Jennifer Qualteri

Jennifer Qualteri was born in Denver, Colorado. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado in 1984 and a graduate degree from the University of Denver in 2004. Her career experience includes working in governmental accounting. Qualteri has been affiliated with the Associations of Governmental Accountants, the Regional Neighborhood Associations, and Urban Gardens.[1][2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am is a lifelong Coloradan and native of Senate District 34. I have earned a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Colorado with a focus on marketing and sales, followed by an MBA from the University of Denver emphasizing entrepreneurship and accounting.

A single parent who raised my children in Denver, I understand the daily challenges families face. I built a career in public service with the State of Colorado and retired in 2024 as a Cost Accountant, bringing practical experience in responsible financial management to her candidacy.

I believe homeownership remains one of the strongest paths to financial security, equity, and generational wealth. I support innovative approaches including the responsible use of emerging technologies such as 3D printing that can help more Coloradans build or own homes affordably and outright. I hold that families, not government, are the best decision-makers for children and that the state should step back from overreaching into the role of raising kids.

I champion Education Savings Accounts so individuals and families can afford the education and training needed to pursue their chosen careers. Low taxes and safe neighborhoods are non-negotiable priorities. I am running for Senate District 34 because government overreach has gone too far, and it is time to restore common-sense limits that put families, opportunity, and personal responsibility first.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Restoring the American Dream of Homeownership. I champion homeownership as a cornerstone of freedom, family, and prosperity. Excessive taxes, fees, and regulations have driven housing costs prohibitively high, a trend we reject. By unleashing innovative 3D printing technology, Americans can efficiently build or buy affordable homes. I will slash red tape, cut taxes and fees, and promote free-market innovation to reverse this decline, ensuring hardworking citizens reclaim the opportunity to own their piece of America through ingenuity and self-reliance.Low Taxes for Freedom, Growth & Opportunity. Hardworking Americans have the right to retain more of their earnings. Elevated tax rates discourage success, suppress job creation, and expand government. A low-tax framework returns resources to individuals and families, draws investment, generates quality employment, and promotes sustainable prosperity over dependency. Historical experience across American economic policy demonstrates that lower tax burdens stimulate innovation, incentivize productive work, and constrain inefficient public spending.Fostering Strong, Safe Communities Strong, safe communities form the foundation of a free and prosperous society. Effective public safety requires robust support for law enforcement, swift and certain accountability for criminal behavior, and policies that prioritize victims over offenders. Secure neighborhoods enable families to thrive, businesses to invest, and children to grow without fear. I support principles that emphasize local control, parental responsibility, and community engagement over centralized mandates. I reject approaches that undermine policing, erode family stability, or tolerate disorder.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about expanding home ownership. Home ownership is the cornerstone of the American Dream, building generational wealth, personal responsibility, and stable communities. I support free-market policies that increase housing supply, streamlining regulations, reforming restrictive zoning, and cutting unnecessary red tape, so more hardworking families can afford to buy homes. Lower taxes, sound monetary policy to keep interest rates reasonable, and strong property rights empower people to achieve ownership without heavy-handed government programs or mandates. When more Americans own their homes, families thrive, neighborhoods strengthen, and our nation prospers.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to figures whose actions advanced ordered liberty, limited government, and human progress through reason, courage, and results.

George Washington stands out. He voluntarily relinquished power after leading a revolution and serving as the first president, setting the enduring example that government exists to serve the people rather than the other way around. His restraint, emphasis on national unity under the Constitution, and refusal to become a permanent ruler demonstrated the principle that authority must remain accountable and temporary.

Leaders who treated the Constitution as a binding limit on power, prioritized prosperity through markets and work, defended the country’s security without endless entanglement, and measured success by the long-term freedom and well-being of ordinary people rather than short-term popularity or the growth of government itself. Following that pattern means focusing on competence, truth-telling, fiscal discipline, and the protection of individual rights over ideology or identity-based agendas.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The most important characteristics and principles for an elected official include:

Fidelity to the Constitution and the rule of law: Upholding the written text of the Constitution as originally understood, enforcing laws equally without favoritism, and rejecting selective enforcement or executive overreach.

Fiscal responsibility and limited government: Protecting taxpayers by controlling spending, avoiding unnecessary debt, cutting waste, and keeping government focused on core functions rather than expanding into every area of life.

Individual liberty and personal responsibility: Defending free speech, the right to keep and bear arms, parental rights in education, and the freedom of individuals and families to make their own decisions without excessive regulation or mandates.

Economic opportunity through free markets: Supporting policies that encourage job creation, entrepreneurship, energy production, and growth rather than heavy regulation, redistribution, or policies that punish success.

Secure borders and national sovereignty: Enforcing immigration laws, prioritizing the interests and safety of citizens, and maintaining a strong, independent nation.

Competence, integrity, and accountability: Demonstrating real-world experience and results over rhetoric, telling the truth even when unpopular, rejecting corruption or special-interest capture, and accepting responsibility for outcomes.

Strong national defense and realistic foreign policy: Maintaining a capable military and putting the country’s security and interests first in dealings with other nations.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Core responsibilities for someone elected to office center on these priorities:

Uphold the Constitution and enforce the law equally. Protect the rights of individuals as written in the founding documents, apply statutes without selective enforcement or favoritism, and reject any expansion of power beyond what is clearly authorized.

