A House District 64 GOP vacancy committee on Saturday chose Scott Slaugh, a fifth-generation Coloradan and resident of Johnstown, to replace former Rep. Ryan Armagost, R-Berthoud.

Slaugh was chosen on the first ballot over three opponents. He received 23 votes out of 39 from the vacancy committee.

Also running: Mead Mayor Colleen Whitlow, who got 10 votes; Brett Wing, a trustee with Berthoud, who received four votes; and realtor Brandon Crespo, who won two votes.

Slaugh is a licensed residential general contractor who owns and founded Fall River Homes. He has spent the last 22 years as a U.S. Army Reserve Officer. That included time as an engineer officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Germany and as an exercise planner with Special Operations Command in several countries in Africa, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He has also filed for the Weld/Larimer counties seat in the 2026 election, as has Whitlow.

Slaugh holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in environmental management from Webster University.

Slaugh identified the issues important to him, which included the right to bear arms, education, housing, serving the needs of veterans, and “wise and factual Environmental Conservation.”

Armagost initially announced in June that he would resign his seat in September to move to Arizona. However, he moved the resignation up to Aug. 21, after House Democrats announced their intention to seek a resolution of censure during the most recent special session.

Armagost, who was third in line in House GOP leadership as the minority whip, took a photo last April of Rep. Yara Zokaie and circulated it to his GOP colleagues via the Signal app. That led to crude comments about Zokaie’s clothing, and later found its way to a conservative social media group on X, which posted the photo along with a poll on Zokaie’s appearance. 

Zokaie said that led to threats, both to herself and her children.

The House later adopted a resolution on a near-unanimous vote condemning Armagost for his actions.

Slaugh becomes the 24th lawmaker, out of 100, to earn his first seat through a vacancy committee.

Another vacancy committee will be formed in House District 14, El Paso County, to replace Rep. Rose Pugliese, the House Minority Leader, who announced Sunday she was resigning and moving back to Mesa County.