Republican candidates for the most contested House District race in El Paso County took part in a candidate forum at Church for All Nations — just down the hall from a room labeled “UFO Nephilim and the Coming Deception” — this week. The forum was moderated by Ken Davis, chair of the El Paso County Republican Party, and hosted by the church’s Culture Impact Team, which promotes far-right policies and speakers.
“I am the candidate in this race who can beat the Democrat in the general election in November,” said Jill Haffley, the Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education vice president and hand-picked successor to Rep. Rebecca Keltie (R-CO Springs).
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.
“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!”
Haffley will face Jamie Koch, a secretary and Practical Government School coordinator at Charis Bible College, in the June primary. “For too long, we’ve been sending people up to the Capitol that claim to be Republicans, claim to stand for our values, claim to stand for our principles,” said Koch. “They get up there and they vote right along the lines of the Democrats taking your money — my money — away.”
The stakes in the HD16 race are high for Colorado’s Republican caucus. “HD16 is keeping the Democrats from a super majority,” said Haffley. “That has to remain in conservative Republican hands. It’s as simple as that.”
Haffley and Koch agree on the importance of the seat, and on a host of other fringe issues, like election integrity, that have polarized Republicans in recent years. While they both agree election integrity is an important issue, they disagree on whether it is one that has a legislative solution.
“I don’t think the issue is introducing more legislation for election integrity,” said Koch. “The issue is following the rules and prosecuting those who are not following the rules and holding them to a standard that we expect there needs to be consequences to people’s actions. And right now in the state of Colorado, there are no consequences to actions.”
Koch’s claims are confusing, as the poster child for election integrity, former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, is currently suffering the consequences (a nine-year prison sentence) of her actions (election equipment tampering and official misconduct). Last year, a Mesa County postal worker was sentenced to five years in prison for her role in stealing and submitting ballots with fraudulent signatures during the 2024 General Election.
“I think showing your ID when you go to vote would be a good piece of legislation,” said Haffley. “I think having people voting in person would be a good idea. Mail-in ballots breed fraud. It is as simple as that.”
Claims of widespread voter fraud due to mail-in ballots are simply not true. A comprehensive 2014 study published in The Washington Post found 31 credible instances of impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2014, out of more than 1 billion ballots cast. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, a liberal think tank, even this tiny number is likely inflated, as the study’s author counted not just prosecutions or convictions, but any and all credible claims.
The Mesa County postal worker who committed voter fraud was discovered during Colorado’s signature verification process. A total of 16 ballots had been stolen and voted in collaboration with another participant in the scheme. Those ballots were fraudulently cast and then returned to the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder’s office.
“Colorado elections are safe and secure, and our election laws will be enforced,” said Secretary of State Jena Griswold in a 2025 news release. “We will not let anyone threaten our elections or disenfranchise Colorado voters. I will continue to stand up for our democracy and protect the right to vote.”
Haffley did provide some anecdotal evidence for her claims of mail-in voter fraud. “In terms of mail-in ballots breeding fraud… My dog got a credit card application in the mail,” she said. “This was years ago, but it’s true.”
When asked about measures for increasing affordable housing options and addressing the cost of living — which has led to a housing shortage and increased homelessness in Colorado Springs and across the state — Haffley expressed consternation at all the housing already available. “I also would argue that you have to be responsible in growth in this state, growth in the city,” she said. “I can’t drive down Powers without seeing apartments everywhere. Townhomes everywhere.”
Haffley and Koch also shared comparable positions on abortion. “I am disgusted that we live in a state that thinks that life isn’t important,” said Koch. “When we start devaluing life, they’ll devalue everything else. They don’t care about your money, they don’t care about your freedom, because they don’t care about life. But this is also a national issue. And thank God we have an administration that is working on defunding Planned Parenthood, making Mifepristone illegal.”
Haffley criticized Rep. Julie McCluskie (D-Dillon). “We have a speaker of the House up in Denver, McCluskie, who has decided to call an abortion an ‘averted birth,’” said Haffley. “It would be cheaper to have an averted birth than to actually have a human being be born. These are people that can’t stop spending money, and yet, they want to take the lives of innocent babies, innocent children. And not just Colorado kids, but you could be pregnant in Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, California, Oregon, any of the other 49 states, come to Colorado, get your abortion, and go home at the cost to the Colorado taxpayer. It’s disgusting.”
For Koch, this election cycle is about more than just Colorado politics. “This race isn’t just about policy, it’s about the future we’re leaving behind,” she said. “Will we keep watching government grow while families are being pushed aside? That’s what’s at stake right now. This role doesn’t need someone who goes along to get along. It doesn’t need someone who compromises truth for approval, or trades long-term freedom for short-term comfort. This role requires a mama bear. Someone who will stand firm. Someone who will ask hard questions, someone who’ll read the fine print, someone who would refuse to back down when our freedoms are on the line.”
In addition to Haffley and Koch, other Republican candidates included Adriana Cuva for House District 18, Brenda Miller for House District 21, Troy Vanderhule for House District 14, and Levon Stilson for Senate District 11.
Colorado’s primary elections are June 30.
