Jason Crow
Jason Crow (born March 15, 1979) is an American attorney, veteran, and politician who is a member of the United States House of Representatives for Colorado's 6th congressional district. Crow is the first member of the Democratic Party to represent the district, which encompasses several of Denver's eastern suburbs such as Aurora, Littleton, Centennial, and Thornton.
Jason Crow | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 6th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Mike Coffman |
Personal details | |
Born | Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. | March 15, 1979
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Deserai Anderson |
Children | 2 |
Education | University of Wisconsin, Madison (BA) University of Denver (JD) |
Website | House website |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 2002–2006 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | 82nd Airborne Division 75th Ranger Regiment |
Battles/wars | Iraq War War in Afghanistan |
Awards | Bronze Star |
Crow was an impeachment manager during his first term in Congress at the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump.[1]
Early life and career
Crow was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1979.[2] He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his Juris Doctor from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2009.[3][4]
Crow is a former U.S. Army Ranger.[5] He served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Crow took part in the Battle of Samawah in 2003 as a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division; for his actions during the battle, he was awarded the Bronze Star. Crow served on the Colorado Board of Veterans Affairs from 2009 to 2014. After service, Crow became partner with the Holland and Hart Law Firm.[6] In 2015 Crow was awarded the University of Denver's Ammi Hyde Award for Recent Graduate Achievement.[7]
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
On April 17, 2017, Crow announced his intention to run to represent Colorado's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives against incumbent four-term Republican Mike Coffman.[8][9] The district had historically been a bastion of suburban conservatism; it had long been the most reliably Republican district in the state outside of Colorado Springs. Redistricting after the 2010 census had made the district significantly friendlier to Democrats, but Coffman had managed to hold onto the seat for three terms after the redistricting.
In the Democratic primary Crow ran against progressive businessman Levi Tillemann.[10] Crow defeated incumbent Republican Mike Coffman in the general election on November 6.[11] Crow received 54% of the vote, and won two out of the three counties in the district.[12][13] He is the first Democrat to represent the district since its creation in 1982.
2021 storming of the United States Capitol
Crow described his experience during the storming of the Capitol, “I got into Ranger mode a little bit. Most of the members didn’t know how to use the emergency masks, so I was helping them get their emergency masks out of the bags and helped instruct a bunch of folks on how to put it on and how to use it.” He also locked doors in the chamber, moved other lawmakers away from the doors, and directed them to “remove their pins so they weren’t identifiable in case the mob did break through.” Crow held the hand of distressed Rep. Susan Wild in a photo that went viral.[14] He said, “I certainly haven’t felt that way since I was in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. I never, in a million years, would have thought I would have been experiencing that as a member of Congress in the U.S. Capitol.”[15]
Committee assignments
Caucus memberships
Electoral history
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jason Crow | 49,851 | 65.93% | |
Democratic | Levi Tillemann | 25,757 | 34.07% | |
Total votes | 75,608 | 100% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jason Crow | 187,639 | 54.10% | |
Republican | Mike Coffman (incumbent) | 148,685 | 42.87% | |
Libertarian | Kat Martin | 5,886 | 1.70% | |
Independent | Dan Chapin | 4,607 | 1.33% | |
Write-in | 5 | <0.01% | ||
Total votes | 346,822 | 100% | ||
Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jason Crow (incumbent) | 122,929 | 100% | |
Total votes | 122,929 | 100% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jason Crow (incumbent) | 250,314 | 57.1% | |
Republican | Steve House | 175,192 | 40.0% | |
Libertarian | Norm Olsen | 9,083 | 2.1% | |
Unity | Jaimie Kulikowski | 3,884 | 0.9% | |
Total votes | 438,473 | 100% | ||
Democratic hold | ||||
Political positions
Gun control
Crow voiced support for gun control reform while campaigning for the House of Representatives.[19] On February 28, 2019, he voted for the Bipartisan Background Checks Act (H.R.8) after cosponsoring the bill.[20] H.R.8, if passed, will require unlicensed gun sellers to conduct background checks on gun buyers. Crow is also a cosponsor of the Assault Weapon Ban Act (H.R.1296), which would limit access to guns that are considered assault weapons.[20]
Special interests
Crow refused corporate PAC money during his campaign. He is a sponsor of the For the People Act of 2019, which would end gerrymandering and create automatic voter registration if passed.[21] The For the People Act of 2019 would also prevent Congress members from serving on corporate boards. The bill also seeks to eliminate dark money contributions.[21][22]
