Arn Menconi, who served two terms as an Eagle County commissioner and has spent 40 years in area businesses and nonprofits, announced Wednesday he is running for District 8 seat in the Colorado state Senate to challenge Carbondale Republican Bob Rankin.

Menconi, a Democrat, said he decided to run “after witnessing Bernie Sanders’ big success in the Colorado Primary, that over 93% of Coloradans support the Green New Deal, the urgent need for universal health care and that inequality is growing at faster and faster rates.”

He served as an Eagle County commissioner from 2001 to 2009, and in a news release announcing his campaign, Menconi said his history in the area and concerns for the climate, water issues and health care, among other issues, make him a solid challenger to Rankin.

“Senate District 8 represents much of the origins of the Colorado River. I would run for state Senate because I don’t want a climate-denier Republican like Bob Rankin representing one of the most coveted places on Earth,” Menconi said in his announcement. “I want to fight to help our future generations for a sustainable future not make is harder for them. I have been working in the mountain ranges of the mouth of the Colorado River for 30 years.”

District 8 represents Garfield, Grand, Jackson, Moffat, Rio Blanco, Routt and Summit counties in the state Senate. No other Democrats have announced their intention to run for the seat. The Colorado primary is June 30.

Rankin, who held in the state House of Representatives District 57 seat from 2013 to 2019, was appointed to the senate seat in January 2019 after Randy Baumgardner retired before his term finished.