A Southern Colorado Republican running for the most competitive state Senate district tried to distance herself from the local Christian Nationalist group she helped launch.
In addition to House District 16 in Colorado Springs, Senate District 3 in Pueblo is another hotly-contested legislative race this year. Incumbent Sen. Nick Hinrichsen (D-Pueblo) is not seeking re-election, and attorney Aaron Gutierrez, a Democrat, is facing Republican Dana Charles, a health care administrator.
Long considered a Democratic stronghold, Republicans have made inroads in the Steel City in recent years with a series of wins at the school board, municipal, and county level. One of the driving forces behind the conservative political victories in Pueblo has been the Christian activist group Forging Pueblo. In 2022, Forging Pueblo partnered with Mark Lee Dickson, the director of Right to Life of East Texas and founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn Initiative, to push Pueblo’s City Council to adopt a municipal anti-abortion ordinance. The effort failed, but the following year Forging Pueblo’s political committee, Forging the Future, supported multiple candidates for Pueblo D60 Board of Education. Two of those candidates won: Sue Pannunzio and Brian Cisneros.
Also winning election in 2023 was Pueblo City Council candidate Mark Aliff, who appeared in a promotional video for the group in 2019. In 2024, the Pueblo City Council voted 5-1 to spend $1,500 on a fundraiser for Tamra Axworthy’s anti-abortion center. Axworthy, alongside Rep. Stephanie Luck (R-Penrose), was listed on the board of Forging Pueblo. Aliff was also one of the supporters of a 2024 to reintroduce the failed 2022 anti-abortion ordinance. In 2024, Forging Pueblo board member Paula McPheeters was elected to Pueblo’s Board of County Commissioners.
In a recent Facebook post the Southern Colorado Labor Council identified Charles as a “founder of Forging Pueblo and a donor to its political arm.” In response, Charles posted a video to Facebook.
“This is not about Forging Pueblo,” she said. “This is another page out of a tired and typical playbook and to be clear, Forging Pueblo has not endorsed me. Forging Pueblo has not donated any monies to my campaign. Some people would like to paint me as hyper right wing, but that is not going to fly. This campaign and my service will be focused on making life safer, more affordable, and better for the people of Pueblo County. I will not be the state senator focused on legalizing prostitution or adult sex workers. Our delegation needs balance. Do better, because I know Pueblo can do better.”
In 2025, the Colorado Times Recorder reported on Charles’ $100 donation to Forging the Future in 2023, and her regular financial support of McPheeters. When asked directly about any official connections to Forging Pueblo, Charles responded: “I think that as an individual citizen we obviously join clubs and we join different groups and organizations and so Forging Pueblo I think does amazing things for the Pueblo community as do other organizations throughout Pueblo — for sure.”
However, a video of a 2024 presentation to Winsome Ministries in Northern Colorado features Forging Pueblo leader Quin Friberg explaining the group’s purpose as “to forward the Gospel,” before identifying Charles as a founding board member.
We’re going to think of ways to impact our community in those seven different areas in order to forward the Gospel, in order to stand for truth and stand for justice and and do what’s right in these different areas of our culture… We got a team together, and these individuals, I’ll just tell you a little bit about them so you know the type of individuals … Barb Musso was the former director of A Caring Pregnancy Center, which is the only pregnancy center in Pueblo. Robert Fuller, he was a former city counselor at his last home, and then had moved to Pueblo and wanted to help, and so he was a great resource, still is, still with the team. Tamara Axworthy was and is the current director of the pregnancy center. Dana Charles is the medical director for one of the largest medical networks down in Pueblo. Mark Aliff was a city counselor and then termed out and now is a city councilor again. The rule we have is once you hold a position, an elected position, you have to become an advisory member, not a voting member, and so he’s an advisory member. Stephanie Luck, she’s a constitutional attorney … Paula McPheeters, community advocate, very connected in the community college. She is actually running for county commissioner right now, so she switched to an advisory role on the board… And then Brandon Beauvais, he is a sergeant in the police department. He’s advisory, his wife is running for district attorney right now.”
Of Charles’ eight fellow founding board members, all but Friberg and Luck have donated to her campaign, either directly (Musso, Fuller, Aliff and McPheeters), or via their spouses (Axworthy and Beauvais).
According to the archive of Forging Pueblo’s now-deleted website, “Forging Pueblo is an organization that was founded in July, 2018, with the goal of impacting Pueblo with a Biblical worldview. Our goal is to influence all major areas of society, including: Government, Education, Business, Religion, Arts and Entertainment, Media, and Family. We believe the body of Christ can unite and make a significant impact on our community if churches and believers work together.”
Forging Pueblo’s emphasis on “all major areas of society” is a reference to the Seven Mountain Mandate, the idea that the evangelical Christian church should control all aspects of society. The Seven Mountain Mandate was originally developed by Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth With a Mission, and Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. The movement has seen a recent resurgence, led by Pentecostal evangelist Lance Wallnau, who has spoken regularly at events put on by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Clay Clark, founder of the ReAwaken America Tour.
Charles did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Erik Maulbetsch contributed to this reporting.
