Sterling Simms is running for the Democratic nomination for House District 5 in the 2026 primaries.
House District 5 covers central Denver. The seat is currently held by Democratic state Rep. Alex Valdez, who is term-limited.
Also running in this primary are Justine Sandoval, Trevor Jones and Thaddeus Clayton.
Who is Sterling Simms?
Simms, 25, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He’s currently the senior outreach manager for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and served as the chair of the House District 5 Democrats. He notes that he is also a triplet and a member of Generation Z.
Simms said his top three priorities are cost of living, public safety and Colorado’s independence as a state. Simms highlighted state-charter public banking as one of his main priorities. State-chartered banks are run by state agencies rather than the federal government. State-chartered banks can operate under the Federal Reserve if they're members of the Federal Reserve System, but state-chartered banks don’t have to.
“Right now, history is on our side. And because history is on our side, our federal government is not,” Simms said. “We have to build a state that can stand on its own that doesn't rely on Wall Street and doesn't rely on Washington in order to fund and provide the things that we need the most.”
He said public banking is going to be the core of his campaign.
What’s his experience?
Simms grew up in Phoenix, Ariz. He graduated high school in 2019 and immediately joined the Marines, something he said he always wanted to do.
“My family dating back to the founding of this country has had members serve in one capacity or another, and I really wanted to do it myself,” Simms said. “So, in spite of the fact that Donald Trump was my commander in chief, which was not something that my parents were thrilled about, as you can imagine, I enlisted and throughout that time I really learned just how diverse this country is.”
After serving two years, Simms had a shoulder injury and was medically separated. Not wanting to return to Arizona, Simms found Denver. He said he initially expected to live in Denver for about six months, but “completely fell in love with the city.”
He got a job coordinating campaigns with the Democratic Party, working on nine different campaigns throughout the state. He met Johnston through a friend and began working on his campaign as well. After Johnston won, Simms was brought on to the transition team, where he managed transition committees on topics like housing, homelessness and human rights.
He then worked as the operations coordinator on Johnston's housing initiative, All in Mile High. He’s currently a senior mentor for the outreach team and served as chair of the HD 5 Democratic Party.
Simms’s take on the state and national Democratic Party
He said that both the state and national Democratic Party need to realize that a victory in 2028 won’t necessarily mark the end of the Trump era.“The impact that that will have on the national psyche will never be repaired,” Simms said. “We will never be able to fix all of the things that have taken place over the last 11 years.”
He said the party needs to build around big policy discussions, something he says needs to happen at the state level. Simms said states have the mobility and flexibility to pass bold policy at the moment, developing policy models that the national party can embrace.
More on his campaign
Simm’s campaign website can be found here. His social media handle is“SimmsforCO.”
