Tracy Kraft-Tharp is an American teacher and politician who serves on the county commission in

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. ...

. Prior to her tenure on the county commission she 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 29th district from 2013 to 2021, as a member of the

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 ...

. Kraft-Tharp was educated at

Minnesota State University Moorhead Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM is a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities s ...

and the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

before working at

Metropolitan State University Metropolitan State University (Metro State) is a public university in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. It is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

, and

Regis University Regis University is a private Jesuit university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1877 by the Society of Jesus, the university offers more than 120 degrees through 5 colleges in a variety of subjects, including education, liberal arts, business, nu ...

. She defeated incumbent

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 ...

Representative Robert Ramirez in the 2012 election for a seat in the state house and was reelected in the 2014, 2016, and 2018 elections. During her tenure she chaired the Business Affairs and Labor committee. She defeated incumbent Commissioner

Libby Szabo Libby Szabo is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Colorado House of Representatives. She represented District 27 from January 12, 2011, until her resignation on January 29, 2015. Szabo is a member of the conservative l ...

for a seat on the Jefferson County Commission in the 2020 election.

Early life and education

Tracy Kraft-Tharp graduated from

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in psychology, sociology and education and from the

with a

master of social work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social wor ...

in social work and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

. She worked as a teacher at a middle school,

, and

, youth counselor in a juvenile detention center, and social worker. She married Vern Tharp.

Career

Colorado House of Representatives

Robert Ramirez, a

member of the

from the 29th district, was targeted by the

in the 2012 election as he won in the 2010 election by 197 votes. Kraft-Tharp won the Democratic primary and defeated Ramirez and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

nominee Hans V. Romer in the election. She defeated Republican nominee Susan Kochevar and Libertarian nominee Romer in the 2014 election. Ramirez was initially the Republican nominee, but withdrew and a vacancy committee selected Kochevar to replace him. She defeated Republican nominee Kochevar in the 2016 election. Kraft-Tharp defeated Republican nominee Grady Nouis and Libertarian nominee Romer in the 2018 election after she raised $129,699 while Nouis raised $38,762. One of Kraft-Tharp's aides accused Representative

Steve Lebsock Steve Lebsock is an American politician who served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 34th district as a member of the Democratic and Republican parties from 2013 until his expulsion in 2018. Prior to his tenure in the state hous ...

of sexual harassment. During her tenure in the state house she served on the Appropriations and Finance committees and chaired the Business Affairs and Labor committee. Kraft-Tharp declined to seek an appointment to replace Senator

Evie Hudak Evie Hudak (born 1951) is an American politician who served in the Colorado Senate from the 19th district as a member of the Democratic Party from 2009 to 2013. Prior to her tenure in the state senate she served on the Colorado State Board of ...

. She considered running to succeed

Ed Perlmutter Edwin George Perlmutter (born May 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in the northern and western suburbs of the Denver metropolitan area ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Colorado's 7th congressional district Colorado's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Formerly located only in the northeast part of the state, the district now encompasses the western parts of the Denver metropolitan area, includin ...

during the 2018 election. She endorsed

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

during the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries and Joe Biden during the

2020 Democratic presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 Unit ...

Local politics

Kraft-Tharp was a member of the Jefferson County PTA. She announced her campaign for a county commission seat in

, on November 6, 2019, with Lindsey Rasmussen as her campaign manager. She defeated incumbent Republican commissioner

and Libertarian nominee Romer. During her tenure on the commission she served as the chair pro tem.

Political positions

Kraft-Tharp voted against renaming

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. ...

to be in honor of

Frances Xavier Cabrini Frances Xavier Cabrini ( it, Francesca Saverio Cabrini; July 15, 1850 – December 22, 1917), also called Mother Cabrini, was an Italian-American Catholic religious sister. She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a ...

. She received an A 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 ...

. Her scores from the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

ranged from 89% in 2013, 60% in 2015, and 83% in 2019, while receiving 100% in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018.;
;
;
;
;
;

Electoral history

References

External links

Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners websiteOfficial page
at the

Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the ''Colorado Revised Statutes'' (C.R.S.). The ses ...

Campaign site
* Links formerly displayed via the CongLinks template:
Biography
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Financial information (state office)
at the National Institute for Money in State Politics {{DEFAULTSORT:Kraft-Tharp, Tracy Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Schoolteachers from Colorado Democratic Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Regis University faculty Women state legislators in Colorado 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians American women academics County commissioners in Colorado