Kevin Van Winkle (born 1981) is a Colorado politician and a member of 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, ...

, representing the 30th district in Douglas County. Previously, he served in the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...

from the 43rd District, which encompassed

Highlands Ranch, Colorado Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The po ...

. 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 Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado. MSU Denver is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, in d ...

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. In December 2020, Van Winkle promoted allegations of fraud in the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

, pushing conspiracies about Dominion Voting Systems and endorsing a petition that falsely claimed that there was fraud in the election. 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 Kathleen Collins Becker is an American politician who served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 13th district from 2013 to 2021, as Majority Leader from 2017 to 2019, and as Speaker from 2019 to 2021, as a member of the Democrati ...

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." Following the resignation of state senator

Chris Holbert Chris Holbert (born February 6, 1961) is an American politician and a former member of the Colorado Senate from the 30th district. He represented the 30th district from January 6, 2015 until his resignation on May 31, 2022. Previously, he represe ...

, a Republican vacancy committee appointed Van Winkle to represent District 30 in the State Senate. He was sworn in on June 13, 2022. In the

2022 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local e ...

, Van Winkle was a candidate to represent the newly reapportioned

District 30 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in the Colorado Senate. The district includes a part of northern Douglas County. Van Winkle's candidacy was successful. In the general election for Senate district 30 held on November 8, 2022, he defeated his

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

opponent, winning 53.82% of the total votes cast.

References

External links

Campaign website

State House website
21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Metropolitan State University of Denver alumni People from Highlands Ranch, Colorado Republican Party Colorado state senators 1981 births {{Colorado-politician-stub