Colorado House District 45 Candidates 2026: Max Brooks vs Michael Clarkson

House District 45 is Castle Rock's seat, and its incumbent is a Castle Rock councilman. Max Brooks won the open House seat in 2024 with 62 percent while sitting on the Town Council, where his term ends this year; state law kept him from running for both, so he is on the ballot for the House only, against Democrat Michael Clarkson and Libertarian Caryn Ann Harlos.

Which Douglas County votes here

The redistricting commission's House map of Douglas County draws District 45 as a block around Castle Rock that reaches east to Franktown. Parker is District 44, Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree are District 43, and the rural country north, west and south of town is District 39. The legislature lists Douglas as the district's only county.

The county's own numbers

By 2024 margins, District 45 is the most Republican of the county's four House seats. In 2022 Lisa Frizell won it 27,884 to 17,180 over Ruby Martinez, 61.9 to 38.1. Frizell won Senate District 2 in 2024, and Brooks won the open House seat 35,970 to 21,801 over Democrat Chad Cox, 62.26 to 37.74. This June both major candidates were unopposed: Brooks drew 12,578 votes and Clarkson 9,682.

TRACER's Oct. 3 quick-stats report: Brooks $12,265.00 raised and $11,074.20 spent; Clarkson (filed as Michael John Clarkson Jr.) $4,256.05 raised and $1,387.46 spent; Harlos zero.

Max Brooks, Republican

"Castle Rock is my home," Brooks's site says; he writes that he moved there nearly 20 years ago, was raised in Lakewood, attended a Christian military school and, as he notes himself, did not serve in the military. He spent two decades at KOA radio, later in political sales management, and emcees the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo parade.

His local resume is long: Castle Rock Planning Commission chair, Design Review Board vice chair, Castlewood Ranch Metropolitan District board, and since 2022 the Town Council seat for District 5, which he won with 54.9 percent against two opponents, one of them Harlos. He told the Castle Rock News-Press after winning the House seat that he would stay on council through the end of his term; that story noted "Colorado law does prohibit someone from being a candidate for two elected seats at the same time," which is why his council seat is open this fall. In August he was one of two councilmembers who opposed acting the same night on a censure motion against Councilmember Mark Davis.

Where Brooks stands

In the House he sits on Business Affairs and Labor, Finance, Legislative Audit, and Transportation, Housing and Local Government. His 2026 prime-sponsored bills were an audit enforcement bill (HB26-1254), a public trustee foreclosure bill (HB26-1098) and community integration housing tax credits (HB26-1061); he was prime sponsor with Brandi Bradley of HB26-1021, the Second Amendment Protection Act, which would repeal the waiting period, the 21-and-over purchase age and magazine limits. His priorities page is four items: public safety, parental rights, "defend TABOR, lower taxes, and reform property taxes," and the Second Amendment. His Ballotpedia survey lists endorsements from the Colorado Chamber, NFIB, the Douglas County GOP, the Colorado State Shooting Association, the NRA and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

"I have fought the Democrats tooth and nail on every single bill."

That is from his home page, which blames "reckless spending" for what he calls a "$1.2 billion income tax shortfall."

Michael Clarkson, Democrat

Clarkson's site says he is a veteran who left the Army on a medical discharge after a knee injury, a cloud solutions architect, and an activist with LGBTQIA+ groups and the local Democratic Party; his Ballotpedia survey adds that he served as chief of security for Douglas County Pride.

Where Clarkson stands

His platform runs well to the left of the district's recent results. He would raise the state minimum wage to $26 an hour indexed to inflation, move Colorado to 100 percent clean energy by 2035, fund the Colorado Housing Investment Fund, pass a renter's bill of rights, outlaw book bans and protect reproductive and transgender rights. On water he wants Colorado River decisions "based in peer reviewed climate and hydrologic data." Data centers would have to disclose power and water use. He is a gun owner with a concealed carry permit who writes, "Stop making laws limiting specific firearms just because they are scary," and wants liability for unsafe storage instead. One Douglas County item: a February blog post objecting to Flock license plate cameras, citing reports of county cameras streaming unsecured online. He lists one endorsement, Colorado Ceasefire PAC.

Caryn Ann Harlos, Libertarian

Harlos is a repeat candidate here: 2.9 percent in this House seat in 2020, 7.7 percent against Brooks for Castle Rock council in 2022, 2.6 percent for Senate District 2 in 2024. Her Ballotpedia survey is three lines: "Colorado is unaffordable," "Government is too big," "We need to support small businesses." We found no campaign website, and TRACER shows no money.

What this means in Douglas County

The incumbent is the only candidate in this race who has held office in the town the district is built around, and his platform is the county GOP's: TABOR, property taxes, guns, parental rights. Clarkson's is a statewide progressive agenda with a $26 wage at the front. Harlos is running against both parties. Castle Rock's own fights this year, water and growth, appear only as board titles on Brooks's bio and as Colorado River policy on Clarkson's.

More: every race and measure on your ballot and the county's November ballot guide. We do not endorse candidates. Campaigns can send corrections to hello@discoverdougco.com.