DENVER –– Unite Colorado, formerly the Colorado Centrist Project, announced its first four independent candidate endorsements for the 2018 election cycle.

Unite Colorado’s SLATE OF INDEPENDENT STATE LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES includes strategy consultant Steve Peterson (SD-30), small business owner Maile Foster (HD-18), army veteran and college professor Jay Geyer (HD-33), and Thornton City Council member Eric Montoya (HD-31).

“For the first time in Colorado’s history, there is a credible, competitive, and coordinated slate of independent candidates running to put the people before the parties,” said Unite Colorado’s Executive Director, Nick Troiano.

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Foster and Montoya will compete for open seats. Peterson will take on GOP Senate Majority Leader Chris Hobert in a potential head-to-head contest; if party control of the Senate remains the same, Peterson would become the sole swing vote in an equally divided chamber.

Each candidate has signed onto Unite Colorado’s new Declaration of Independents, a shared statement of principles that define their common sense principles and common ground approach to governance.

“A plurality of voters in Colorado (36%) are unaffiliated with both parties, yet an independent has never been elected to the legislature –– it’s time to change that,” Troiano said.

As voter dissatisfaction with both parties grows, the independent movement is well-positioned for electoral success. Research PUBLISHED in late 2017 by the Centrist Project Institute found that 53% of Colorado voters believe both parties are not working well together to solve problems, and 85% were open to support an independent candidate for state legislature.

Most recently, State Senator Cheri Jahn DROPPED her Democratic Party affiliation and became the first independent to serve in the state senate.

“Colorado has never backed down from an idea whose time has come,” said Cory Gilchrist an investor and a member of the Unite Colorado Steering Committee. “We are bringing new competition and innovation to a political marketplace that desperately needs it.”

Unite Colorado will independently mobilize its grassroots, volunteer, and donor network to support its endorsed candidate slate. The organization will also continue its candidate outreach, recruitment and training programs and expects to announce additional candidate endorsements throughout the election cycle.

Editor's Note: This article originally published on the Centrist Project's blog, and has been modified slightly for publication on IVN.

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