Colorado House District 54 Rep. Matt Soper is running for a Delta County Commissioner seat this year.
In a statement to The Daily Sentinel, the Delta Republican, who is term limited with his fourth term in the State House ending after this year, said he will seek the seat held by current Commissioner Mike Lane, who is also facing a term limit.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to represent Delta and Mesa Counties in the Colorado House of Representatives. As the pressures from Denver spill-over into Delta County, it is important to have a commissioner who will not just maintain the good work and continuity of our current commissioners in running the county, but utilize connections and skills to advocate for Delta County interests in Denver,” Soper said.
“With more and more unfunded mandates, regulatory pressures, and laws which erode local control, Delta County needs to be a louder voice in pushing back against a Front Range that doesn’t care about our rural way of life. As the next county commissioner for District 1, I would be part of the push back, along with ensuring our roads are fixed, protecting our water, and creating a climate for economic success.”
Soper has served in the State House since January 2019. He is currently a ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, the vice chair of the Committee on Legal Services, and a member of the Appropriations and Water Resources and Agriculture Review committees.
In his campaign announcement, Soper touted his legislative work on regulating the funeral and death care industry as well as modernizing sexual assault laws (along with sponsoring a signed bill in 2025 that will lead the state to consider AI-generated child porn illegal and open to prosecution).
He also pointed to his work on agriculture, bioscience and quantum industries legislation, such as his sponsorship of House Bill 24-1325 (Tax Credits for Quantum Industry Support), which led to the establishment of Elevate Quantum, the Colorado Quantum Hub.
Soper’s other organizational experiences include the Seventh Judicial Nominating Commission, the Orchard City Town Council, Colorado Mesa University’s Board of Trustees, the City of Delta’s Historic Preservation Board, and Colorado’s Scenic and Historic Byways Commission.