State Sen. Kerry Donovan doesn’t have an opponent, but she does have a fat campaign fund to fuel her re-election campaign in Senate District 5 next year. The Democrat from Vail also appears to have an unusual level of determination for a candidate with so much in her favor.

Donovan announced Wednesday she’ll hit the road next week to kickoff her bid for a second term with events in all seven high country counties that maker her district.

She’ll stump in Pitkin County on Oct. 10; Delta and Hinsdale counties on Oct. 11; Gunnison, Chaffee and Lake counties on Oct. 12; and Eagle County on Oct 13, her campaign said.

“It’s my honor and privilege to serve the high country by representing its people and communities in the Colorado State Senate,” Donovan said in a statement. “At a time when D.C. gets more dysfunctional by the day, I vow to keep fighting in our state for bipartisan solutions to create good-paying jobs, lower healthcare costs, and protect our Colorado way of life.”

A former Vail City Council member, Donovan was a hot commodity to run for Congress next year, but spurned pressure for Democrats to run for re-election to the Senate, telling Colorado Politics in June she still has unfinished business in the statehouse. In 2022, term limits will prevent her from seeking a third term in the Senate, if she wins re-election next year.

Donovan said her legislative priorities include major needs of Colorado’s rural areas, including high-speed broadband Internet service, addressing the high cost of healthcare, expanding telemedicine, creating jobs and protecting public lands, as well as supporting farming and ranching.

She was the driving force behind creating the nation’s first statewide Public Lands Day last year with events across the state this past May to recognize the role public lands play in the state and local economies and in the shared appreciation for Colorado’s great outdoors.

“When I was first elected to the Senate, I made it a point to carry bills that would make the lives of my constituents better, and not to carry water for special interests that have too much say in our government,” she said. “I’m proud of my record of standing up for the Western Slope and Upper Arkansas Valley, and can’t wait to keep up the work to make sure every Coloradan has a chance to pursue their dreams.”

Against a one-seat Republican majority in the Senate, Donovan is the ranking member on the Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee. She also sits on the Senate Local Government Committee and the Legislative Audit Committee.

In the last session, Donovan passed a measure to honor the Camp Hale National Historic Landscape and the feasibility study on using hemp as animal feed. Senate Republicans killed her legislation to advance rural broadband and to have the state do more to help rural communities that sustain heavy job losses.