Edwin George Perlmutter (born May 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
for from 2007 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, his district was located in the northern and western suburbs of the
Denver metropolitan area
Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver regi ...
. He previously served as the Colorado state senator from the 20th district from 1995 to 2003. On January 10, 2022, he announced he would not seek re-election in
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
.
Early life, education, and career
Perlmutter was born in Denver, the son of Alice Love (née Bristow) and Leonard Michael Perlmutter on May 1, 1953. His father was Jewish, the son of immigrants from Poland; his mother was Christian, and was of English and Irish descent. Perlmutter describes himself as a
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
Edgewater, Colorado
The City of Edgewater is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 5,005 at the 2020 United Stat ...
and went on to graduate from the
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...
in 1975. He received his
Juris Doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
at Colorado in 1978.
Colorado Senate
Perlmutter was a Colorado State Senator from 1995 to 2003. He was elected to two four-year terms to represent central Jefferson County as State Senator from 1995 to 2003—the first Democrat elected in the district in 30 years.
He has assisted numerous campaigns and in was co-chair of the
John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign
The 2004 presidential campaign of John Kerry, the longtime U.S. senator from Massachusetts, began when he formed an exploratory committee on December 1, 2002. On September 2, 2003, he formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomina ...
in
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Financial Services
The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the United States congressional committee, committee of the United States ...
United States House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is a standing committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over non-defense federal scientific research and development. More specifically, the committee h ...
United States House Committee on Rules
The Committee on Rules (or more commonly the Rules Committee) is a List of United States House of Representatives committees, committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for the rules under which Bill (law), bills w ...
New Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily liberals and centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a liberal-to-moderate approach to fiscal matte ...
*Aerospace Caucus
*Cannabis Caucus
*Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
*Equality Caucus
* Labor Caucus
*NASA Caucus
*National Parks Caucus
*National Wildlife Refuge Caucus
*Olympic and Paralympic Caucus
*Pro-Choice Caucus
*Science and National Labs Caucus
*Sustainable Energy and Environment Caucus
* Climate Solutions Caucus
Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act
Since 2013, Perlmutter and Rep. Denny Heck have introduced legislation to improve access to banking and financial services for cannabis businesses. Initially known as the Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act, it was rebranded as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in 2017. On September 25, 2019, the House of Representatives passed the SAFE Banking Act by a 321–103 vote, marking the first time that a standalone cannabis reform bill had passed either chamber of Congress.
Political campaigns
2006
Perlmutter won the Democratic nomination for the 7th district by defeating former State Representative Peggy Lamm and college professor Herb Rubenstein, with 53% of the vote in the primary. State education chairman Rick O'Donnell was unopposed for the Republican nomination. Dave Chandler, a Green, was also a candidate.
The seat was held by Republican Bob Beauprez, who was reelected to a second term in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
with 55% of the vote, after winning his first term by only 121 votes. He left the seat at the end of the 2004–2006 term, having failed in his bid to become
Governor of Colorado
The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of Government of Colorado, Colorado's state government and is cha ...
.
In late September, O'Donnell was put on the defensive when ads appeared noting that he had previously supported abolishing Social Security. A Survey USA poll soon after that showed Perlmutter with a 54 to 37 percent lead, although GOP consultants guessed that the support was "soft". An October 4 poll released by Zogby showed Perlmutter ahead of O'Donnell by 45-34 percent. ''Cook Political Report'' rating: ''Republican Toss Up''. ''CQPolitics'' rating: ''No Clear Favorite''.
In the end, Perlmutter (54%) soundly defeated O'Donnell (42%) for the congressional seat, helping Democrats to regain the majority in the U.S. House.
2008
Perlmutter won against Republican nominee John W. Lerew.
2010
Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Ryan Frazier and Libertarian nominee Buck Bailey on November 2, 2010. The 7th Congressional district had been cited as a GOP target in 2010.
2012
Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Joe Coors Jr. on November 6, 2012. Perlmutter's victory came despite new congressional boundaries that made his district 4 percent less Democratic. Perlmutter was ahead by 9 percentage points in Jefferson County, where 60 percent of the voters live. Perlmutter led Coors by 17 percentage points in Adams County, where 40 percent of the constituents in the newly drawn 7th district live.
2014
Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Don Ytterberg in the 2014 general election. He won with 55.1% of the vote.
2016
Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee George Athanasopoulos and Libertarian nominee Martin L. Buchanan in the 2016 general election. He won with 55.18% of the vote.
2018
On April 9, 2017, Perlmutter announced his candidacy for
Governor of Colorado
The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of Government of Colorado, Colorado's state government and is cha ...
in the 2018 election. On July 10, 2017, Perlmutter announced that he was dropping out of the gubernatorial race and would not seek reelection to his congressional seat. However, on August 21, 2017, he announced he had reversed his decision again and ran for reelection for his congressional seat. He defeated Republican nominee Mark Barrington, winning re-election with 60.42% of the vote.
2020
Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Casper Stockham, Libertarian nominee Ken Biles, and Unity nominee Dave Olszta in the 2020 general election. He won with 59.1% of the vote.
Personal life
Perlmutter has three children. He and his first wife Deana divorced in 2008. In November 2010, Perlmutter married Nancy Henderson. His uncle was Denver real estate developer