We live in an age of division, debt, and disruption. All have pushed the Doomsday Clock—a measure of how close our world is to imminent danger—closer to midnight than ever before.

My priorities are to Restore Congress, Rebuild Trust, and Reboot the American Dream. These three are co-equal and must be addressed simultaneously.

If Congress doesn’t work, nothing works. The legislative branch of our federal government is labeled “Article I” for a reason—it is the first among equals. We must make politics local again so that communities feel they are being both taxed and represented. I pledge real representation through routine, pre-established, substantial engagements with constituents. I will also work to end government shutdowns for good.

Americans don’t trust the federal government. We will need our federal government to address the big problems looming on the horizon. But trust takes time and effort. We can start by banning stock trading in Congress. By setting term limits at 12 years in the House and Senate. By ending gerrymandering through a nationwide extension of Colorado’s commission system. By regulating big tech (especially AI). And by widely expanding national service programs so that every American gets the opportunity to serve our country at any stage of life.

An overwhelming majority of Americans don’t believe in the American Dream anymore. That phrase was first popularized by James Truslow Adams during the Great Depression. He called it the “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” It was this economic optimism that drove American confidence to do big things. Today that optimism is running dangerously low because everything in life costs too damn much. We’ve got to get our optimism back by removing tariff taxes immediately. By building(!) to make housing affordable again. And by fixing our future through downsizing debt. (It is both true and disgusting that every American baby born today has over $100,000 in federal debt stapled to their birth certificates. We must do better.)

The compass I’ll use to navigate toward these priorities has been heavily influenced by President Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal. He lived in a similar time and wanted everyone to have a fair shake at life. His words below gesture the balanced philosophy that I also believe in. 

“I am trying to secure the treatment of each man on his merits and not from the standpoint of his class, whether this class be based on occupation, financial standing, creed, or color. I want to help the corporation or the labor union when it does well, I want to cinch it when it does ill. I wish to stand by the capitalist when he is decent, and by the wage worker when he is decent, and against either when he is not decent.”

To make the domestic priorities above real—we need a new Square Deal for every American—by controlling corporations, protecting consumers, empowering citizens, and conserving our way of life. When issues arise among these key American stakeholders and principles, I will make the tough decisions between competing priorities based on the greatest good. 

When it comes to foreign policy, I also believe that adapting TR’s approach is right for the moment. I believe in the strength that comes from speaking frankly and carrying a big stick. I believe in peace through American leadership. I believe in returning politics to the water’s edge. And I believe that E Pluribus Unum is and always will be our greatest strategic advantage. We are more together than we could ever be apart.

I’ve heard some use the pithy phrase that we want AI to be “fast, safe, and ours.” My emphasis is on “safe.” We must convene experts and an ongoing bipartisan effort—with the same level of commitment and concern we did with nuclear weapons. Because AI has the potential to upend our economy, lives, and national security on that very same level. Above all, we cannot leave this issue to private companies. There’s far, far too much at stake.

I will fight to ensure that every woman gets to see a doctor whenever she wants, no matter the reason. My daughters should have at least the same rights to reproductive care as their mother or grandmothers did. Especially when we’re talking about the most private, personal decision a person (or couple) can make. These decisions are best left to people, to families, guided by medical advice and their own faith tradition. I will also never permit a national abortion ban—a measure that would go directly against the wishes of the people of Colorado.

I spent 25 years in the Army; more than 5 years of that service was overseas. I fought in combat, was an award-winning Army Strategist, and once earned distinction as the top professor at West Point. These experiences have led me to know that since the Second World War, American leadership has kept the world stable, peaceful, and prosperous. I’m fully committed to keeping America, Americans, and American interests safe in this dangerous world of ours.

As a living kidney donor, I know the special power of transplant to do good and to do well at the same time. Every year the US government spends about as much on kidney failure as it does the US Marine Corps. And each kidney transplant saves the federal government well over $1 million in dialysis costs. By expanding transplants—in all forms—we can save lives and taxpayer dollars. (And besides, if you’re not in Congress to save lives and money, what’s wrong with you?)

When I went to West Point and then served in the Army, the greatest gift of that service was getting to know more of America. Not just the places, but the people too. I will work to make it possible for every American that’s willing and able, at every age, to serve America in many ways that will benefit both the individual and the nation as a whole.

As a career military officer with a family that includes a cop and a first responder, I support every reasonable resource to ensure those that keep our communities safe and healthy are taken care of so they can focus on their critical missions. We’re both a nation of laws and a people with compassion—we send our finest and bravest to protect us by executing the fullest extent of the law with regard for the dignity and rights of everyone. That’s never an easy job to get right. I’ll have their backs.

I’m the son of a teacher and a TSA professional—both union members and leaders—I’ve known nothing but to be a part of a working family. I’ll focus on measures that make life easier: supporting affordable childcare, building more homes to bring down costs, and creating more options for higher education, especially community colleges. And I’ll push for a blanket social media ban on all kids to age 16—parents need cover on this issue, and I’ll give it to them.

When I first arrived in Colorado in 2003, I looked up at America’s Mountain and fell in love. I’ve run every trail, walked every hike, and skied every slope—and I still can’t get enough. We’ve got to protect this place because it’s special. Like it or not the climate’s changing and it’s impacting us in real ways—increasingly severe weather events mean insurance rates have surged more than any other state in the country. I’ll work to preserve this place by taking action to make our environment cleaner, safer, and more resilient.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know which end of the hammer to swing. I was a soldier and got handy with a different set of tools. But that also means I depend very much on those that know what to do with that hammer. And if we’re going to build a better future, then we’ve got to invest in those that’ll swing those hammers that’ll make it come true. I’ll invest in opportunities for them, and work to allow federal Pell Grants to apply to job training (and not just 4-year college degrees). 

Every retired member of my family needed Social Security and Medicare. Someday I’ll need it too. I will work to protect this middle-class benefit for those that’ve paid into it their whole working lives. I will also ensure these vital programs stay solvent and strong in the long run through common sense legislation.