Rep. Bob Beauprez (R) Elected 2002, 2d term
Born:	Sept. 22, 1948, Lafayette
Home:	Arvada
Education:	U. of CO, B.S. 1970
Religion:	Catholic
Marital Status:	married (Claudia)
Professional Career:	Dairy farmer, 1970-90; Banker, 1990-2002; Chair, CO Rep. Party, 1999-2002.
DC Office	5041 CHOB20515, 202-225-2645; Fax: 202-225-5278; Web site: www.house.gov/beauprez/
State Offices	Wheat Ridge, 303-940-5821.
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The inner circle of suburbs around Denver was developed in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. West of Denver, on broad avenues running toward the mountains, is Lakewood, where growth was sparked by the Denver Federal Center; affluent in the south, more marginal near the Denver city limits, a place not of uniformity but of suburban diversity. Out to the west is the town of Golden, with the old Colorado School of Mines and the Coors brewery. To the north are Arvada (which is shared with the 2d District) and Wheat Ridge, middle-income suburbs with an increasing number of Latinos. On the other side of Denver, to the east of the now-closed Stapleton Airport, is Aurora, as vast as Lakewood, and somewhat newer, with its huge regional mall and an increasing number of middle class blacks. East of Aurora are rolling, empty plains that stretch to the Kansas line.

The 7th Congressional District of Colorado, newly created for the 2002 elections, covers parts of three counties and most of the inner Denver suburbs. The bulk of its land area, but only 15% of its voters, are in Adams County, which includes the industrial zone along the South Platte River and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Adams County has long been the most Democratic of the suburban Denver counties, but its political future cannot be predicted safely: This empty area is likely to fill up with new subdivisions in the next decade. Aurora, partly in Adams County with a larger part in Arapahoe County, has long been Republican. But with more black and Latino residents, it has been trending Democratic. Lakewood and the other towns in Jefferson County (or Jeffco, as people call it) is perhaps Colorado's premier political battleground. Long solidly Republican, it is now more marginal. And it is crucial here: Jeffco has 62% of the 7th District's voters. The judge who handed down the redistricting plan deliberately chose to make the 7th evenly divided between the parties, and so it has been. The areas within its boundaries voted 50%-49% for Al Gore in 2000 and 51%-48% for John Kerry in 2004, and in the 2002 House election this was the most closely divided district in the nation.

The congressman from the 7th District is Bob Beauprez, who won the 2002 election by exactly 121 votes out of 173,000 cast. Beauprez is a third-generation Coloradoan, whose Belgian-born grandfather immigrated and earned the money to bring the rest of his family to America by shoveling coal into the giant furnaces at a local power plant. When that work destroyed his eyesight, he bought 80 acres of land and became a farmer. Beauprez's father became a nationally recognized breeder of registered Hereford beef cattle, and later diversified into dairy cattle. Beauprez graduated from the University of Colorado and in 1990, after the family sold the dairy farm, he bought a small community bank wavering on the verge of collapse. By 2001, he was chairman and CEO of Heritage Bank, with 13 locations in Denver's northern suburbs and more than $300 million in assets. Beauprez also turned the state Republican Party around. When he became state chairman in 1999, the party had a $130,000 debt; when he resigned to run for the House in 2002, it was $700,000 in the black.

Despite his record for the party and his close ties to Governor Bill Owens, Beauprez faced a crowded Republican primary. He had not run for office before and began with low name recognition. One opponent was Lieutenant Governor Joe Rogers, who had publicly feuded with Owens. Another was Owens's former policy chief, Rick O'Donnell, who won most straw polls. Also running was former state senator and former ambassador to Bahrain, Sam Zakhem. Zakhem eventually faded and Rogers was hurt when state auditors probed his finances. O'Donnell accused Beauprez of "trying to buy" the contest with his own $350,000 but in light voting, Beauprez defeated O'Donnell 38%-31%, with 18% for Zakhem and 13% for Rogers. In the less negative Democratic primary, former state senate Minority Leader Mike Feeley defeated Jeffco District Attorney Dave Thomas 56%-44%. The fall campaign revolved around economic issues--Social Security reform, health care, corporate responsibility. On most issues, each candidate reflected his national party. The contest remained exceedingly close to the very end; a visit from George W. Bush in the final days surely helped Beauprez--and anything that helped him was enough to make the difference. In the crucial Jeffco vote, Beauprez won 49%-46%. Districtwide, that gave Beauprez his 121-vote win.

