Arvada State Rep. Picked For Stapleton GOP Running Mate

ARVADA, CO – Republican gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton chose an Arvada two-term state representative for is running mate in the Nov. 2018 election. Stapleton announced Wednesday that Langhorne "Lang" Sias would be his lieutenant governor partner in the race against Boulder Democrat Jared Polis and former western slope lawmaker and cancer survivor Dianne Primavera.

Sias, 59, is a former Navy TOPGUN pilot, who now flies for FedEx and represented Colorado House Dist. 27, which includes Arvada.

Stapleton referred to Sias as a bipartisan leader in the General Assembly in his announcement, which took place at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in Denver.

“Lang Sias is a decorated combat veteran who will never back down from our fight to protect Coloradans,” Stapleton said in a statement. “I’m honored he has chosen to stand beside me and continue his stellar career of service to make life better for all Coloradans. Lang’s experience working across the aisle to get things done in the State House make him an ideal candidate and I’m excited for what we will accomplish together for Colorado.”

Stapleton announced he had made his selection earlier in the week, but wasn't revealing it, leading to speculation that he might pick a more conservative running mate, such as early frontrunner and conservative Tom Tancredo. But the choice appears to be a moderate Republican.

Sias was registered as a Democrat when he first ran for office in 2000, and switched parties, but has always been a centrist Republican. He was first appointed to the House in 2015 to replace Libby Szabo who ran for the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners. He serves on the Business Affairs and Labor and Education Committees in the House.

Sias, a lawyer, completed his undergraduate degree at Vassar College, got a degree from the London School of Economics and then a law degree from University of Michigan Law School, according to his bio. Before running for the General Assembly, he was on the board of Excel Academy, a public charter school in Arvada, his bio says. Sias is married with three children.

"I look forward to working with Walker to expand on his list of accomplishments that includes saving taxpayer dollars, defeating the largest tax increase in Colorado history, and reforming our state’s pension system," Sias told Denver7. "I know Walker is the executive Colorado needs because he will move our state forward and save us from Jared Polis’ disastrous economic policies.”

Colorado Democrats immediately criticized the choice in a statement, with Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll referring to the GOP team as the "out-of-touch ticket from Connecticut." Stapleton was raised on the East Coast, even though his family were involved in Colorado politics in the early decades of the 20th Century.

Sias said he was "honored" to join Stapleton as his running mate on his first official tweet.

I'm honored to join @WalkerStapleton as his running mate. Colorado can do better, and with @WalkerStapleton as our next Governor, we will! #copolitics #COGov https://t.co/4a6sD6irgq

— Lang Sias (@LangSias) July" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/LangSias/s... 11, 2018

.@LangSias is a decorated veteran, husband, father of three, and bipartisan leader in the General Assembly. #copolitics #cogov pic.twitter.com/KJgZKIUt1E

— Walker Stapleton (@WalkerStapleton) July" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/WalkerStap... 11, 2018

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