Beth Martinez Humenik
Speaking in 2018.
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 24th district
In office
January 7, 2015 – January 4, 2019
Preceded byLois Tochtrop
Succeeded byFaith Winter
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceThornton, Colorado
Alma materColorado State University
OccupationEducator

Beth Martinez Humenik is a Republican politician in the U.S. state of Colorado. She served one term in the Colorado State Senate from 2015 until 2019, representing District 24, which includes parts of Adams County.

Early life and education

A fourth-generation Coloradoan, Martinez Humenik grew up in Fort Collins and has lived in Thornton since 1997. She received a bachelor's degree and master's degree from Colorado State University.[1]

Career

Marinez Humenik was formerly an adjunct instructor and substitute teacher.[1]

Political career

Thorton City Council

Marinez Humenik was a member of the Thornton City Council from 2007 to 2015.[2]

Martinez Humenik unsuccessfully ran for the state House in 2012, losing to Democrat Joe Salazar.[3]

Colorado State Senate

Martinez Humenik was elected to the Colorado State Senate from District 24 in 2014. Martinez Humenik ran uncontested in the Republican primary election. She defeated Democrat Judy Solano in the general election, receiving 26,164 votes to Solano's 25,268 votes, winning by a 1% margin.[4][5] The district encompassed parts of Adams County,[4] specifically Westminster, Northglenn, and Thornton.[6]

In the Senate, Martinez Humenik served as chair of the Health & Human Services committee and Local Government committee, and was vice chair of the Joint Technology Committee and Statutory Revision Committee.[7] Martinez Humenik is considered fairly moderate by the standards of Colorado Republicans;[6] in 2015, Martinez Humenik broke with the Republicans to defeat a key anti-abortion bill, joining Democrats in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in voting against the legislation.[8] The vote earned Martinez Humerik the enmity of Colorado anti-abortion activists.[9]

Martinez Humenik was a member of the executive committee of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.[10]

In the 2018 Senate elections, Martinez Humenik's district was considered one of the two most competitive seats held by a Republican and was targeted by Democrats in their aim to regain control of the state Senate.[11] She narrowly won the seat in 2014 and Hillary Clinton won the district in 2016.[11] She ultimately lost the race to Democratic challenger Faith Winter by a double-digit margin.[12]

Candidacy for Mayor of Thornton

In September 2019, Martinez Humenik announced her candidacy for Mayor of Thornton.[13] She came in third out of five candidates, winning 21.4% of the vote.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 Commissioners: Beth Martinez Humenik, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.
  2. ↑ Colorado Senate District 24 candidate Q&A, Denver Post (October 10, 2018).
  3. ↑ Marianne Goodland, The maverick and the reformer: Sandgren v. Salazar, Colorado Independent (June 27, 2016).
  4. 1 2 2014 Abstract of Votes Cast, Office of the Secretary of State, State of Colorado.
  5. ↑ Olabi, Nora (11 July 2018). "Meet the Three Democrats Who Could Flip the Republican-Led State Senate". Westword. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  6. 1 2 Andrew Kenney, Colorado's political future comes down to five Senate districts, and money is rushing in, Denver Post (September 27, 2018).
  7. ↑ Senator Beth Martinez Humenik (official biography), Colorado General Assembly.
  8. ↑ John Frank, GOP lawmaker breaks ranks to reject abortion bill, Denver Post (April 20, 2018).
  9. ↑ Jason Salzman, Anti-abortion organization continues to attack state Senator, Colorado Times-Recorder (March 15, 2018).
  10. ↑ Executive Committee Archived 2017-06-16 at the Wayback Machine, National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.
  11. 1 2 "Colorado's political future comes down to five Senate districts, and money is rushing in". The Denver Post. 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  12. ↑ "Beth Martinez Humenik". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  13. ↑ Luning, Ernest (2019-09-05). "Former state Sen. Beth Martinez Humenik launches bid to be Thornton mayor". Colorado Politics. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  14. ↑ "Metro North Ballot 2019 Unofficial Results". Colorado Community Media. Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel.
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