Jason Crow is a Democrat seeking election to Congress in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District. He is trying to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman.
Crow, 39, is a lawyer and former U.S. Army officer. He served in ROTC at the University of Wisconsin, where he graduated as the Distinguished Military Graduate in 2002. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning a Bronze Star. Crow left the Army at the rank of captain in 2006.
Crow is currently a partner at Holland & Hart, a blue chip law firm with an office in Denver. He earned his law degree at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2009. After graduation, he served on the Colorado Board of Veterans Affairs, from 2009 to 2014.
Veteran vs. veteran
Crow is a military veteran, like Coffman. The 6th Congressional District is home to the new Veterans’ Affairs medical center in Aurora, which was delivered behind schedule and with a $1.7 billion price tag, more than $1 billion over-budget. Crow has pledged to ensure veterans get timely medical and mental health care, and he is staunchly against privatizing the VA.
Crow supports providing mental health care to all veterans who need it, without regard to their discharge status. This position mirrors legislation that Rep. Coffman sponsored and became law. He also wants the VA to review the discharge status of veterans who received a less than honorable discharge due to mental health issues related to their service.
Crow wants to enforce regulations that protect veterans from for-profit colleges that misleadingly entice and enroll veterans.
Gun control
Crow said his experience in the military showed him what firearms are capable of. He is calling for common-sense gun control reforms. He supports universal background checks to close loopholes that allow many gun sales to “go unchecked,” especially at gun shows.
Crow wants to limit the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines and limit the sale of “bumpstocks” and similar devices that make it easier to convert firearms into automatic weapons. He wants to ban military-style assault weapons and accessories.
He wants to prevent firearms sales to domestic abusers and stalkers.
Crow has vowed to never accept money from the gun lobby, and he contrasts that stand with Coffman’s. Coffman has accepted more contributions from the NRA than any other member of Colorado’s congressional delegation, earning him an “A” grade and an endorsement from the NRA. The NRA gives Crow an “F” grade.
Immigration
The 6th Congressional District is Colorado’s most diverse and is home to large populations of immigrants and refugees. Crow supports a path to citizenship for Dreamers, the children of people who entered the United States illegally. He calls for keeping immigrant families together, a rebuke to Trump administration policies that have detained children separately from their parents after they crossed the border illegally.
Crow does not support building a border wall, saying it will be ineffective and a waste of taxpayer money. He wants to maintain a policy, weakened by the Trump administration, that provides an expedited path to citizenship for immigrants who serve in the U.S. military.
Abortion rights
Crow forcefully supports a woman’s right to choose, and said it is “shameful” that the right needs to be defended. He said Planned Parenthood deserves to be funded and funding for women’s health care must be maintained in the federal budget. He said he fight to maintain protections for maternal health care in health care laws.
Fix the Affordable Care Act, work toward Universal Health Care
Crow said health care is a right, not a privilege. He supports many aspects of the Affordable Care Act, but said it needs to be improved, not scrapped or watered down. He said the millions of people covered by the ACA must have their health care protected.
Ultimately, Crow wants a universal health care system, but one that allows people to choose from a variety of health insurance options, including employer-provided insurance or Medicare.
Federal marijuana policy
Crow wants to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, saying it will put Colorado users at ease, knowing they will not face federal prosecution. He said decriminalization will allow the banking system to conduct business with the marijuana industry.
