Colorado’s Joe Neguse vying for No. 4 spot in Democrats’ House majority

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse on Thursday asked Democrats in the House of Representatives to select him for the fourth highest-ranking role in the chamber’s incoming majority. 

Neguse, of Lafayette, is now the assistant minority leader in the House. The assistant speaker position is his current role’s equivalent in the majority party.

“With our decisive and overwhelming victory this week, it is more important than ever for the House Democratic Caucus to be unified in the 120th Congress, and to repay the faith that the American people have put in us to lower costs, end corruption, and deliver for working families,” Neguse said in a letter asking House Democrats to support him for the role.  

If elected assistant House speaker, Neguse said he wants to expand training programs for district directors, launch a technical assistance program for subcommittee chairs and enhance mentorship and transition programs for new members of the caucus.

He is only the second Colorado lawmaker to serve in senior leadership, and he’s now the highest-ranking Colorado lawmaker since the 1930s. If elected, he will be the youngest member of Congress to ever hold the role. In the 119th Congress, he also served as chair of the House Democrats’ litigation task force.

“From our successful amicus briefs in multiple cases, our groundbreaking lawsuit against ICE, and regular programming opportunities for member engagement with legal experts, I’m deeply grateful to the many members of our caucus who made the Task Force’s work so consequential and impactful,” he said.

Voters in the 2nd Congressional District elected Neguse to his fifth term in Congress on Tuesday. The district is anchored in Boulder, stretching west along the Interstate 70 corridor and north to include Fort Collins. After being elected in 2018, he succeeded then-Rep. Jared Polis, who is Colorado’s outgoing governor.

Neguse became assistant minority leader after South Carolina’s Jim Clyburn decided to step down in early 2024 to create opportunity for new leadership.