition. During the 2022 United States Senate election he organized

Eli Bremer Robert Eli Bremer (born May 31, 1978) is an American modern pentathlete and politician who competed for the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. He finished 22nd overall in the modern pentathlon event. After retiring as ...

's campaign in Fremont County.

Political positions

Grantham stated that regulations should be enacted on the construction of

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s after a speech by

Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (; born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the Party for Freedom (''Partij voor de Vrijheid'' – PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives (''Tweede Kamer'' ...

. He opposed the

legalization Legalization is the process of removing a legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal. Legalization is a process often applied to what are regarded, by those working towards legalization, as victimless crimes, of which one ...

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

. He introduced legislation to allow business owners to use lethal force if they believed that their property was threatened. He received an F rating from

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

. He stated that President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

's decision to appoint

Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oc ...

to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

was "an excellent one". He is against an attempt to have the

Colorado Republican Party The Colorado Republican Party is the state affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Colorado. The party's headquarters is located in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The state party chair is Kristi Burton Brown. The Colorado Republican ...

to eliminate the selection of candidates for the 2022 election through primaries stating that "This idiotic push from a small group of purists ranks as one of the worst ideas amongst the worst of the worst ideas in the entire history of insane ideas".

Electoral history

References

External links

Colorado General Assembly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grantham, Kevin 1970 births 21st-century American politicians Republican Party Colorado state senators Liberty University alumni Living people People from Crowley County, Colorado Presidents of the Colorado State Senate County commissioners in Colorado