Crow supports abortion rights. "I will always fight to protect a woman's right to choose. Women should have the right to make healthcare decisions that are right for them and their families. I have fought to protect a woman's right to choose, while simultaneously working to continue funding critical resources like Planned Parenthood." [23]
Impeachment
On September 23, 2019, Crow was one of seven freshmen lawmakers with national security backgrounds who shared an opinion essay in The Washington Post voicing their support for an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump. In interviews, Crow said it was important that "the inquiry stay focused and proceed efficiently."[24] On January 15, 2020, Crow was selected as one of seven impeachment managers who presented the impeachment case against President Donald Trump during his trial before the United States Senate.[25][26]
References
- Kroll, Andy (February 14, 2020). "Can a Freshman Congressman Prosecute Trump for High Crimes -- and Still Keep His Faith in Humanity?". Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- "Candidate Conversation - Jason Crow (D) | News & Analysis". Inside Elections. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- "Jason Crow bio: Get to know the Democrat running in Colorado's 6th Congressional District". Coloradosun.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- Your Name * (August 31, 2015). "University of Denver MagazineDU Law alum continues quest for learning | University of Denver Magazine". Magazine.du.edu. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- Wade, Peter (January 23, 2021). "Sen. Tom Cotton Bragged He Was an 'Army Ranger.' He Was Not". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- Scott, Ramsey (July 12, 2017). "Democrat Jason Crow set to move into 6th Congressional District to boost challenge to Coffman". Sentinel Colorado. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- The Denver Post, "People on the Move," 6 April 2015 Archived October 6, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
- "Denver attorney Jason Crow to challenge Mike Coffman in 2018". The Denver Post. April 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- "Democrat Jason Crow to challenge Coffman in Colorado's 6th". Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- "A secret recording, a Bronze Star and "The Royal Tenenbaums" — the Democratic race to unseat Mike Coffman is flush with personality, politics". The Denver Post. May 23, 2018. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- "Democrat Jason Crow defeats 5-term Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman | FOX31 Denver". Kdvr.com. Associated Press. November 6, 2018. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- contact@scytl.com, scytl. "Election Night Reporting". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- "Colorado Election Results: Sixth House District". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
- Britzky, Haley (January 7, 2021). "This Army Ranger-turned-Congressman was last out of the House chamber during the Capitol riots". Task & Purpose. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- Paul, Jesse (January 6, 2021). ""We were getting ready to make a stand": Colorado congressmen recount harrowing moments as rioters approached". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
- "2018 Colorado Democratic primary election results". Archived from the original on June 22, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- "June 30, 2020 Primary Election - Official Results". Colorado Secretary of State.
- Nielsen, Ella. "Democratic House candidate Jason Crow thinks he can run on gun control - and win" Archived March 6, 2019, at the Wayback MachineVox April 17, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
- "Rep. Jason Crow Votes to Pass Universal Background Checks" (Press release). Washington D.C. February 27, 2019. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- "Rep. Jason Crow Sponsors Bill To End Gerrymandering, 'Dark Money'". CBS Denver. January 9, 2019. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- Montellaro, Zach. "House passes sweeping election reform bill". POLITICO.
- Source: 2018 CO-6 House campaign website JasonCrowForCongress.com, May 4, 2020.
- The Denver Post, "Trump gives swing-district Democrats like Jason Crow new cause to back inquiry," 8 Oct 2019 Archived October 10, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
- Wilkie, Christina (January 15, 2020). "Pelosi taps Schiff, Nadler and 5 others as Trump impeachment managers". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- The New York Times "Jason Crow: Impeachment Manager Who Pressed to Launch Inquiry", 15 Jan 2020 Archived January 15, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
- Gray, Haley (January 15, 2019). "Meet Jason Crow, One of Colorado's Newest Representatives". 5280. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jason Crow. |
- Congressman Jason Crow official U.S. House website
- Jason Crow for Congress campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
- Appearances on C-SPAN
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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Preceded by Mike Coffman |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 6th congressional district 2019–present |
Incumbent |
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
Preceded by Dan Crenshaw |
United States Representatives by seniority 310th |
Succeeded by Sharice Davids |