A Patriot's Call To Action

My fellow Coloradans. My name is Charles "Chaz" Evanson. I'm a retired United States Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 4, and I'm running to be your next Governor of Colorado. I am not here as a career politician or a mouthpiece for any party. I am here as a servant of the people, a man of faith, and a patriot who believes in the promise of this great state and nation. From the very start, let me make one thing clear: I am running to serve you, the people of Colorado, not a political party, not special interests, you.

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I learned as a Marine and as a Christian that true leadership means service and sacrifice. My candidacy is built on a foundational commitment to faith, liberty, and service. Faith, because I believe our rights and our moral compass come from Almighty God. Liberty, because I believe the Constitution and the God-given freedoms it protects are sacred. And service, because I believe the role of government is to serve the people, not rule over them. I have spent my life serving, serving God, serving my country, serving my community; and now I want to serve Colorado as your governor.

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I want to speak to you about why I am in this fight. The title of this message is "Freedom Is Worth the Fight", and I chose those words carefully. I fought for freedom overseas in the United States Marine Corps, and I am prepared to fight for freedom here at home. Freedom is worth the fight – worth our sweat, our tears, and if necessary, our very lives. The freedom we cherish in America, to worship, to speak, to raise our families, to build our dreams, that freedom is a gift from God and it is worth defending with everything we have.

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A Foundation of Faith and Liberty

Our nation was born in a quest for liberty grounded in faith. The Founding Fathers understood that the foundation of freedom is spiritual. They believed, as I do, that our rights come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of the Almighty. Thomas Jefferson famously wrote, "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Those words proclaimed to the world that American liberty rests upon a conviction that God Himself grants us our rights.

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Jefferson went even further, warning of what would happen if we ever forgot the divine source of our liberty. He said, "God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever." Think about that. Our third President, the author of the Declaration, said he trembled for his country if we ever lost our conviction that freedom is a gift from God, because God's justice will not sleep if we abuse that gift. Those words ring true today. I tremble for America when I see us drifting away from that fundamental truth.

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The Bible tells us, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord" In other words, if we honor God as our supreme authority, our nation is blessed. But the Bible also gives a warning: "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" When a people and their leaders do what is right, their nation is lifted up. But when we abandon what is right, when we call evil good and good evil, we heap disgrace and trouble upon ourselves. America needs to remember this wisdom now. Our founders weren't shy about invoking God and biblical truth in public.

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John Adams, our second President, was blunt about the necessity of faith and virtue. He declared, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Adams understood that if the people of this country lose their morality, if we become ungodly or unprincipled then the Constitution alone won’t save our freedom. Why? Because without conscience and faith, laws are just words on paper. Adams even warned that without morality and religion to restrain our passions, those passions would break the strongest cords of the Constitution “as a whale goes through a net.” In other words, if we the people do not govern ourselves under God’s laws, our selfish desires will rip through constitutional limits and create chaos or tyranny.

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Patrick Henry, that fiery patriot of the Revolution, spoke to this point. He said, “It is when a people forget God, that tyrants forge their chains. …A corrupted public conscience is incompatible with freedom.” My friends, are we not seeing this around us? As God is increasingly driven from public life, do we not see new chains appearing? Chains of addiction, chains of crime, chains of ever-expanding government control trying to do what self-governance under God used to do. Henry was right: if we forget God, we shouldn’t be surprised when tyranny rises up to fill the void. Bad men cannot make good citizens and a nation that has lost its moral compass cannot remain truly free.

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Our Founders, almost to a man, believed that faith and liberty are inseparable. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, argued that we cannot secure the blessings of liberty without virtue in the people. “To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea,” Madison wrote in plain terms: without goodness, without character, our system will fail no matter how brilliant its design. Liberty is not a license to do what is wrong; liberty is the freedom to do what is right. And right and wrong, as the Founders knew, come from the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God, from Scripture and the wisdom of our Judeo-Christian heritage.

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From the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock, to the Continental Congress that opened with prayer, to the Declaration of Independence itself, our nation’s DNA is faith in God and freedom under God’s blessing. Colorado’s own state constitution even begins by acknowledging “profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe.” We must never forget this foundation if we wish to rebuild and renew our land. I stand here today because I believe, with every fiber of my being, that we must return to that foundation. We must reaffirm our trust in God and our commitment to the fundamental liberties He bestowed. That is the only way to heal our land and protect our children’s future.

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Unity over Division: Warnings from Washington

Our Founding Fathers not only established principles for liberty, but they also warned us of dangers that could erode that liberty. Chief among those dangers was political division and partisanship. Here again, the wisdom of George Washington speaks loudly across the ages. In his Farewell Address, President Washington, our first and arguably greatest leader, cautioned the American people “in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party” He knew that bitter partisanship could tear apart what united us. He warned that factional fighting “serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration”, stirring up “ill-founded jealousies and false alarms” and kindling “the animosity of one part against another.” In other words, excessive party spirit sets neighbor against neighbor and sows suspicion and resentment, making it impossible for government to function as it should.

Washington foresaw that if one faction gained power and simply sought revenge on the other, it would lead to what he called “a frightful despotism.” Our liberty can be devoured by division. We don’t need a foreign conqueror to lose our freedom; if we descend into endless internal strife, we will impose despotism on ourselves. Washington urged us to put country over party, principle over faction. He advised that the common and continual mischiefs of party spirit must be restrained by the good sense of the people.

