Steve Harkess

Republican | Colorado

Steve Harkess websites LinkedIn

Candidate Profile

Steve Harkess — State Senate, Dist. 22 (Colorado Republican Primary | June 30, 2026)
State Senate, Dist. 22 Colorado General | November 3, 2026
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Leans Conservative

BIOGRAPHY

EDUCATION

University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, B.S. Business Admin, 1990-1994

University of Denver, Denver, CO, J.D., 1995-1999

Lakewood Senior High, Lakewood, CO, High School, 1987-1990

WORK & MILITARY

Candidate did not provide

AFFILIATIONS

Candidate did not provide

POLITICAL OFFICES HELD

School Board, Rockton School District 140, 2021-2024

POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT

Colorado State Senate, District 22, -2026

OTHER INFORMATION

  Candidate completed Alliance Defending Freedom's 2026 Candidate Survey.

QUESTIONNAIRE

RIGHT TO LIFE

Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).

Strongly Agree

Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?

Abortion should not be allowed after viability.

Human life deserves legal protection from conception until natural death.

Neutral

The lives of human embryos created through artificial methods ought to be protected from purposeful destruction.

Disagree

The Comstock Act, which bans interstate transportation of abortion-inducing drugs, should be enforced.

Neutral


ECONOMY

What is your position on the minimum wage?

Minimum wage laws tend to have negative unintended consequences.

Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.

Strongly Agree

List your top 3-5 priorities to eliminate government waste.

(1) Strengthen Oversight of High-Risk Programs to Prevent Fraud and Abuse; (2) Carefully Consider Reducing the Areas Where Government Interferes in the Economy; (3) Maintain TABOR Limits on Government Growth


RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?

It means that the government is not equipped to evaluate religious beliefs and practices and must not favor one religious practice over another or favor non-religion over religion. The government cannot be involved in promoting or prohibiting particular religious beliefs or practices.

Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.

Disagree


HEALTHCARE

What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D) Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded.

There is a need for a social safety net to provide for people under certain circumstances which is addressed by Medicaid and Medicare, although there may be better ways to meet this need. When it comes to the general provision of healthcare and insurance, the government is not any better at running these industries than it is at controlling other private industry and should generally not be involved in trying to do so.

The government should keep a database of people with various ongoing medical illnesses to assess the economic burden of treatment.

Disagree


NATIONAL SECURITY

The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.

Strongly Agree

Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?

Israel is an important ally of the United States, but this does not mean that it is in the interest of the United States to blindly support everything the country does any more than it would be for any other foreign power.


IMMIGRATION

I support the existence of sanctuary cities to protect undocumented persons.

Strongly Disagree

There is no logical reason that the United States should be the only country in the world that does not regulate immigration. If immigration laws serve a purpose, then areas within the country should not be set aside specifically for the violation of the law.


EDUCATION

I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.

Agree

Education is best addressed at the state and local level. It is not an appropriate function of the federal government.

Foreign governments should be prohibited from funding American education.

Neutral


VALUES

Government should recognize and support the fundamental right and essential duty of parents to direct their child's health and educational well-being.

Strongly Agree

Attempts to physically or socially transition a child to the opposite sex constitute child abuse.

Agree

Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.

Neutral

Religious organizations should be allowed to define marriage for their adherents in accordance with their beliefs. The justification for the government to sanction marriages or determine how marriage is to operate is weak following the development of tests to determine paternity scientifically.

I support the expansion of gambling in my state.

Disagree

Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.

Protestant Christian.


ELECTIONS AND VOTING

People should be able to vote without photo identification.

Strongly Disagree


EQUALITY

Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.

Strongly Disagree

Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.

Strongly Agree


ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Man-made climate change is a global threat and requires urgent political action.

Neutral

What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?

Nuclear Energy


ABOUT YOU

When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?

Conservative

I am fiscally conservative and believe strongly in maintaining and strengthening Colorado's TABOR protections. I lean more libertarian on many social issues. The role of government should be carefully constrained to those areas appropriate for collective action. A free market generally does a much better job of addressing individual preferences and should be preferred to government action in many areas.

Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.

No.

Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.

No.


CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY

What should be the goal of the criminal justice system?

Public Safety.

Government has a responsibility to protect children from sexual exploitation during online activities.

Agree

Sharia law should not be accepted or incorporated in any form within the legal framework of the United States.

Strongly Agree


2ND AMENDMENT

What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?

Restrictions should be placed on criminals and those who misuse firearms, not on law abiding citizens.

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