Greg Lopez

A third-generation Mexican American,^[6] Lopez grew up in Irving, Texas, with parents and grandparents who were farm workers. Lopez joined the United States Air Force upon graduating from high school and used the military benefits to pay for an associate's degree in business administration from New Mexico State University Alamogordo. Lopez and his wife, Lisa, moved from Texas to Colorado in 1987.^[7]

Lopez served in the United States Air Force 1983 to 1987 as a weapon specialist at Holloman Air Force Base. In that role, he prepared airplanes for flight and left active service after sustaining significant hearing loss from airfield work.^[8]

Lopez was originally elected Mayor of Parker at 27 years old in 1992 as a Democrat, but switched parties soon after in 1994.^[9] He served two terms. As Mayor, Lopez was anti-development and growth.^[7]

Lopez was appointed by President Barack Obama as the Colorado director for the Small Business Administration in 2008.^[7] He served until 2014.^[7]

In 2020, the United States Department of Justice pursued a civil case alleging Lopez had improperly tried to influence former SBA colleagues years earlier, after his departure from the agency. The case centered on an email and two phone calls, where he had asked a former colleague for a "favor" in a business deal. Lopez agreed to pay $15,000 to settle the case.^[7]

Lopez ran for a Colorado State Senate seat in 1998, but lost the Republican primary.^[10]

Lopez announced a campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2016, but ultimately withdrew before the election.

Lopez first ran for Governor in 2018. He placed third in the Republican primary with 13.20% of the vote.

 

Lopez campaigned again for the Republican nomination in 2022. In the campaign, he stated he wanted to outlaw abortions without exceptions, denied man-made climate change, and alleged that the 2020 election was won by Trump and stolen.^[11] He lost the primary to Heidi Ganahl by seven points.

Lopez was selected as the Republican nominee for the special election in Colorado's 4th congressional district caused by incumbent Ken Buck's resignation.^[12] He won the nomination in the sixth round of voting by a nomination committee, beating Logan County Commissioner Jerry Sonnenberg with 51 to 46 votes respectively.^[13] Much of his pitch to vacancy committee voters was as a placeholder candidate. His selection as the nominee over a candidate that is also running in the general election was considered a boon to Lauren Boebert, who is running in the general but not the special election, because it gives no candidate incumbent status.^[3] He faced the Democratic nominee, Trisha Calvarese, Libertarian nominee, Hannah Goodman, and Approval Voting nominee, Frank Atwood, in the June 25 special election, and expectedly won by a comfortable margin due to the district's strong Republican lean.^{[14][15][16][17]}

 

Following his victory, Lopez penned an op-ed in The Denver Post, pledging to not "buy, sell, or trade individual stocks" while in Congress, and to not miss any votes.^[18] He was sworn in on July 8, 2024.^[19]

Lopez lives in Elizabeth, Colorado, with his wife, Lisa.^[7] The couple have two adult children, Michael and Christina. He is partially deaf, having no hearing in his right ear.

In 1993, Lopez's wife called the police alleging domestic violence. She reportedly told police that she first struck Lopez, who then pushed her to the ground, kicked her, and attempted to drag her by the hair. The pair both pled guilty to a single charge of harassment. Despite the incident, they remain married and she stated she regrets the ensuing media coverage.^[8]

In 2003, Lopez was charged with a DUI and stated the incident had cost him nearly $10,000.^[7] In 2020, Lopez settled for $15,000 in a civil case brought by the Department of Justice for improperly trying to influence his colleagues at the SBA.^[7]

When asked by an interviewer in 2022 about his numerous run-ins with the law, Lopez said "There's only been one perfect man that's ever walked this earth, and we nailed him to the cross, I'm not a perfect man. I've made my mistakes. But I've learned from them."^[21]

• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress

• Congressman Greg Lopez official U.S. House website
• Greg Lopez for Congress campaign website
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN