There’s a new contender in the race for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, as Democrat state Rep. Donald Valdez officially announced Saturday his bid to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton.

Valdez announced his candidacy – making him the second Democrat to do so, following former Steamboat Springs state Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush – in a series of Southern Colorado town halls, including a Saturday afternoon stop at the Pueblo Union Depot.

“I’m running to fight and have a voice in Washington,” Valdez told a crowd of about three dozen people. “A voice for you. A voice for our next generation.

“So today I’m asking you to rise to the challenge. To rise up each and every day. And I ask you, will you rise up with me?”

Valdez’ candidacy represents the first primary opponent for Mitsch Bush, who ran and lost against the Cortez-incumbent Tipton in 2018, with Tipton totaling 52 percent of the vote to retain the District 3 seat, which stretches through 29 counties on the Western Slope and southern portions of the Eastern Plains.

Valdez said he’s no stranger to serving a large service area, as his current constituency in Colorado House District 62 includes Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Huerfano, Mineral, Rio Grande, and Saguache counties, as well as a southeast portion of Pueblo County.

“Most important is our unique way of life and what we call home right here in Southern Colorado. Whether it be in Pueblo, in the San Luis Valley, or in Durango or Grand Junction or Steamboat Springs,” Valdez said.

“This is one of the largest congressional districts. It’s more than half of the state of Colorado and it’s going to take each and every one of you to make it happen.”

Valdez, who was first elected to the state House in 2016, said Saturday that through his candidacy he will seek to protect local water rights, promote and protect Southern Colorado agriculture, address the ongoing opioid epidemic, and provide a “voice for rural values.”

“So, let’s rise up and get it done," Valdez told the crowd.

zhillstrom@chieftain.com

Twitter: @ZachHillstrom