At 27, Estes Park’s Dennison brings an unconventional face to Colorado GOP politics

Dennison will hold a campaign meet-and-greet on Wednesday, June 24, at 6 p.m. in the shelter at Stanley Park, 380 Community Drive.

At first glance, Kelley Dennison doesn’t look much like a Republican congressional candidate.

With jet-black hair, visible tattoos, stretched ear gauges, and an edgy personal style, the 27-year-old Estes Park native could easily be mistaken for a progressive artist or activist. Instead, she is campaigning for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District.

Dennison embraces the contradiction. And when she greets you with a handshake, she embraces your hand with purpose, deliberately and firmly.

“People make assumptions,” she said during an interview in the Estes Valley Voice newsroom on Monday. “But when they actually sit down and talk with me, they realize I’m focused on issues that affect everyday people.”

A licensed massage therapist by trade, Dennison operates her own private practice and works as a contractor in Windsor. She entered the GOP primary race just days before the filing deadline after what she described as a period of intense reflection.

“It took me like a week of crying and praying,” said Dennis, who worke as a campaign staffer for Adam DeRito. “I don’t think anybody wants to be in politics. It’s horrific.”

If elected, Dennison would bring an unusual biography to Capitol Hill.

She was adopted by parents nearly five decades older than she is and raised in a household of “Kennedy Democrats.” Political discussions were common. National Public Radio was often playing in the background, and her father, a history enthusiast, encouraged debate and independent thinking.

“I was brought up in a house that was always talking about politics,” Dennison said.

Yet as she entered adulthood, she found herself moving politically in a different direction.

“When I became an adult and started paying utility bills and paying all of my own bills, I think that radicalized me to become a conservative,” she said.

That experience shaped a political philosophy rooted less in party loyalty than in fiscal restraint.

“I believe the federal government does too much,” she said. “It’s way too involved in my life and everyone else’s life.”

At the same time, Dennison does not fit neatly into conventional partisan categories.

She criticizes both political parties, argues that younger Americans share frustrations that transcend ideology, and frequently emphasizes dignity, personal responsibility, and practical problem-solving.

“The conversations I have with my peers, we seem really united against a problem of the federal government not caring about us,” she said. “Our problems are bigger than minor philosophical disagreements.”

Her campaign focuses heavily on economic affordability, workforce development, and energy policy.

According to her campaign platform, Dennison believes Colorado families are struggling under rising costs for housing, groceries, childcare, healthcare, and utilities. She argues that federal spending, inflation, and excessive regulation have made it harder for working families to get ahead.

Among her priorities are reducing federal spending, supporting domestic energy production, expanding opportunities for skilled trades, strengthening small businesses, and encouraging American manufacturing.

One of her most personal policy positions centers on education.

Dennison briefly attended college before realizing a traditional four-year degree was not the right fit.

“I felt like I was wasting my dad’s money because it wasn’t for me,” she said.

Instead, she pursued massage therapy, completing more than 1,200 hours of specialized training and focusing on prenatal and sports therapy. Today, she points to her own experience as evidence that young people need more options than the college track often promoted in schools.

“I think people my age have been sold a story that the four-year college path is the only way,” she said. “I disagree with that.”

She wants greater emphasis on apprenticeships, workforce training, and skilled trades.

“Young Americans should be able to build successful lives without crushing debt and economic uncertainty,” her campaign platform states.

Dennison also advocates what she calls an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy. While supportive of renewable sources such as wind and solar, she argues they should be part of a broader portfolio that includes nuclear power, natural gas, and other energy technologies.

“This is a problem that requires many solutions,” she said.

On immigration, Dennison emphasizes enforcement of existing laws while calling for humane treatment of migrants.

“I believe in the rule of law,” she said. “I want to incentivize people to come in the correct way, the legal way.”

She said her concerns focus particularly on women and children vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.

“There must be a way to maintain American sovereignty while treating people with dignity,” she said.

Second Amendment rights also figure prominently in her platform. She opposes new restrictions on law-abiding gun owners while supporting enforcement efforts aimed at violent criminals and illegal firearm trafficking.

Her campaign remains largely grassroots.

Dennison said she has 10 volunteer staff members and no paid employees. The campaign’s modest operation stands in contrast to the well-funded political machinery often associated with congressional races.

“This is really a grassroots campaign at the moment,” she said.

The campaign recently received an endorsement from former 8th Congressional District candidate Adam DeRito, who praised Dennison’s leadership and commitment to conservative principles.

“Kelley Dennison is exactly the kind of leader Colorado needs in Congress,” DeRito said in announcing his support. “She’s principled, she’s tough, and she fights for the people of this district.”

DeRito’s endorsement, however, comes with political baggage. The Army Reserve captain has spent years battling the circumstances surrounding his expulsion from the U.S. Air Force Academy during his senior year, which he argues was retaliation for whistleblowing. As reported by Mary Shinn and Stephanie Earls in the Denver Gazette, DeRito was also investigated for allegations of inappropriate conduct during a 2026 training course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

DeRito has denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated. While he retains support among some conservative activists, his controversial history may limit the value of his endorsement with many Republicans and a broader electorate.

For Dennison, however, her campaign is about more than party politics.

During the interview with the EVV, Dennison reflected on the challenges she has encountered as a young woman seeking higher office and the resistance she has sometimes faced, including from within her own political party.

“People have told me, ‘Sit down, shut up, wait your turn,’” she said.

Rather than discouraging her, those experiences have reinforced her determination to run. If anyone doubts her tenacity, all they have to do is look at the image of the growling bear on her website.

Whether Dennison prevails in the June 30 Republican primary or not, Dennison represents a new generation of candidates whose political identities do not always align with outward appearances or traditional assumptions.

The tattooed massage therapist from Estes Park understands that many voters may not expect her to be a conservative Republican.

She’s counting on them taking a second look.