Rutt Bridges

Last updated

Rutt Bridges is an American geophysicist and politician from Colorado and a member of the Democratic Party.

Contents

Business success

Bridges began his career with Chevron Corporation, then founded Advance Geophysical in 1980. He achieved success with the software products MicroMAX and ProMAX, both used for the processing of seismic data for the petroleum exploration industry. In recognition of his business accomplishments, he was awarded the Enterprise Award in 1991 by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists [1] He is also the chairman of Quest Capital, a private venture capital fund [2] [3]

Public career

In 1999, Bridges founded the Bighorn Center, to "give Colorado's political middle a credible and legitimate voice in the state's increasingly polarized landscape and more importantly, to get things done." [4] The Bighorn Center closed in 2006, but the very successful bi-partisan Bighorn Leadership Program is still providing leadership training and development at Colorado State University. In 2004 Bridges ran for the U.S. Senate in Colorado, but stepped aside and supported fellow Democrat and friend Ken Salazar, who went on to win the seat. Looking to the 2006 election, he declared his candidacy for Governor of Colorado. However, he dropped out of the race on August 8, 2005, telling supporters "My passion has always been public policy, not politics." [5]

Along with Tim Gill, Jared Polis, and Pat Stryker, Bridges has been named as one of the "Gang of 4" responsible for donating large sums of money through 527 groups to Democratic Party-related causes in Colorado. They are credited with helping the Democrats to win control of the Colorado General Assembly in 2004. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

The Gang of Four was a political faction of four Chinese Communist Party officials, prominent during the Cultural Revolution 1966–1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Beauprez</span> American politician (born 1948)

Robert Louis Beauprez is an American politician and member of the Republican Party from the state of Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steny Hoyer</span> American politician (born 1939)

Steny Hamilton Hoyer is an American politician and retired attorney who has served as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 5th congressional district since 1981. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. Hoyer first attained office through a special election on May 19, 1981. As of 2023, he is in his 22nd House term. His district includes a large swath of rural and suburban territory southeast of Washington, D.C. Hoyer is the dean of the Maryland congressional delegation and the most senior Democrat in the House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservative Party of New York State</span> Conservative third party in the United States

The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U.S. Senate in 1970 and served for one term. Since 2010, the party has held "Row C" on New York ballots—the third-place ballot position, directly below the Democratic and Republican parties—because it received the third-highest number of votes of any political party in the 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 New York gubernatorial elections. The party is known for its strategy of attempting to influence the Republican Party in a more conservative direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Salazar</span> American politician and diplomat (born 1955)

Kenneth Lee Salazar is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Mexico. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martínez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S. senators since 1977; they were joined by Bob Menendez in 2006. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, he served as Attorney General of Colorado from 1999 to 2005.

Patricia A. Stryker is an American billionaire businessperson, philanthropist, and political activist. Stryker is the granddaughter of Homer Stryker, founder of Stryker Corporation, a medical technology company.

In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with more conservative views than most Democrats. Traditionally, conservative Democrats have been elected to office from the Southern states, rural areas, the Rust Belt, and the Midwest. In 2019, the Pew Research Center found that 14% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters identify as conservative or very conservative, 38% identify as moderate, and 47% identify as liberal or very liberal.

Mary Sue Terry is an American Democratic politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 United States elections</span>

The 2006 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006, in the middle of Republican President George W. Bush's second term. In a political revolution that broke twelve years of Republican rule, the Democratic Party was swept into majorities in Congress, the governorships, and state legislatures across the country. This marked the first and only time either party achieved such a feat since the 1994 elections. These elections were widely categorized as a Democratic wave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idaho Democratic Party</span> Idaho affiliate of the Democratic Party

The Idaho Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Idaho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angie Paccione</span> American politician

Angela Veronica "Angie" Paccione is an American politician and former Colorado legislator who was a 2006 Congressional candidate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jared Polis</span> Governor of Colorado since 2019 (born 1975)

Jared Schutz Polis is an American politician, businessman, and philanthropist serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado</span>

The 2008 congressional elections in Colorado were held on November 4, 2008 to determine who will represent the state of Colorado in the United States House of Representatives, coinciding with the presidential and senatorial elections. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 United States Senate election in Colorado</span>

The 2004 United States Senate election in Colorado took place on November 2, 2004 alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell retired instead of seeking a third term. Democratic nominee Ken Salazar won the open seat, defeating Republican nominee Pete Coors despite Republican President George W. Bush carrying the state over John Kerry in the concurrent presidential race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Colorado gubernatorial election</span>

The 2010 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of Colorado, who would serve a four-year term that began in January 2011. One-term incumbent Democrat Bill Ritter announced that he would not run for re-election in 2010. Dan Maes, backed by the Tea Party movement, won the Republican nomination in the primary with 50.6% of the vote and a 1.3% margin over rival Scott McInnis. In claiming victory, Maes called on former representative Tom Tancredo, running as the Constitution Party's nominee to "stop your campaign tonight." Denver mayor John Hickenlooper was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Hickenlooper won the race with over 50% of the vote.

Max Tyler is a small business owner and former legislator from Lakewood, Colorado. A Democrat, he was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives in 2010 after being appointed in May 2009 following the resignation of Gwyn Green and subsequently elected to the post. Term-limited, he completed his final term in January 2017. He represented the 23rd district, which covers half of Golden, Applewood, and Lakewood within Jefferson County. The district boundaries changed with the decennial reapportionment in 2011, and the new House District 23 includes north and west Lakewood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Neguse</span> American politician (born 1984)

Joseph D. Neguse is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 2nd congressional district since 2019. The district is based in Boulder and includes many of Denver's northwestern suburbs, as well as Fort Collins. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a regent of the University of Colorado from 2008 to 2015. Neguse is the first Eritrean-American elected to the United States Congress and Colorado's first black member of Congress. Neguse has served as House assistant Democratic leader since 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Colorado elections</span>

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Colorado on November 6, 2018. All of Colorado's executive offices and all seven of its seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election. Democrats swept the statewide offices up for election, leaving the at-large seat on the University of Colorado Board of Regents and the Class 2 U.S. Senate seat as the last statewide offices held by Republicans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado</span>

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the seven U.S. representatives from the state of Colorado, one from each of the state's seven congressional districts. The Republican and Democratic Party primaries in Colorado were held on June 26, 2018. The elections coincided with the gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Colorado gubernatorial election</span>

The 2022 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jared Polis won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican University of Colorado regent Heidi Ganahl in a landslide. Ganahl conceded on election night. The primary election was held on June 28.

References

  1. ↑ Larner, Ken. "S. Rutt Bridges". SEG Virtual Museum. Society of Exploration Geophysicists. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  2. ↑ "Article in AAPG Explorer" . Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  3. ↑ "Quest Capital website". Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  4. ↑ "Bighorn Center home page". Archived from the original on 2006-08-26. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  5. ↑ "BREAKING - Rutt Bridges Out of Governor's Race". Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  6. ↑ Seers, Stuart (2006-09-05). "Dem quartet's '527' aid building success for party". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 2006-11-26. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
  7. ↑ Stuart Steers (May 2005). "The Gang of Four". 5280 The Denver Magazine. Archived from the original on 2015-10-13.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.