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Mike Kopp
Mike Kopp was a 2014 Republican candidate for Governor of Colorado.[1]
Kopp is a former Republican member of the Colorado State Senate, representing District 22 from 2007 until stepping down on October 21, 2011. He was serving as State Senate Minority Leader when he resigned following his wife's death from cancer.[2]
Biography
Kopp earned his B.A. in Ministry from North Central University-Minneapolis. His professional experience includes working as Clerk of Detention and Deportation for the United States Border Patrol, Fire Fighting Crew for the National Park Services and Principal of Forward Think Strategies. He served as a Sergeant in the United States Army.
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kopp served on these committees:
- Executive Committee of the Legislative Council, Colorado General Assembly
- Legislative Council Committee, Colorado General Assembly
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Kopp served on these committees:
Issues
Sponsored legislation
Kopp's sponsored legislation included:
- SB 10-191 - Quality Instruction Through Educator Effectiveness [3]
Healthcare
B.J. Nikkel and Kopp co-sponsored the Healthcare Opportunity and Patient Empowerment (HOPE) bill.
The measure would authorize the state of Colorado to collaborate with other states to create an interstate compact opting out of federal laws regulating health care.[4]
Elections
2014
- See also: Colorado Gubernatorial election, 2014
Early speculation about the 2014 Colorado gubernatorial election placed Kopp on a short list of possible Republican challengers to take on Democratic incumbent Gov. John Hickenlooper.[5] Kopp confirmed rumors he was considering a bid when he filed for the election on October 1, 2013.[6]
Kopp sought the Republican nomination in the primary election on June 24, 2014. He was defeated by Bob Beauprez. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Primary Election Results
| Governor of Colorado, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Bob Beauprez |
30.2% | 116,333 | ||
| Tom Tancredo | 26.7% | 102,830 | ||
| Scott Gessler | 23.2% | 89,213 | ||
| Mike Kopp | 19.9% | 76,373 | ||
| Total Votes | 384,749 | |||
| Election results via Colorado Secretary of State. | ||||
Hypothetical match-up polls
| Hickenlooper vs. Kopp | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | John Hickenlooper (D)* | Mike Kopp (R) | Someone else | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling (December 3-4, 2013) | 45% | 37% | 0% | 17% | +/-3.2 | 928 | |||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Race background
Democratic nomination
Democratic incumbent Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper ran for re-election in 2014 alongside Lieutenant Governor Joseph Garcia (D). Hickenlooper and Garcia were first elected together in 2010. They were uncontested for re-nomination in the Democratic primary on June 24, 2014.
Republican nomination
On June 24, Colorado voters selected Bob Beauprez as the Republican nominee for governor. It was the only contested primary for a statewide office held that day. Beauprez represented Colorado's 7th Congressional District from 2003 to 2007 and he was the Republican nominee for governor in 2006.[7] He drew 30 percent of the primary vote, according to unofficial totals, defeating Tom Tancredo (27 percent), Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler (23 percent) and Mike Kopp (20 percent).[8] Gessler passed up a possible second term as secretary of state in 2014 in favor of an attempt to challenge Hickenlooper for the state's top office. Since Gessler was out of the governor's race, he was unable to make a bid for re-election as secretary of state.
According to the candidates' campaign finance reports due July 1, Hickenlooper raised nearly $3 million in preparation for the second phase of the 2014 campaign cycle and ended the reporting period with $579,268 of cash on hand. Beauprez ended the reporting period with $34,921 cash on hand. Beauprez' total fundraising for the cycle as of June 25 was $351,921.[9]
General election
Hickenlooper, Beauprez, Matthew Hess (Libertarian), Harry Hempy (Green) and various unaffiliated candidates competed in the general election on November 4, 2014.[10][11]
In September 2014, Governing rated the race between Hickenlooper and Beauprez as a "Toss-up" while The Cook Political Report gave Hickenlooper a slight advantage with a "Lean D" rating.[12][13]
2010
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2010
Kopp sought re-election to the 22nd District seat in 2010. He was uncontested in the primary. He defeated Mike Daniels (D) in the November 2 general election.
| Colorado State Senate, District 22 General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Mike Kopp (R)
|
35,155 | |||
| Mike Daniels (D) | 20,851 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Kopp was elected to the 22nd District Seat in the Colorado State Senate, defeating opponent Paula E. Noonan (D).[14]
Kopp raised $84,094 for his campaign, while Noonan raised $308,317.[15]
| Colorado State Senate, District 22 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Mike Kopp (R)
|
27,024 | |||
| Paula E. Noonan (D) | 24,092 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Kopp has four children. His wife, Kimberly, passed away from cancer in 2011.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for Mike + Kopp + Colorado + Senate
See also
- Colorado State Legislature
- Colorado State Senate
- Colorado Senate Committees
- Colorado state legislative districts
- Colorado Gubernatorial election, 2014
- Governor of Colorado
External links
- Mike Kopp's personal website
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Project Vote Smart biography of Senator Mike Kopp
- Campaign Contributions: 2010, 2008 2006
- Mike Kopp on Facebook
- Mike Kopp on Twitter
- "Senate GOP gets show on the road with Mike Kopp at the wheel," Colorado News Agency, July 21, 2010</ref>
Footnotes
- ↑ [kdvr.com/2013/10/01/republican-mike-kopp-will-join-gop-gubernatorial-field/ The Denver Post, "Republican Mike Kopp to file for governor's race today," October 1, 2013]
- ↑ Denver Post, "State Sen. Kopp resigning as family duties call in wake of wife's death," October 25, 2011
- ↑ Colorado News Agency, "Teacher's Union Shaken, Allies Divided by Passage of Tenure Reform," May 12, 2010
- ↑ "Health care compact proposal wins first round," Colorado News Agency, Apr 26th, 2011
- ↑ Fox31 Denver, "Schaffer, Beauprez, Brophy keeping 2014 options open," November 20, 2012
- ↑ [kdvr.com/2013/10/01/republican-mike-kopp-will-join-gop-gubernatorial-field/ The Denver Post, "Republican Mike Kopp to file for governor's race today," October 1, 2013]
- ↑ Bob Beauprez for Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed June 25, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "Colorado - Summary Vote Results," last updated June 25, 2014
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Hickenlooper fundraising passes $3 million mark," July 1, 2014
- ↑ Reuters, "Former congressman Beauprez to challenge Colorado governor," June 24, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Election Official Candidate List," accessed June 23, 2014
- ↑ Governing, "2014 Governors Races," September 10, 2014
- ↑ The Cook Political Report, "Governors Race Ratings 2014," September 15, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official 2006 General election results," accessed April 14, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Funds raised by 2006 Senate candidates," accessed April 14, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Colorado State Senate - District 22 2007–October 21, 2011 |
Succeeded by Tim Neville |