Guard the public’s money. Control spending tightly, eliminate waste, avoid adding to debt, and ensure every dollar collected from taxpayers is used only for essential functions rather than open-ended programs or special-interest projects.

Defend individual liberty and personal responsibility. Safeguard free speech, the right to self-defense, parental authority in raising and educating children, and the freedom of people to work, own property, and make their own choices without excessive rules or mandates.

Promote prosperity through free markets. Remove barriers to job creation and energy production, keep regulations limited and clear, and create conditions where hard work and innovation are rewarded rather than penalized.

Secure the nation’s borders and prioritize citizens. Enforce immigration laws, maintain sovereignty, and ensure public safety, and resources serve those who live here legally first.

Maintain a strong national defense and realistic foreign policy. Keep the military capable and focused on protecting the country, while avoiding endless commitments that drain resources without clear benefit to the people.

Operate with integrity and accountability. Tell the truth, reject corruption or insider dealing, deliver measurable results, and accept responsibility when policies fail.

What legacy would you like to leave?

The legacy worth leaving is one of restored freedom, restrained power, and lasting prosperity for ordinary people.

That means strengthening the Constitution as a real limit on government rather than a flexible suggestion, so future generations inherit clear protections for speech, self-defense, property, and parental authority.

It means reducing the size and reach of bureaucracy, cutting wasteful spending, and lowering the tax and regulatory burden so families and businesses can keep more of what they earn and create more opportunity through markets rather than mandates.

It also means securing the borders and prioritizing the safety and resources of citizens, maintaining a capable national defense without endless foreign commitments, and insisting that laws are enforced equally without favoritism or special treatment based on group identity.

Competence, honesty, and measurable results should replace rhetoric, corruption, and short-term political gains. The lasting mark would be a country where individual responsibility is rewarded, institutions serve the public rather than expand their own power, and people are freer to build, innovate, and raise their families without constant interference.

That kind of legacy outlasts any single term or personality because it hands forward a stronger foundation of ordered liberty instead of deeper debt, weaker borders, or eroded rights.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assassination of JFK. I was very small, and there were people crying around the event.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

When core individual rights are on the line, compromise is neither necessary nor desirable.

Policymaking works best when it starts from clear, non-negotiable principles: protecting the Constitution as written, limiting government power, enforcing the law equally, safeguarding free speech, the right to self-defense, property, parental authority, and secure borders. These are not bargaining chips. Splitting the difference on fundamental liberties usually means accepting gradual erosion rather than defending what already belongs to the people.

History shows that lasting progress comes from firm adherence to those principles, not from endless horse-trading that expands bureaucracy, raises taxes, weakens borders, or restricts ordinary citizens.

Negotiation has a place on secondary matters timing, technical details, or lower-priority spending items, where both sides can find practical middle ground without surrendering first principles. But treating every issue as open to compromise rewards those who demand more government power and punishes those trying to restrain it.The better approach is to state the goal clearly, build support for it, and advance it through persuasion, elections, and consistent application of the law.

That produces clearer statutes, stronger protections for liberty, and policies that actually solve problems instead of creating new ones. When rights are being restricted, the responsible course is to defend them fully rather than negotiate how much of them to give away.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I filled a vacancy and entered this campaign just three weeks ago. In that time, I have garnered an endorsement from the "Log Cabin Republicans!" I have earned the backing of the "2026 Mental Health Now Candidate", "Colorado GOP", and "DenverGOP". I hope that these lists continue to grow as I find and fill out surveys sent to my email.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Jennifer Qualteri has been part of this community for many years, working tirelessly to make it an inclusive, better place. She knows what our forefathers meant when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence ... "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that their Creator endows them with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...."

Jennifer has belonged to both political parties in the end; she went with the one that strengthened alliances and friendships and has goals to keep you free and thriving now and in future generations. First known as the Lincoln Party, Republicans paved the way for civil rights, and their first task was to abolish slavery

Jennifer Qualteri knows the value of being connected. She is running to represent the 1st Congressional District of Colorado.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

LibertySecurityEmpowerment

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

National Security

Ownership

Eradicating Pollution

Freedom of Speech

A Market Economy where people thrive

Equal opportunities

Education

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my parents the most. They formed a tight family unit, and I considered them to be part of a generation that saved the world.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

So much information on the internet these days #freedom

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty and forthrightness.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Fairness, Inclusiveness, Honesty, Integrity, Creativity, Openmindedness, Doing the Right Thing.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Ensuring liberty and freedom now and for future generations.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Freedom sustainability.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

JFK Assassination. I was 1 when this happened, but it impacted the country for many years afterward so it is my first memory of politics.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was 12 years old when I first received a W2 form I worked at the Golden Recreation Center until I graduated from CU I had this seasonal job for ten years. Here is where I learned philanthropy matters.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Anything in business. I prefer non-fiction

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Marge Simpson

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Will Jay's "Lies"

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Discrimination.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Research and fact-finding to create laws and policies. Following the hearts of the people avoiding self-interests.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

National Security and the Economy

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Yes. I would eventually want to be part of the Appropriations committee

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

If there were term limits, four years would be better.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I think that there should be term limits.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

No

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Constituents in my district feel like they are not heard.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Yes, leaders should be able to work across the aisle.