Marsh, Marshall compete for decisive race in Colorado House

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(The Center Square) - Colorado Republicans have a chance to block Democrats from having a supermajority in the state House.

It boils down to whether GOP candidate Nate Marsh can flip roughly 7% of the vote to take House District 43's seat from its Democratic incumbent, Rep. Bob Marshall. If that happens, the Democrats could end up without a supermajority.

During the June primary, Marsh was behind Marshall by only 3,000 votes. They were elected during the primary to represent their parties in the Nov. 3 general election.

In 2024, the race was much closer, which indicates that House District 43 is an intense battleground for Republicans. Marshall won by just 1,300 votes in the state’s last general election. That means the election was decided by only 2.5% of votes. 

House District 43 sits in the southern Denver metro region. It mostly encompasses the affluent area of Douglas County, which has long maintained a Republican stronghold dating back to the 1990s. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who lost nationally to Democratic President Barack Obama, won 60% of the county's votes during the 2012 presidential election.

But in recent years – most notably since Democrats began adding to their legislative majority in the House since 2013 – Douglas County has voted more liberal. And this seat could give Democrats, if they keep it, a supermajority. Currently the Colorado House's 65 members consist of 43 Democrats and 22 Republicans. Democrats need one more seat for a supermajority.

Democratic legislators have held a majority in the House since 2013 and a majority in the Senate since 2019. 

The Senate has seen its number of Democrats doubled. The chamber today has 23 Democrats and 12 Republicans. 

The Center Square interviewed Marsh and Marshall about the issues and how they plan to advocate for their constituents. 

Public safety and criminal justice 

Marsh currently serves as the senior deputy assistant attorney for the 23rd Judicial District, and he has prosecuted criminals in Douglas County. One of the things Marsh has called for is the elimination of mandatory cashless bail for certain crimes.

He referred to a November 2025 report that showed retail theft crime has cost the state nearly $1.3 million. Marsh characterized the penalties for these crimes as being part of a greater “catch and release” scheme, and as a result, he said, the state has come to take retail theft crimes less seriously. 

Although most of these rules regarding penalties for crime came out of COVID-19 as an attempt to prevent overcrowding in prisons and the judicial docket, Marsh said there should be discretion in deciding whether someone is eligible for cash bail.

“And we need to let the judges do their job and decide on a case-by-case basis," Marsh told The Center Square.

Meanwhile, Marsh’s opponent pointed to his work in the Legislature in 2023 when he supported Senate Bill 23-097, which would have made all auto thefts a felony regardless of the vehicle’s cost. 

Marshall worked on this bill with now U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colorado, as part of a bipartisan effort to take thefts more seriously in the state. Although Marshall did not explicitly call for the elimination of cashless bail for certain crimes, he did say some individuals would be ineligible for personal-recognizance bonds as a result of this bill – to which he agreed with. 

Marsh and Marshall also agreed that there needs to be a greater dedication to mental health resources as means of improving public safety. 

Marsh said his opinion on this matter may set him apart from other Republicans in the state, but he feels that improvements in mental health services could mean less crime.

“Right now, the timelines are so backed up [at hospitals] and so far gone … The concern is that people who need serious help for mental health and mental disorders are not able to get it," Marsh said. "We have to do a better job making sure there are better pathways and resources to provide that.” 

Marshall said "expanding the mandatory commitment bed space in Colorado along with reforming the mandatory commitment laws” is a great place to start. 

He also proposed that an alcohol tax could pay for an increase of these services, “which would have been sent to the voters to decide as a TABOR-compliant measure.” TABOR is the Colorado Constitution's Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

However, Marshall noted, “the alcohol industry killed it [the proposed tax] in the Health Committee despite the overwhelming support of the district attorneys, sheriffs, mental health community, victim advocates and victims.” 

Marsh agreed that increasing mental health services would have to comply with TABOR, but said he intends to work with other legislators to devote a portion of the state’s budget to these services. 

Gun rights

In August, Colorado’s Senate Bill 25-003 went into effect, which placed tighter restrictions for individuals seeking to purchase firearms. Over 80% of Democrats in both the state House and Senate voted for this bill, but Republicans heavily criticized what they called the bill's undue financial burden and constitutional implications.

Marshall broke away from his party and voted against the bill. The legislator said he would “not support further restrictions on individual gun owner rights” and voted against the bill “for many reasons.” 

Marshall himself is a gun owner, concealed-carry permit holder and a former Marine shooting team captain. 

Marsh agreed with this sentiment relating to the latest gun provision, but the district attorney said, “Our entire firearm regulation scheme and legal scheme that has been implemented over the last decade is not something I agree with and is an overreach of what the government is allowed to do.” 

“What it ultimately ends up doing is infringing on the rights of law abiding citizens, and the fact [is] that the first step of this latest bill is to ask the government for permission to use your Second Amendment rights," Marsh told The Center Square. "That’s entirely backwards.” 

Regarding the fees required to obtain a firearm under the new law, Marsh said it is a “de-facto ban” that “disproportionately affects low-income individuals and minorities” who may not have the means to take off work to receive the firearm safety training or even pay the fees to begin with. 

Parental rights and education

Marsh noted Douglas County has long been known as one of the state's best school districts, but added that parental rights remain important.

“Parents should have the ability to choose which school is best for their child," he said. "That could be different schools for different children.” 

Marsh also said there should be greater transparency about what is being taught in the classrooms. “I’m not the kind of person to then say that parents should completely dictate what is taught in schools … We’ve got incredible teachers and incredible educators …

"But in some areas, we have seen teachers ‘become the parent’ and keep things from the actual parents," Marsh told The Center Square.

He supports adequate written or verbal notice from schools when curriculum may conflict with the parent’s values and argued that parents should have the right to opt their child out of those lessons. 

And regarding recent measures to increase funding for public schools, Marshall said he was reluctant to vote for Proposition NN, which is on the Nov. 3 ballot.

“[It’s] not because the schools do not need more funding, and especially regarding teacher pay, but the proposition is so broadly written it became a Christmas tree bill with everyone's special ornament on it," Marshall told The Center Square. But he added, "Funding tied to improved teacher pay is something I think all Coloradans would support.” 

He was the first legislator to move a bill out of committee that would have provided a teacher tax credit/stipend, which could cost the state around $30 million for a full year, according to the state’s fiscal analysts. 

Marshall said he did this with “bipartisan sponsorship and in my second year with a unanimous bipartisan vote of the finance committee, but it died in the appropriations committee.”

Affordability 

Marshall noted affordability concerns continue to plague Douglas County residents, especially as it relates to housing.

"Construction deficit reform is a big issue to look at here," he told The Center Square.

Supporters of House Bill 25-1272 recently sought to address that issue. The legislation was designed to modify the Construction Defect Action Reform Act to encourage construction of condominiums and townhomes.

Rep. Marshall voted for this bill. 

Marsh shared similar concerns with Marshall, saying costs for builders to acquire permits to even begin building homes is so extraordinarily high that it places barriers on people trying to buy homes. 

"We should look at where we can eliminate some of these fees and regulations to help stimulate growth and our housing supply," Marsh told The Center Square.

Marsh also criticized the repeal of the senior portable homestead exemption, which was a property tax exemption that could go with seniors when they moved. After the repeal, seniors now must wait at least 10 years if they move, in order to be eligible for the exemption again.  

It was eliminated because it was a "casualty of the budget as they were trying to increase revenue," Marsh said. “This goes back to [the Legislature’s] priorities. Why are we hurting seniors so that individuals making $120,000 a year can get rebates on e-bikes?” 

Marsh was referring to the Colorado Energy Office’s recent e-bike rebate program, which provided a universal upfront tax credit of $225 for all Colorado residents purchasing an e-bike.