By Don Knox, STATE BILL COLORADO
DENVER — A GOP candidate has registered to run in Colorado’s House District 23, one of 22 House districts that State Bill Colorado considers “truly competitive.”
Edgar Johannson of Golden has filed to run for the seat now held by Max Tyler, a Democrat and a businessman appointed by a vacancy committee last year to serve out former Rep. Gwyn Green’s remaining term. Green retired to spend time with her grandchildren.
House District 23, which includes the Denver suburbs of Golden and Lakewood, is balanced but leans Democratic with 36 percent of voters unaffiliated, 35 percent Democratic and 29 percent Republican as of August 2009.
Johannson could not be reached for comment Sunday.
According to his profile on LinkedIn.com, Johannson is director of business development at RedCanyon Engineering & Software. He was business development and risk manager at ARES Corp. and a risk manager at the Laboratory for Atmospheric & Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. For about four years, he worked in the office of Gov. Bill Owens as an Asia and space liaision, also according to LinkedIn.
There are 65 seats in Colorado’s House. Democrats hold a 37-27-1 majority. Kathleen Curry, formerly a Gunnison Democrat and former speaker pro tem, affiliated from the Democratic Party recently to run for re-election as an independent.
State Bill Colorado defines “truly competitive” districts are those where both parties have fewer than 40 percent of registered voters. Of the remaining 43 districts, Republicans have the advantage, 23-20, over Democrats.
State Bill Colorado’s 2010 Colorado House Election Tracker has been updated as a result of Johannson’s entry into the race.