Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper has decided against running for the Colorado congressional seat held by retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter. Instead, the Lakewood Democrat plans to stick with her bid for re-election, she told Colorado Politics.

Dahlkemper, a former member of the Jefferson County school board, said last week that she was considering joining the Democratic primary after Perlmutter’s surprise announcement on Jan. 10 that he wouldn’t seek a ninth term representing the Jefferson County-based 7th Congressional District.

“I’m lov[ing] serving as a county commissioner and working on issues that matter in Jefferson County – reducing wildfire risk, expanding open space and trails, helping small businesses and struggling families navigate COVID recovery and more,” Dahlkemper said in an email. “My focus is on re-election this November. Even though I’ve won two countywide elections in Jeffco, I’m not taking anything for granted this November.”

She has yet to draw a Republican challenger.

If Dahlkemper had run, it could have amounted to a sort of spousal do-over. Her husband, attorney and former state Senate Minority Leader Mike Feeley, lost his campaign for the seat in 2002 to Republican Bob Beauprez by 121 votes in the closest congressional race in the country that year.

Dahlkemper’s decision leaves state Sen. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, as the only prominent Democrat so far running for the seat. That could change if state Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, who told Colorado Politics last week that she’s exploring a bid, decides to run.

Pettersen said earlier this week that her campaign already has more than $200,000 in the bank after raising more than $150,000 in the first five days after announcing her candidacy. She started with about $45,000 on hand, left over from a brief 2017 run for the same seat when Perlmutter was running for governor.

Two Republicans  – first-time candidate Erik Aadland and 2020 legislative candidate Laurel Imer – are seeking the nomination, though the GOP primary will likely get more crowded in coming weeks.

State Rep. Colin Larson, the only Republican to represent a portion of Jefferson County in the General Assembly, said last week that he’s considering a run. The Littleton Republican recently told Colorado Politics to expect a decision by next week.

The suburban 7th CD’s electorate has been reliably Democratic for more than a decade, with Perlmutter winning by double-digit margins every time he’s run since his first election in 2006. Under new boundaries approved last fall by the state’s independent redistricting commission, however, the district is considered more competitive and has drawn attention from national Republicans ahead of this year’s midterm election.

Anchored by Jefferson County and Broomfield, the newly configured 7th CD stretches south through a half dozen mountain counties past Cañon City into Custer County. Its voters have picked Democratic candidates by an average 7% margin in recent benchmark, statewide elections, according to data compiled by the redistricting commission. Last cycle, Democrat Joe Biden carried its precincts by about 14%, slightly better than Biden’s winning statewide margin.

Precinct caucuses take place the first week of March, and the primary election is June 28.