State Sen. Bob Gardner, a Colorado Springs Republican, told Colorado Politics late Tuesday that he is running for the seat held by retiring U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn.

“I made the decision today that I’m a candidate for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District,” Gardner said in an exclusive interview. “We’re taking the steps to formally file a campaign in the next couple of days.”

The veteran state lawmaker said his legislative experience gives him an edge in what could be a crowded primary to replace Lamborn in the heavily Republican district, which coincides almost precisely with El Paso County.

Gardner, a former El Paso County GOP chairman, served four terms in the state House before his election in 2016 to the state Senate, where he’s term limited after this year’s session.

“Ever since Congressman Lamborn’s announcement on Friday, I’ve been receiving calls from lots of friends and supporters – people who I have a great deal of respect for – encouraging me to run, telling me that my decade and a half of experience as a legislator getting things done is just what our congressional delegation in Colorado needs, and, frankly what the U.S. Congress needs,” Gardner said. “Someone who knows how to get things done.”

Lamborn’s surprise announcement on Friday that he isn’t seeking a 10th term set off a scramble among politicians in the heavily Republican district, which hasn’t sent a Democrat to Washington in the 50 years since the seat was created.

Following U.S. Rep. Ken Buck’s retirement announcement last fall and U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s announcement at the end of the year that she will run in another district, all three of Colorado’s Republican-held U.S. House seats will be open this year.

An Air Force veteran and graduate of the Air Force Academy, Gardner said he expects to stand out in a field that already includes Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams, a former Colorado Springs legislator.

“I do know how to work with people who agree with me completely, and how to work with people who disagree with me almost completely, to get things done, and I think that’s what people are asking their legislators to do now – to stop what I would call perforative politics and do what they were elected to do,” he said.

He said that trait, along with the 40 years he’s lived in the Colorado Springs community, will make a difference in the primary.

“I’ll emerge based upon my long experience and service to my district in El Paso County, to the people of Colorado, and actually having done legislation for the benefit of the community, and done so with my fellow Republicans, as well as the people across the aisle,” Gardner said.

The 69-year-old attorney said he won’t overstay his welcome if he wins a seat in the U.S. House.

“I know how voters feel about people staying in Washington too long,” he said. “If elected, I am self-imposing term limits on my service in Congress.”

Gardner pledged to serve no more than eight years, or four two-year terms.

He added the he intends to complete his term in the General Assembly, which opens its 120-day legislative session on Wednesday.

Gardner said his priorities in Congress will be familiar to constituents he’s represented.

“As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I’ve always stood for public safety, for support of our law enforcement officers and ensuring that our neighborhoods are going to be safe,” Gardner said, adding, “That’s been a challenge the past few years.”

He called the economy a top priority.

“Always, the creation of jobs and the promotion of our economy, limiting excessive regulation and ensuring that people and business want to come to Colorado and provide good jobs and paychecks for everyone in Colorado,” he said.

At the national level, Gardner said he plans to focus on border security, national security and the federal budget.

“I have to say the thing that is top on most Americans’ minds is something about border security,” Gardner said. “That’s something that Congress has failed, the Biden administration has failed. My background in the Air Force means that I am always, first and foremost, going to see to national security issues as they play out for Colorado Springs, as an important military community.”

Added Gardner: “The economy, the national debt – those are issues that have to be addressed and have to be addressed in a way that it can get done. We have strong feelings in the Republican Party about the debt ceiling, the budget, but it’s not enough to vote ‘no’ if you put people in a position of not receiving their Social Security benefits or veterans benefits, or if you put men and women in uniform at risk of not receiving their paychecks for putting their lives at risk for the safety of the country.”

Gardner said he will petition his way onto the June 25 primary ballot and plans to start gathering signatures from fellow Republicans in the district next week, when state law allows candidates to start circulating petitions.

He said he isn’t concerned that some Republicans slam the petition route in favor of courting delegates through the precinct and assembly process, which kicks off on March 7.

“Some in party circles say, ‘You didn’t go through the assembly,’ but when one reaches out to the voters one-on-one for signatures to get on the ballot – and I did this both times I ran for the state Senate – you typically reach 5,000 voters at the very least, talking to them about what their concerns are,” he said.

“One strength I have is I’ve had as constituents 20-25% of the electorate, the voters in El Paso County and Colorado Springs. They know me and what I stand for. I stand for school choice, I stand for the family. I stand for limited government and government at the local level, whenever possible.”

Other Republicans considering a run for Lamborn’s seat include former Secretary of State Wayne Williams, state Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, former U.S. Senate candidate and Olympian Eli Bremer, talk radio host Jeff Crank, El Paso County Commissioners Stan VanderWerf and Longinos Gonzalez and former El Paso County GOP Vice Chairman Karl Schneider.

Five Democrats and several unaffiliated and third-party candidates have also filed to run in the district.