Don Coram

Don Coram (born 1948)^[1][2] is an American politician who served as a member of the Colorado Senate and the Colorado House of Representatives.^[3] In the state senate, he represented District 6, comprising the counties of Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, San Juan, and San Miguel. In the Colorado House of Representatives he represented District 58 from January 2011 to January 2017. In 2022, Coram ran against Lauren Boebert in the Republican primary for Colorado's 3rd congressional district. On June 28, 2022, Boebert defeated Coram by 31 points.^[4]

Don Coram
Member of the Colorado Senate from the 6th district
In office January 11, 2017 – January 9, 2023
Preceded by	Ellen Roberts
Succeeded by	Cleave Simpson (Redistricted)
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 58th district
In office January 12, 2011 – January 11, 2017
Preceded by	Scott Tipton
Succeeded by	Marc Catlin
Personal details
Born	1948 or 1949 (age 75–76) Montrose, Colorado, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Website	Official website

Career

Coram operates a hemp farm and coffee shop.^[5][6]

Prior to his time in the Legislature, Coram served on board of the Montrose County School District. In the Colorado House of Representatives, Coram succeeded Scott Tipton, who was elected to the United States House of Representatives.

After former State Senator Ellen Roberts resigned at the end of 2016, a vacancy committee elected Coram to serve for the remainder of her term. He resigned as state representative and was sworn in as a state senator on January 11, 2017.^[7]

A supporter of marijuana legalization and LGBT rights, Coram has been characterized as a moderate Republican.^[8][9]

Coram sponsored a bill during the 2021 session of the Colorado General Assembly that would require the Colorado Department of Education to modify existing academic standards to address civics education, including the "history, culture, and social contributions” of ethnic, racial, and religious minority groups, to assure that students acquire an understanding of "how laws are enacted at the federal, state, and local government levels,” and to inform students about “the methods by which citizens shape and influence government and governmental actions.”^[10] SB21-067 is a bipartisan measure, co-sponsored in the Colorado State Senate by Chris Hansen of Denver and in the Colorado House of Representatives by Barbara McLachlan and Terri Carver.

Elections

• 2022: Coram announced his run for the Republican nomination in Colorado's 3rd congressional district. Other candidates include incumbent representative Lauren Boebert and crane operator Marina Zimmerman.^[11] On June 28, 2022, he lost the election 65.31% to 34.69% to Boebert.^[4]
• 2012: Coram ran unopposed for the June 26, 2012 Republican Primary, winning with 6,757 votes,^[12] and won the three-way November 6, 2012 General election with 22,071 votes (62.1%) against Democratic nominee Tammy Theis and Libertarian candidate Jeff Downs.^[13]
• 2010: When District 58 Republican Representative Scott Tipton ran for the United States House of Representatives and left the District 58 seat open, Coram was unopposed for the August 10, 2010 Republican Primary, winning with 8,701 votes,^[14] and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 20,275 votes (64.4%) against Democratic nominee James Perrin.^[15]

References

1. Lofholm, Nancy (January 7, 2022). "Don Coram makes it official. He'll challenge Lauren Boebert in the GOP primary". The Colorado Sun.
2. Lofholm, Nancy (May 23, 2022). "Where's Don Coram? Lauren Boebert's GOP challenger says his late start is all part of the plan". The Colorado Sun.
3. "Don Coram's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
4. REPRESENTATIVE TO THE 118TH UNITED STATES CONGRESS - DISTRICT 3 - REPUBLICAN PARTY, Colorado Secretary of State, June 28, 2022.
5. Press, Michael Cox Special to the Montrose Daily (October 31, 2019). "Don Coram talks hemp and water". Montrose Daily Press. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
6. "Colorado lawmaker and his gay son split on civil unions bill". The Denver Post. May 15, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
7. Alderton, Stephanie. Don Coram will replace Ellen Roberts in Colorado Senate Archived 2017-01-11 at the Wayback Machine. The Durango Herald, January 7, 2017. Viewed: 2017-01-13.
8. Armijo, Patrick (October 7, 2018). "Rancher vs. engineer battle in state Senate District 6". Durango Herald. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
9. "One Colorado's LGBTQ Equality 2019 Legislative Scorecard". One Colorado. July 17, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
10. Lacey, Hank (March 15, 2021). "Bipartisan Bill Would Mandate an Update to Civics Education" (print). Vol. 19, no. 11. Circuit Media. Law Week Colorado. pp. 6, 22. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
11. Paul, Jesse (January 5, 2022). "Republican state Sen. Don Coram will run to unseat Lauren Boebert". The Colorado Sun.
12. "2012 Republican Party state representatives primary results". Denver, Colorado: Secretary of State of Colorado. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
13. "2012 General election state representatives results". Denver, Colorado: Secretary of State of Colorado. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
14. "Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2010 Primary & 2010 General" (PDF). Denver, Colorado: Secretary of State of Colorado. p. 98. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
15. "Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2010 Primary & 2010 General" (PDF). Denver, Colorado: Secretary of State of Colorado. p. 134. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.

External links

• Official page at the Colorado General Assembly
• Campaign site
• Appearances on C-SPAN