{"id":1619,"date":"2026-06-15T22:12:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T22:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1619"},"modified":"2026-06-15T22:12:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T22:12:27","slug":"scott-bottoms-says-god-called-him-to-politics-as-he-runs-for-colorado-governor-will-republican-voters-come-with-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1619","title":{"rendered":"Scott Bottoms says God called him to politics. As he runs for Colorado governor, will Republican voters come with him?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The way Scott Bottoms tells it, he doesn\u2019t even want to be involved in politics.<\/p>\n

The two-term Republican state representative from Colorado Springs said he hates going to the Capitol every day, \u201cbut I know this is what God called me to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Politics for Bottoms, an evangelical pastor and candidate for governor, is a deeply spiritual endeavor, and he regularly infuses religion into campaign speeches, remarks before the legislature and policy briefs. He has referred to Colorado Democrats as \u201csatan\u201d and frequently pitches political differences as a battle between good and evil.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sick and tired of hearing pastors say, \u2018I don\u2019t get involved politically,\u2019 \u201d Bottoms said in a 2024 speech at Texas\u2019s Nelson University. \u201cThey have a problem. We\u2019re losing our children. We\u2019re losing our states. We\u2019re losing our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bottoms, one of the most conservative lawmakers at the state Capitol, won top billing for governor on the Republican primary ballot at the party\u2019s statewide convention this spring. He\u2019s one of three candidates \u2014 along with state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and political newcomer Victor Marx \u2014 seeking to return his party to the governor\u2019s mansion for the first time in two decades.<\/p>\n

Bottoms, though, has an uphill climb in an ever-deepening blue state that largely rejects Republican standard-bearer President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

He is the lead pastor at the Church at Briargate, an evangelical church in Colorado Springs that rejects homosexuality and believes a person\u2019s gender is established by God in the womb and \u201cis not subject to personal choice or change.\u201d In sermons, he has compared Islam and Hinduism to Nazism, saying, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to hate the evil that is Islam.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has been the prime sponsor of just one bill in his four years at the Capitol \u2014 a 2023 measure to create a new license plate that says \u201cIn God We Trust.\u201d Even on that bill, he was not initially a sponsor, but instead was added to the legislation by Republican leadership, who wanted him to get a win.<\/p>\n

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In an interview with The Denver Post\u2019s editorial board last month, Bottoms said his greatest legislative achievements were providing leadership and helping lawmakers effectively communicate their ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t passing bills,\u201d he said wryly.<\/p>\n

Rep. Ken DeGraaf, one of Bottoms\u2019 Republican colleagues in the statehouse, said the pastor is \u201cvery smart, very principled, with a strong ethical base.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he tells me he\u2019s going to do something, I would take that as being effectively done,\u201d DeGraaf said in an interview. \u201cHe\u2019s going to keep his promises.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bottoms has campaigned against what he says is reckless spending, rising crime and failing schools in Colorado. He promised a version of the federal Department of Government Efficiency, which drastically cut spending across the government.<\/p>\n

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A quick look at the Colorado governor candidates running in this month\u2019s Democratic, Republican primaries<\/p>\n

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