Gregorio B. Lopez (born June 7, 1964) is an American 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

Colorado's 4th congressional district Colorado's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in the eastern part of the state, the district encompasses most of the rural Eastern Plains, as well as portions of the Colorado Front Range ...

from 2024 to 2025. From 2008 to 2014, he served as the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and str ...

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 ...

director. He previously served as mayor of

Parker, Colorado Parker is a home rule municipality in Douglas County, Colorado, United States. As a self-declared "town" under the home rule statutes, Parker is the second most populous town in the county; Castle Rock is the most populous (the community of Hig ...

, and ran for Governor in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

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 ...

. He was the Republican nominee for the 2024 special election in

to replace

Ken Buck Kenneth Robert Buck (born February 16, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who represented Colorado's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 until his resignation in 2024. Buck served as chair ...

, who resigned in March 2024. He did not run in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

for a full term. He was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

in June 2024.

Early life and education

A third-generation Mexican American, Lopez grew up in

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is an Inner suburb, inner city suburb of Dallas. Irving is noted for its #Demographics, racial and ethnic diver ...

, with parents and grandparents who were

farm workers A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including har ...

. Lopez joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

upon graduating from high school and used the military benefits to pay for an

associate's degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

in business administration from New Mexico State University Alamogordo. Lopez and his wife, Lisa, moved from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

to Colorado in 1988.

Career

Lopez served in the

1983 to 1987 as a weapon specialist at

Holloman Air Force Base Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, which is the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The b ...

. In that role, he prepared airplanes for flight and left

active service Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. Indian The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be one of the largest active service forces in the world, with almost 1.42 million Active Standing ...

after sustaining significant hearing loss from airfield work.

Mayor of Parker

Lopez was originally elected Mayor of

Parker Parker may refer to: People * Parker (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Parker (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Arts and entertainment * ''Parke ...

at 27 years old in 1992 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, but switched parties soon after in 1994. He served two terms. As Mayor, Lopez was for managed development and growth.

Small Business Administration

Lopez was the Colorado director for the

in 2008. He served until 2014.

Department of Justice investigation

In 2020, the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

pursued a

civil case A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. T ...

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 would look into the status of an open case. Lopez agreed to pay $15,000 to settle the case.

Political campaigns

1998

Lopez ran for the open 30th district of the

Colorado State Senate The Colorado State Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of about ...

in 1998, but placed fourth in the Republican primary behind John Evans, Ted Harvey, and Gayle Elton Wintors II respectively.

2016

Lopez announced a campaign for the Republican nomination for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

in 2016, but ultimately withdrew before the election.

2018

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

2022

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. He lost the primary to

Heidi Ganahl Heidi Ganahl (born September 9, 1966) is an American businesswoman, entrepreneur, author, and formerly an elected member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents. She is the founder and former CEO of Camp Bow Wow, an international pet care ...

by seven points. 2026 In April 2025, Lopez announced his candidacy for Governor of the state of Colorado.

U.S. House of Representatives

2024 special election

Lopez was selected as the Republican nominee for the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

caused by incumbent

's resignation. He won the nomination in the sixth round of voting by a nomination committee, beating

Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States: * Logan County, Arkansas * Logan County, Colorado * Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895) * Logan County, Illinois * Logan County, Kansas * Logan County ...

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

Jerry Sonnenberg with 51 to 46 votes respectively. 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 Lauren Opal Boebert ( ; ; born December 19, 1986) is an American politician, businesswoman, and gun rights activist serving as the U.S. representative for beginning in 2025, having previously represented from 2021 to 2025. From 2013 to 202 ...

, who is running in the general but not the special election, because it gives no candidate

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

status. 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.

Tenure

Following his victory, Lopez penned an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

in ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...

'', pledging to not "buy, sell, or trade individual stocks" while in Congress, and to not miss any votes. He was sworn in on July 8, 2024.

Electoral history

1998

2018

2022

2024

Personal life

Lopez lives in

Elizabeth, Colorado Elizabeth is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town, Statutory Town that is the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Elbert County, Colorado, Elbert County, Colorado, United States. The town population w ...

, with his wife, Lisa Garcia. The couple have two adult children, Michael and Christina. He is partially deaf, having no hearing in his right ear.

Legal troubles

In 1993, Lopez's wife called the police alleging

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

. 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. In 2003, Lopez was charged with a

DUI Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether recreational or ...

and stated the incident had cost him nearly $10,000. 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. 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."

References

External links

Congressman Greg Lopez
official U.S. House website
Greg Lopez for Congress
campaign website * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Greg 1964 births Living people 20th-century mayors of places in Colorado 21st-century Colorado politicians 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives American politicians of Mexican descent Candidates in the 2016 United States Senate elections Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Candidates in the 2022 United States elections Colorado Democrats Colorado Republicans Hispanic and Latino American mayors Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress Hispanic and Latino American military personnel Latino conservatism in the United States Military personnel from Dallas New Mexico State University alumni Obama administration personnel People from Elbert County, Colorado People from Parker, Colorado Politicians from Dallas Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado Small Business Administration personnel United States Air Force airmen

Early life and education

Career

Mayor of Parker

Small Business Administration

Department of Justice investigation

Political campaigns

1998

2016

2018

2022

U.S. House of Representatives

2024 special election

Tenure

Electoral history

1998

2018

2022

2024

Personal life

Legal troubles

See also

References

External links