After Colorado Rep. Rebecca Keltie (R-Colorado Springs) announced she wouldn’t be running for reelection to her House District 16 seat, she endorsed Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education Vice President Jill Haffley.
“I promised I’d find us a good replacement for HD16 & she is amazing,” Keltie said of Haffley in a Nov. 29 Facebook post. “She will be Rebecca 2.0!”
Keltie narrowly defeated incumbent Stephanie Vigil in 2024 by just three votes, after Vigil beat Republican Colorado Springs City Councilor Dave Donelson by a margin of just 710 votes in 2022. Vigil has already announced plans to run again in 2026, and TRACER, the state’s political finance database, shows that her campaign has over $21,000 on hand. An orderly transfer of power would give Colorado Republicans the best chance of retaining the highly contested seat, but that just isn’t how Republican politics work in El Paso County.
While Haffley has built a strong conservative reputation during her time on the D11 board — voting to end the long-running contract with the teachers union and supporting the district’s policy to limit the sports participation of transgender athletes — she will be facing a challenger in the primary.
Jamie Koch, a secretary and Practical Government School coordinator at Charis Bible College, announced her candidacy this week.
“As we look across Colorado, I found serious questions,” said Koch in her campaign launch video on Youtube. “Is public service a right or a privilege? Do we serve the elected or do they serve us? Should those we elect and empower be expected to represent us or merely follow the orders of their donors? The answer is clear. Public service is a privilege, not a right.”
In 2023, Haffley was supported by dark money group Springs Opportunity Fund, which spent $144,532 supporting her and the other candidates with direct mail efforts and digital advertising. The Springs Opportunity Fund has a history of supporting Republican candidates in regional elections. In 2021, Springs Opportunity Fund spent $128,000 promoting the candidacies of Republican Colorado Springs City Council candidates Dave Donelson, Randy Helms, and Mary Elizabeth Fabian. The Springs Opportunity Fund also bankrolled campaigns of conservative school board candidates in Colorado Springs District 11, District 49, and D20, using a $180,000 contribution from Colorado Springs Forward, a dark money group headed by Colorado Springs businessman Phil Lane. In 2022, Colorado Springs Forward was the subject of a campaign finance complaint after accidentally making illegal donations to El Paso County Commissioners Holly Williams and Cami Bremer.
“I want to share with you my own heart for service, my guiding principles, and how I plan to represent our district and our conservative, constitutionally, and divinely foundationed values against the woke flood from Denver,” said Koch.
On Facebook, Koch identified five priorities for her campaign: “Protecting Our Children & Parental Rights … Restoring Law, Order & Justice … Fighting for Fiscal Responsibility … Defending the Sanctity of Life & Human Dignity … Protecting Constitutional Freedoms.”
On Dec. 11, Colorado Times Recorder reached Rep. Keltie, who was unavailable for medical reasons prior to publication. She offered the following statement
“Over the last six months, since realizing I wasn’t going to be able to campaign due to current medical reasons, I worked hard to find a really great replacement for my seat,” wrote Keltie. “I didn’t want to just throw something this important into the wind. We must be logical and strategic for HD16.
“I’m a firm believer that those who run for office should be qualified to do the job,” Keltie continued. “Director Jill Haffley is the only one running for HD16 who’s actually qualified to do the job. I personally find her more than qualified as a retired educator in both U.S. Government and U.S. History. As well as a proven elected school board member having managed million dollar budgets, long-time community volunteer and dedicated public servant. She’s a strong candidate who stands with high moral convictions, a fierce work ethic and the strong understanding of putting the people first. Jill Haffley is a proven winner. Which is what we need going into battle against [Former state Rep. Stephanie] Vigil, who is one of the worst Democrat Liberal Marxist opponents Colorado has seen in a long time.”
“I have come to know Jill Haffley over the last couple years. I had even helped her with her campaign and election for D11 school board. She is exactly what HD16 needs and she will be able to beat the insane Democrat opponent. Period. No one else running for HD16 can. It’s nothing personal, it’s just logic.”
UPDATE: As of publication, Koch did not yet appear in TRACER’s candidate database. Her campaign Facebook page was created on Nov. 3 and her campaign’s Youtube channel launched over a week ago on Dec. 1. Immediately following publication of this article, however, Koch filed her candidate affidavit and campaign committee paperwork with the Secretary of State.
Koch declined to comment for this piece.
