Colorado Peak Politics - WHO REPRESENTS YOU: Taking a Look at CO State House Reps’ Occupations

Colorado Peak Politics - WHO REPRESENTS YOU: Taking a Look at CO State House Reps’ Occupations

WHO REPRESENTS YOU: Taking a Look at CO State House Reps’ Occupations

Published on March 18, 2013 by ColoradoPeakPolitics

UPDATE: For those who have asked where this information can be found, this is public information found here.  It’s worth noting that we did Democrat Rep. Tracy Kraft Tharp the favor of correcting her occupation as she “pulled an Ali Hasan” by listing her occupation as “small business”.  The fact of the matter is that she is a lobbyist, and was registered as such until right before she decided to run for office.  You’re welcome, Rep. Kraft Tharp.
With the bevy of bizarre legislation coming out of Colorado’s Democrat-controlled legislature, it might benefit Coloradans to know who exactly is representing them in the State House and State Senate. What we found might surprise you.  Then again, maybe not.
We’ve separated the House Representatives from the State Senators to keep it readable.  This first post reviews just the House.  The next post in the series will examine the Senate.
The most prevalent occupation as self-reported by State House Democrats is a tie between “education” and “legislator”, the latter meaning that their State House gig is their primary occupation.  Contrastingly, the most reported occupation by Republican Representatives is either business owner or working in a business capacity.  View the breakdown of occupation by party below.

“Other” was a category we created in which to lump occupations that didn’t fit neatly into another category. Examples of occupations that fit into “other” included bio-scientist, engineer, firefighter, and social worker on the left.  On the right, examples of occupations that fit into “other” included counselor, mediator, retiree, and physician, among others.

While no Republicans considered themselves to be lobbyists or in education, no Democrats listed farming, agriculture, or ranching as their occupation.  Below is a breakdown of Republican vs. Democrat by occupation.  The same rules for “other” apply.

When Coloradans scratch their heads at the increasingly ridiculous and business-unfriendly legislation coming from the Colorado State legislature, perhaps it would benefit Coloradans to remember that Democrats don’t traditionally come from a business background.