Brittany Pettersen

A lifelong Coloradan dedicated to public service

Rep. Brittany Pettersen successfully ran for Congress to fight for Colorado families. A fourth generation Coloradan, Rep. Pettersen had to take on adult responsibilities at a young age as her mom battled with addiction. She began to work cleaning houses and taking odd jobs at the age of 12, and with relentless hard work and the support of her teachers, she beat tough odds to become the first member of her family to graduate from high school and college. Rep. Pettersen has dedicated her career to civic engagement, building community, and public service. She worked on President Obama’s historic 2008 campaign and engaged a new generation of Coloradans in their democracy through voter registration and advocacy before stepping up to put her own name on the ballot. In 2012, she ran a successful grassroots campaign in a competitive race for the Colorado House of Representatives — and became the youngest woman in the state legislature. In 2018, Rep. Pettersen was one of five young Democratic women candidates nicknamed the “Fab Five,” whose double-digit wins in 2018 helped take the majority in the state Senate. She and her husband, Ian, are proud parents of a young son, Davis, and she is only the second Colorado legislator to give birth during a legislative session.

A tireless champion for Colorado’s working families

“I’ve spent the last decade fighting for working families, public schools, and small businesses,” Rep. Pettersen has said. “Growing up, the odds were stacked against me, but thanks to the support of Jeffco public schools, I persevered. Now, I’m fighting to make sure future generations have that same chance.” In Congress, she will continue defending the lifelines the most vulnerable Coloradans need to get by and working to expand economic opportunity for all. In the Colorado Senate, she has sponsored the state’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act and “red flag” gun control legislation, which allows courts to order the temporary seizure of firearms from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. She also sponsored the state’s Secure Savings Act to establish portable retirement accounts for residents whose employers don’t provide retirement plans and helped broker a deal when she chaired the House Education Committee that led to reduced testing in K-12 schools. Rep. Pettersen has been public about helping her mother, Stacy, whose decades-long opioid addiction and road to sobriety have been chronicled in an award-winning documentary film. Rep. Pettersen chaired a bipartisan Behavioral Health Task Force, authorized under legislation she sponsored, which made spending recommendations on $550 million in federal funds to improve mental health and substance abuse treatment. She is determined to increase access to health care, including mental health and addiction services that are out of reach for too many. “Being told, ‘I’m sorry, there are not any options out there’ — I think that was an even more hopeless feeling than being a kid,” Rep. Pettersen has said of her experience trying to get her mother the care she needs. An experienced community leader and legislator, she is ready to take her fight for women and families all the way to Washington.

Victory in an open seat

Rep. Pettersen successfully ran for the open seat held by Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter,becoming the first woman to represent this district in the House. Rep. Pettersen is already paving the way for the next generation of women leaders, and she will bring a fresh perspective to Congress.