His mainstream voting record in the House won the gratitude of the House Republican leadership, especially in contrast to the often prickly independence of the state's other Republicans. Beauprez called for enactment of the House-passed energy bill, and blamed the Senate's failure to follow for soaring gasoline prices and the nation's trade imbalance. On the Transportation Committee, he got $45 million in projects for his district, more than three times any other Colorado member.

In May 2003 the Republican legislature drew a new redistricting plan designed to make the 7th more Republican; it removed Lakewood and much of Jefferson County and added heavily Republican parts of Arapahoe County and raised the Bush 2000 percentage from 49% to 54%. (Beauprez claimed unconvincingly that he knew nothing about the changes). The plan was challenged by Attorney General (now Senator) Ken Salazar and was ruled in violation of the state constitution by the state Supreme Court in December 2003. Beauprez, who had said he would gladly run within the existing lines, seemed nonplussed. His opponent in 2004 was Jeffco District Attorney Dave Thomas, who ran second in the 2002 Democratic primary. This district started off at the top of the national Democrats' target list. But Thomas's connection to the Columbine High School shooting investigation hurt him politically. In September 2004, Salazar's office released a report implicating Thomas in the failure to disclose information about the killings. Days after the shootings, Thomas attended a meeting with Jefferson County law enforcement officials where it was decided to withhold information authorities had about the Columbine gunmen that predated the shooting. Thomas said he had nothing to do with the decision but press coverage was unsympathetic. Thomas's name identification, previously an asset, had become a liability, and national Democrats downplayed the race; Beauprez ended up raising three times as much money. Beauprez emphasized his voting record, including his support of the Bush Medicare/prescription drug bill, which he said "may not be perfect, but it is a big step forward" for seniors. This time, Beauprez won handily: 56%-42% in Jeffco, and 55%-43% overall.

After the election, Beauprez, banking on his party loyalty, eagerly sought and gained a seat on the Ways and Means Committee. But in March he began exploring a run for governor in 2006, frustrating House Republican leaders who had directed large sums of money into his reelection effort in a marginal seat and then placed him on an A-list committee.

Committees

• Ways & Means (21st of 24 R): Human Resources; Oversight.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	5	5	0	0	90	72	100	92	95	100	--
2003	5	--	0	10	--	68	100	88	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	0%	--	91%		9%	--	88%
Social	24%	--	71%		31%	--	67%
Foreign	31%	--	65%		25%	--	68%
For National Journal's complete 2004 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 108th Congress (More Info)
1. Drilling in ANWR Y 2. Approve Bush Tax Cuts Y 3. Medicare/Rx Bill Y 4. Bar Overtime Pay Regs. N 5. DC School Vouchers Y 6. Ban Human Cloning Y		7. Restrict Gun Liability Y  8. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion Y  9. Ban Same-Sex Marriage Y 10. Fund Iraq War Y 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds N 12. Intelligence Reorg. Y

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Bob Beauprez (R)	135,571	55%	$2,970,799
	Dave Thomas (D)	106,026	43%	$1,125,677
	Other	6,167	2%
2004 primary	Bob Beauprez (R)	unopposed
2002 general	Bob Beauprez (R)	81,789	47%	$1,827,119
	Mike Feeley (D)	81,668	47%	$1,147,759
	Other	9,422	3%

2004 Presidential Vote Kerry (D) 130,984 (51%) Bush (R) 122,772 (48%)

2000 Presidential Vote Gore (D) 103,592 (50%) Bush (R) 101,632 (49%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Seventh District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: D + 2
• District Size: 1,265 square miles
• Population in 2000: 614,465; 97.7% urban; 2.3% rural
• Median Household Income: $46,149; 8.9% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 23.8% blue collar; 62.6% white collar; 13.6% gray collar; 14.1% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 68.9% White, 5.8% Black, 2.9% Asian, 0.6% Amer. Indian, 0.1% Hawaiian, 1.9% Two+ races, 0.1% Other, 19.6% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 16.0% German, 8.9% Irish, 8.4% English
• Click here for statewide demographic data.