A Democratic state representative who was running for reelection in a toss-up district dropped out of the race Friday, which may make it that much harder for her party to maintain its supermajority in the Colorado House of Representative in the November election.
State Rep. Jennifer Parenti, an Erie Democrat who is in her first term, said she is dropping her bid because she “cannot continue to serve while maintaining my own sense of integrity.”
“The two are simply incompatible,” she wrote in a statement, blaming personal agendas and special interests for making the job too difficult.
A Democratic vacancy committee will select a replacement to run in Parenti’s place in the November election in House District 19 against former Rep. Dan Woog, a Republican. Parenti beat Woog in 2022 by 1,467 votes, or 3 percentage points.
The vacancy committee will be made up of Democratic activists in the district, which straddles Boulder and Weld counties. Parenti’s replacement, however, will be months behind on fundraising and campaigning.
The district is estimated to lean 1.5 percentage points in the GOP’s favor, according to a nonpartisan analysis of past election results conducted as part of Colorado’s 2021 redistricting process.
Democrats have a 46-19 supermajority in the House. That means they can only afford to lose two seats to keep their two-thirds advantage in the chamber.
There are six districts, including House District 19, in which Democrats won by fewer than 1,500 votes in 2022. All but two of them lean in Republicans’ favor, meaning they will be difficult to defend in November.
Democrats are pursuing a supermajority in the Senate — they are one seat shy of one now — and the odds are stacked in their favor, according to past election results.
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Parenti, who didn’t immediately respond to a Colorado Sun message seeking comment Friday, blamed her decision on “personal agendas and special interests (that) are still being rewarded at the expense of our districts.”
“This work attracts people with great passions and ambitions, and the last two years we had the most diverse group of people and ideas the legislature has ever seen,” Parenti wrote. “I had hoped that we could seize this moment given to the legislature to usher in a new culture — one that supported its new and diverse voices, promoted thoughtful and intentional discussion, ensured every district had a seat at the table in drafting important legislation and above all else promoted ethical standards of behavior befitting our offices. Unfortunately, personal agendas and special interests are still being rewarded at the expense of our districts.”
Despite being from a swing district, Parenti has been one of the most progressive legislators in the House over the past two years. She fought efforts from Republicans and moderate Democrats to boost public funding to charter schools, and was a lead sponsor of a measure to create a bill of rights for foster children that included protections for transgender kids.
She was a member of the House State, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
Parenti is an Air Force Academy graduate who served in the military for 20 years before working for NATO. Since returning to Colorado she has worked as a community organizer and voting rights activist.
Parenti joins a handful of state representatives who have left their jobs in recent years because of the climate at the Capitol.
House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, and House Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge, issued statements Friday afternoon thanking Parenti for her service and wishing her luck in her future endeavors.
“While under the gold dome, Rep. Parenti advocated for gun violence prevention and better access to housing and transit,” Duran said.
Parenti said she will serve out the rest of her term, which ends in early January, though the legislature isn’t scheduled to return to work until next year. Only a special legislative session would change that.
Colorado Sun staff writer Brian Eason contributed to this report.