Steve Lebsock

Lebsock received the Democratic nomination to run for a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 34th district in the 2012 election and defeated Republican nominee Jodina B. Widhalm in the general election.[3][4] He defeated Republican nominee Alexander Winkler in the 2014 election.[5][6] He defeated Republican nominee Dustin Johnson and Green Party nominee Jenice Dove in the 2016 election.[7][8]

Walker Stapleton, the incumbent Republican State Treasurer, was term-limited in the 2018 election. Lebsock announced on March 25, 2017, that he would run for the Democratic nomination for state treasurer.[9] He stated that he would petition his way onto the primary ballot during the sexual harassment investigation into him, but he was later unable to run for the office after switching his political affiliation due to him not being a Republican long enough.[10][11]

Representative Faith Winter and four other women made a total of eleven sexual harassment allegations against Lebsock that were found credible. He denied the allegations in a twenty-eight page letter to other members of the state house, in a YouTube video, and also took a lie detector test. Governor John Hickenlooper and Speaker Crisanta Duran called for him to resign.[12][13][14] He claimed that the allegations were "about blackmail and coercion and extortion" in an attempt to get him to resign and accused the Democrats of betraying him. Lebsock served as the chair of the Local Government committee, but was temporarily removed during the investigation into the allegations.[15] A petition calling for his resignation received over 50,000 signatures, but he stated on November 28, 2017, that he would not resign.[16][17]

Representative KC Becker introduced the resolution to expel Lebsock on February 27, 2018.[18] Lebsock stated that "my colleagues are not going to expel me", but the two-thirds majority required for expulsion was fulfilled by a fifty-two to nine vote on March 2 which found him guilty. [13][19] Representative Yeulin Willett stated that he did not believe that Lebsock's behavior warranted an expulsion. Lebsock became the first member of the state house to be expelled since William Howland was expelled for perjury during a bribery investigation in 1915.[12][14][20]

Lebsock stated that he would not caucus with the Democrats in the 2018 session and later changed his political affiliation to Republican on March 2, which allowed the Republicans to appoint his successor.[21][22]

The Republican vacancy committee voted on March 23, to appoint Winkler to fill Lebsock's seat against Casey Cole with Winkler receiving twelve votes to Cole's eleven votes.[23] Democratic nominee Kyle Mullica defeated Winkler in the 2018 election.[24]