STEAMBOAT—Diane Mitsch Bush, of Steamboat Springs, has announced her candidacy on the Democratic ticket for the 3^rd Congressional District, currently held by Rep. Scott Tipton.

Mitsch Bush is a former two-term Routt County Commissioner and three-term member of the Colorado House, where as chair of the Transportation/Energy Committee and vice chair of the Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources Committee, she worked across the aisle to extend the Front Range recovery and prosperity to rural areas.

She has been known as a problem solver, that will bring people together to focus on what’s important, including expanding economic and education opportunities, lowering healthcare costs, protecting public lands, stopping the flow of unlimited special interest money in elections.

“We can’t keep sending the same career politicians to Congress and expect things to improve. I’m dedicated to stopping the influence of special interests in politics, so government can work for people again. There are lots of problems that need fixing—our broken healthcare system and our economy that does not provide enough living wage jobs and real opportunity for everyone. There are things that need protecting, from public lands to women’s health to defending Social Security, Medicare, and Veteran’s Benefits.”

Mitsch Bush consistently and successfully has brought people together to deliver for rural Colorado. She fought for family agriculture, public education, job training, multimodal transportation, sustainable water infrastructure, wildfire prevention and response, renewable energy, small rural communities, public health, women’s rights, equality of opportunity, and the natural resources.

She is dedicated to changing how Washington works by fighting to reform the broken campaign finance system that allows corporate special interest money to drown out our voices. For this campaign, she has pledged not to take corporate PAC money.

Colorado’s 3rd District is 54,000 square miles with 29 counties going from the Wyoming border to the New Mexico border and from the Utah border to Pueblo. The majority of public lands in Colorado are in the 3^rd District and are critical to the economy and quality of life, she said.

Mitsch Bush has lived in Steamboat Springs for 42 years. Her mother, who was the sole breadwinner, worked hard to put food on the table and pay the rent, sometimes with payday loans. She understands what it’s like to struggle.