Brittany Pettersen
American politician (born 1981)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brittany Louise Pettersen (born December 6, 1981)[1] is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Colorado's 7th congressional district since 2023. She previously served as a member of the Colorado Senate from the 22nd district, and in the Colorado House of Representatives, representing the 28th district. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Brittany Pettersen | |
|---|---|
Official Portrait, 2023 | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 7th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Ed Perlmutter |
| Member of the Colorado Senate from the 22nd district | |
| In office January 4, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Andy Kerr |
| Succeeded by | Jessie Danielson |
| Member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 28th district | |
| In office January 9, 2013 – January 4, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Andy Kerr |
| Succeeded by | Kerry Tipper |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Brittany Louise Pettersen December 6, 1981 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Ian Silverii (m. 2017) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Metropolitan State University of Denver (BA) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Education
Pettersen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the Metropolitan State University of Denver.[2]
Early political career
Before running for state representative, Pettersen worked for New Era Colorado, a nonprofit progressive political advocacy group that works to increase youth participation in politics and the government process.[3][4]
2013 legislative session
In 2013, Pettersen opposed a repeal of the death penalty in Colorado.[5]
2019 recall effort
In July 2019, the Colorado secretary of state approved the circulation of a recall petition against Pettersen. The recall's organizers had until September 16, 2019, to gather 18,376 signatures to put the recall on the ballot, but on September 10 they announced that they were abandoning the effort and not submitting signatures.[6][7] The recall petition stated that Pettersen should be recalled because she supports taxpayer-funded heroin-injection sites, and because she supported SB 19-042 (the National Popular Vote bill), SB 19-181 (Comprehensive Oil and Gas Reform), HB 19-1032 (Comprehensive Human Sexuality Education), and HB 19-1177 (the Red Flag bill that allows a judge to prohibit an individual from possessing a firearm).[8]
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2018
On April 9, 2017, following Ed Perlmutter's announcement that he was running for governor of Colorado, Pettersen announced her candidacy for Colorado's 7th congressional district.[9] After Perlmutter re-entered the congressional race, Pettersen ended her campaign.[10] In 2018, Pettersen ran for and won Colorado Senate District 22.
2022
After Perlmutter announced that he would retire from the U.S. House after the 2022 session, Pettersen again declared her candidacy for the 7th district seat.[11][12] She was elected in November over Republican Erik Aadland with over 56% of the vote.[13]
2024
In 2024, Pettersen ran for reelection. She defeated Republican nominee Sergei Matveyuk with 55.3% of the vote in the general election, 1.1% less than in 2022.[14]
2024 presidential nominee
On July 12, 2024, Pettersen called for Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 United States presidential election.[15]
2025 proxy voting
About a month after giving birth to her second son, Pettersen flew to Washington, D.C., to vote on a continuing resolution because she was not given the ability to vote by proxy. She is working with fellow U.S. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna to pass a measure in the House that would allow proxy voting for up to 12 weeks for congressional members who have given birth or whose spouse has given birth.[16]
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:[17]
Caucus memberships
Electoral history
| Year | Office | Party | Primary | General | Result | Swing | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | Total | % | P. | |||||||||
| 2012 | State House | 28th | Democratic | 2,985 | 100.0% | 1st | 19,603 | 52.71% | 1st | Won | Hold | [23] | ||
| 2014 | 3,042 | 100.0% | 1st | 16,356 | 54.98% | 1st | Won | Hold | [24] | |||||
| 2016 | 3,781 | 100.0% | 1st | 22,431 | 55.58% | 1st | Won | Hold | [25] | |||||
| 2018 | State Senate | 22nd | 16,066 | 100.0% | 1st | 42,747 | 58.16% | 1st | Won | Hold | [26] | |||
| 2022 | U.S. House | 7th | 71,497 | 100.0% | 1st | 204,984 | 56.38% | 1st | Won | Hold | [27] | |||
| 2024 | 71,052 | 100.0% | 1st | 235,688 | 55.33% | 1st | Won | Hold | [28] | |||||
| 2026 | 113,707 | 100.0% | 1st | TBD | [29] | |||||||||
| Source: Secretary of State of Colorado | Election Results | ||||||||||||||
Personal life
In 2017, Pettersen married Ian Silverii, the executive director of ProgressNow Colorado, at the Colorado Governor's Mansion.[30] Pettersen and Silverii have two children.[31][32]
