Anti-gun violence activist Ken Toltz, who considered a run for Congress this year, is managing Rebecca Cranston’s race for state Senate in Larimer County.

Cranston, who lives in Fort Collins, is the only Democrat on the primary ballot, and Rob Woodward of Loveland is the only Republican. John Keil of Loveland is running as a Libertarian.

Cranston beat former Loveland City Councilman Ralph Trenary last month, capturing 72 percent of the delegates at the Democratic state assembly last month.

Toltz is a former University of Denver-Daniels College of Business adjunct professor and founder of Safe Campus Colorado, a 5-year-old organization that advocates for safety on college campuses primarily around guns.

“Adding a person as experienced and well-known around the Colorado political scene as Ken Toltz is another sign of the momentum of my campaign to win Senate District 15,” Cranston said in a statement.

Toltz withdrew from the 2nd Congressional District race in December for the chance to replace Jared Polis in Congress. Toltz said he dropped out because of an illness in his family.

He was the Democratic nominee in the 6th Congressional District race in 2000, losing to Tom Tancredo.

“Having met Rebecca Cranston on the campaign trail last Fall, I was drawn to her pro-actively positive campaign themes, her commitment to public service and her ability to win enthusiastic support from voters,” he stated.

Cranston is a first time candidate who works as executive director of the Northern Colorado AIDS Project.

The seat is held by Sen. Kevin Lundberg, a Republican from Berthoud who is term-limited. Lundberg ran for state Senate but didn’t get enough support from delegates at the GOP state assembly to make it on the June 26 primary ballot.