Vowing to uphold the Republican Party platform, Douglas County Republican Mark Baisley announced Saturday that he’s running in next year’s election for the House District 39 seat held by state Rep. Polly Lawrence who is seeking the GOP nomination for state treasurer.

The cybersecurity expert and one-time aerospace engineer declared his intentions at the Douglas County Republican Party picnic in Sedalia and the Teller County GOP’s Big Tent event in Woodland Park.

Baisley is the first announced candidate in the district, which encompasses all of Teller County and the less densely populated portions of Douglas County, including Parker, Franktown, Larkspur, Sedalia, Roxborough Park and a slice of southern Highlands Ranch. Like Lawrence, he lives in Roxoborough Park.

Baisley has held numerous top GOP positions, including vice chairman of the state party, chair of the Douglas County Republicans and chair of the state party’s bylaws committee.

At the Woodland Park gathering, Baisley told the crowd that when he was county party chairman he was known for asking prospective candidates to read the “good, solid conservative founding-principles” national GOP platform before having a conversation about whether to run for something.

“Because the mission of the party is to elect Republicans to office who will uphold the party platform,” Baisley said, nodding. “So I needed to know if there was anything they could not uphold if they were in office. Because that’s when elected officials frustrate us, right? We elect them, they get in office and then they behave differently. Our standard is our party platform. It’s a good platform.”

Pointing to the crowd, he continued: “I challenge anyone to question me on that – ‘Hey, Mark, is there anything in that platform you can’t uphold once you’re in office?’ And, by the way, the answer will be, ‘No, it’s a great platform. Count me in.'”

“House District 39 is often referred to as the most conservative district in Colorado, which suits me well,” Baisley said Saturday in a Facebook post.

It’s among the most Republican districts in Colorado, according to the most recent voter registration statistics. Republicans make up 48.5 percent of active registered voters in the district, behind only El Paso County’s House District 19, which counts 54.6 percent Republicans.

Baisley’s campaign has the support of former state Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch – significant because the two squared off in a contentious 2006 primary for the state Senate seat Harvey eventually won.

Baisley also unveiled endorsements from state Reps. Kim Ransom and Kevin Van Winkle, both Douglas County Republicans, and former Teller County Republican Party Chairman Pete LeBarre.

Baisley also ran for Congress in the 7th Congressional District in 2002 but lost the nomination to Bob Beauprez, who went on to serve two terms representing the district.

Baisley ran unsuccessfully for state GOP chair in 2013, challenging then-incumbent chair Ryan Call’s bid for a second term. He was tapped later that year to take over as vice chair after Don Ytterberg stepped down to run for Congress but lost a bid for a full term as vice chair to Derrick Wilburn in 2015.

During a brief campaign for state GOP chairman in March, Baisley argued he could bridge the divide between Republicans favoring the two leading candidates, then-El Paso County GOP Chairman Jeff Hays and former congressional candidate George Athanasopoulos. Baisley pointed to his experience running a large party operation like Hays and his opposition to the party’s participation in an open primary, a position championed by Athanasopoulos.

Two days after saying he would run, however, Baisley withdrew from the race, saying he hadn’t realized the extent Republicans were already struggling with their decision between the declared candidates. Hays went on to win by a wide margin on April 1.