The Army combat veteran who recently held the distinction of being the oldest Division I player in college football – while still in uniform – wants to represent Colorado’s 5th Congressional District.

Joshua Griffin, a Fountain Republican, joined the crowded primary last week for the El Paso County-based seat occupied by retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn.

“I spent two decades fighting for our country,” Griffin told Colorado Politics. “We need somebody to come in and represent the people – and only focus on the people.”

A political newcomer, the 37-year-old filed nearly a year ago to challenge state Rep. Mary Bradfield, a Colorado Springs Republican, in the GOP primary in House District 21, but said he decided to switch to a bid for the open U.S. House seat after Lamborn surprised nearly everyone earlier this month when he announced he wouldn’t seek a 10th term.

It won’t be the first time he’s taken on an unconventional challenge.

While in his early 30s and stationed at Fort Carson, following tours in Iraq and Afghanistan – and places he says he can’t talk about – Griffin applied to participate in the Army’s “Green to Gold” program, which gives enlisted soldiers the chance to earn an officer’s commission after completing two years of college. He wound up as a walk-on at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where the running back played two seasons and got a look from some pro scouts.

“Truth be told, we were in a very losing season, so it wasn’t much to put a 33-year-old running back in there,” Griffin said with a laugh. “I was just happy to be with the fellas, the young men, and to be a good mentor.”

Griffin said the flurry of national attention he got at the time – in a lengthy profile, ESPN cracked that he supposedly got Ensure instead of Gatorade after practice – only told the beginning of the story.

“The story isn’t really about me playing or practicing football,” Griffin said. “I think the main story of what really happened after that is, I was able to show other young men you don’t need football to be successful in life. You don’t have to become a gold jacket member of the NFL to feel proud of what you did. I got to inspire tons of active duty military members to go out and seek their dreams, even if it is just to say you did it.”

Added Griffin: “If I had a choice of playing in the NFL and having an awesome first year vs. helping three or four of those young men who didn’t have fathers get to where they’re going to go to, that’s what I’m about.”

In a campaign video released last week, Griffin described his approach to the campaign.

“As a resident, a small business owner and combat veteran, I am well aware of the struggles that we face each and every day, how 60% of us believe that no matter how hard we work, we will never be able to escape the grasp of living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “This is why our campaign will not be about political opponents, petty political rivals or even presidential candidates. It’ll be about you people in this great district, which is the gem of Colorado.”

Candidates seeking the Republican nomination include state GOP Chairman Dave Williams, a former three-term state lawmaker; state Sen. Bob Gardner, an attorney and Air Force veteran; and podcaster and political consultant Jeff Crank, who ran against Lamborn in primaries twice, in 2006 and 2008. Others are expected to announce in coming weeks.

Five Democrats and a handful of third-party and unaffiliated candidates are also running in the district, which is among the state’s most solidly Republican seats.

Another prominent local Republican, Assistant House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, filed candidacy paperwork last week with the Federal Election Commission, but the first-term legislator’s spokesman told Colorado Politics that didn’t mean she was running.

Instead, the filing documented several days when the former Mesa County commissioner raised just over $9,000 while considering whether to run for Congress.

Political consultant Tyler Sandberg said in a text message that Pugliese took steps toward putting together a campaign but ultimately “decided not to run at this time and focus her leadership on the House.”

He added that Pugliese not only refunded every contribution she’d received but also covered the processing fees incurred by donors.

Precinct caucuses are March 7. The primary is June 25.