Denver Direct: Rep. McKinley Announces Bid for Re-election in HD64

We caught up with Rep. Wes McKinley (D-Walsh)in his office at the Capitol where he announced his bid for re-election for Representative from House District 64, in southeastern Colorado. In the last go-around, he won handily with 76% of the vote, including an amazing 100% of the vote in Prowers County – 2,623 votes for McKinley and not one for his Republican opponent.

Representative Wes McKinley is the Colorado State Representative for House District 64, which encompasses the counties of Baca, Bent, Huerfano, Las Animas, Otero, and Prowers. Most recently he has served on the Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources Committee as well as the Local Government Committee.

Rep. McKinley is a cowboy, a small business owner, an educator and an author. He believes in a representative democracy, not a special interest democracy, and also believes that small business owners, working families, and family farmers and ranchers should be the major influence in state government and the political process.

Rep. McKinley is co-owner of Kirkwell Cattle Company, a cattle and horse touring company that provides guided tours through southern Colorado, northern New Mexico and Oklahoma. He served as the foreman of the grand jury that investigated the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant from 1989 to 1991, and co-authored the book, Ambushed Grand Jury, which discusses his experiences with the Rocky Flats investigation.

Rep. McKinley received a BS in Mathematics from Panhandle State University in Oklahoma. He and his wife, Janice, have been married for over 43 years and are foster parents to more than 25 children from around the world. Rep. McKinley and Janice have eight children of their own.