UPDATE 2/24/21: After teasing a potential run for well over a week, Anderson refuted speculation that he will run for Congress in 2022.

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Get out the popcorn, Colorado!

Denver’s 1st Congressional District race is going to be very entertaining if Denver School Board member Tay Anderson decides to primary U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette.

Anderson refused to “confirm or deny anything” to the Colorado Sun in their Tuesday newsletter, however he has suggested in multiple recent tweets that a congressional run may be in store.

https://twitter.com/TayAndersonCO/status/1363318395253317634?s=20

https://twitter.com/TayAndersonCO/status/1364360528882114570?s=20

When questioned by the Sun about his constitutional qualifications to run for Congress, Anderson, who is 22, suggested he could be elected but not sworn in until he turned 25 in July of 2023.

We asked Anderson about this limitation, and he pointed out that he will turn 25 in July 2023. “There is precedent already set,” he texted, pointing out that people under 25 have been elected to the House before but then not sworn in until they are old enough to serve in the chamber.

 

Anderson sent us a Wikipedia article titled “list of youngest members of the United States Congress.” (Again, we don’t know if he’s planning to announce a bid for Congress.)

There is some precedent Anderson could point to suggest he could be elected and then sworn in at a later date, although it’s rare historically.

Most recently Rush Holt of West Virginia was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1934 at 29, but was not sworn in until his 30th birthday in June of 1935.

Anderson has been a fixture at BLM demonstrations and commands an army of social media support from the Bernie Sanders wing in Colorado, making the prospect of a primary against the rather dull DeGette interesting.

Redistricting isn’t likely to drastically change the parameters of that district, although that will be something to watch next year.

DeGette is fresh off serving as a failed impeachment manager against former President Trump.

The fact she was nominated by House leadership to serve in that role without a clear reason makes one wonder whether DeGette landed the gig simply because Democrats were concerned about the prospect of a primary challenge.

Anderson has certainly received a lot more press coverage than DeGette over the last year.

The Denver School Board member has been the source of seemingly unending melodrama locally, and clashed with numerous establishment Colorado Democrats.

Whether Anderson could raise any money for this campaign is a major question, and a congressional run would all but solidify the narrative that he is simply using his position on the Denver School Board to engage in insane left-wing PR stunts.

Given the state of the Colorado Democrat electorate and their affection for socialist whackos like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Anderson might be the perfect fit for Denver Democrats.

Anderson’s primary threat against DeGette is the second Colorado Democrats have seen in recent months.

Anti-energy fracktivist Joe Salazar floated a potential primary against U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in January, calling Colorado a Bernie Sanders state.