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How relevant this warning is today! We live in a time when our politics feels like a blood sport, left versus right, red versus blue, with each side more interested in defeating the other than in serving the common good. The trenches of party warfare run so deep that common ground has nearly vanished. As a result, the people’s business is neglected. Our communities are burning with issues like housing costs, education, and water resources, yet politicians seem more focused on scoring points against each other than on solving problems. The spirit of party that Washington warned about has indeed distracted and weakened our government.

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My friends, I am running to be your Governor as an independent-minded patriot who puts Colorado first. I’m not interested in playing party games or using this state as a pawn for partisan agendas. I have seen enough of bickering in my lifetime, in the military, we didn’t ask each other if we were Republicans or Democrats when we were under fire. We were all Americans, wearing the same flag on our shoulder. As your Governor, I will represent all Coloradans, conservative, liberal, and independent, with fairness and respect. I will work with anyone who loves this state and wants to improve our lives, and I will stand up to anyone, of any party who puts politics above the public good.

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George Washington prayed that “your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual”, reminding us not to let partisan differences destroy our national unity. I carry that same prayer in my heart for Colorado. We must unite as one people, one nation under God, as we pledge to confront the challenges before us. In this campaign and in my administration, I pledge to rise above party and focus on solutions, guided by the values that bring us together: our love of freedom, our love of justice, and our love of community.

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A Nation at a Crossroads: Culture in Crisis

My friends, America and Colorado stand at a crossroads. Never in our lifetimes have we faced such a stark choice between two paths. One path is the status quo, a path of continued moral decline, social division, and eroding freedoms. The other path is a renewal, turning back to God, back to truth, back to the principles that made our country the freest and most blessed on earth. The time to choose is now. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” It is high time for us to wake up and take a stand.

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Look around at what’s happening in our society. We see violence in our streets, a tragic drug epidemic ravaging communities, and despair on the rise. We see entertainment that glorifies profanity and perversion while faith and patriotism are mocked. We see schools where children are taught to question every value but are forbidden to acknowledge God. We see the family, the sacred institution of mother, father, and children breaking down, leaving too many young people without stability or moral guidance. We see government bureaucracies more eager to remove the Ten Commandments from public spaces than to remove predators from our streets.

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All of these are symptoms of a deeper spiritual sickness in America. The moral confusion we are witnessing, the inversion of right and wrong, the worship of self is what happens when a society turns its back on God. In the book of Romans, Scripture describes a people who refuse to honor God, whose foolish hearts become darkened. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,” it says, and because they traded God’s truth for a lie, “God gave them over to a debased mind.” That sounds like the times we’re living in. We have more knowledge and technology than ever, yet our common sense and virtue seem to be at an all-time low.

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When I was young, it was understood that truth is real, that there is a God who defines right and wrong. Today, many in our culture say there is no truth, you have your truth, I have my truth. They insist that all values are equal, and anyone who speaks of moral absolutes is labeled intolerant. We’ve gone from teaching virtue to teaching “values-neutral” confusion, and now we’re reaping the harvest. Many of our fellow citizens, especially our youth, feel lost. Lacking any higher meaning, some turn to drugs, some to violence, some tragically to suicide. We see this even here in Colorado.

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Friends, we have removed the solid rock of faith from public life, and people are sinking in the quicksand of relativism and despair. The answer is not to tighten an iron fist of government control; the answer is to return to the Rock of Ages, to reintroduce our society to the God who loves us and the timeless truths that uplift us. The Psalmist asks, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” We are watching foundational principles crumble, respect for life, respect for law, respect for each other. But I say the righteous can do something, we can rebuild on the firm foundation again!

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It starts with acknowledging that we need God. Our coins still say, “In God We Trust," it’s high time we lived up to that creed again. We need a revival of faith and virtue in this land. We need to encourage prayer, not silence it. We need to strengthen families, not undermine them. We need to honor hard work, personal responsibility, and charity toward our neighbors. We need to stop worshiping the false gods of materialism and hedonism and turn our hearts back to the true God.

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As your Governor, I will boldly lead in this direction. I will not be afraid to mention God or to promote what is good and true. I will call out policies that attack our First Amendment religious liberties. I will fight any attempt to force people of faith to violate their conscience. I will champion initiatives that strengthen families, because government cannot replace moms and dads. I will work to protect the sanctity of life from conception to natural end, because how we treat the weakest among us is a reflection of our society’s soul. I will push for improving education while ensuring parents have a say in what their children are taught, especially when it comes to values and beliefs. We should teach our kids how to read and write, yes, but also how to discern right from wrong and understand America’s heritage of faith and freedom.

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Some might say, “Don’t mix moral issues with politics.” But if we have learned anything, it is that our social and moral condition directly impacts our political and economic health. A corrupted public conscience is incompatible with freedom. When crime rises, neighborhoods crumble. When families break down, poverty and dependence rise. When virtue fails, no police force and no law can keep order. So, we must address the moral condition if we are ever to solve the material conditions. This is not about imposing a religion; it’s about acknowledging a reality: without God and moral discipline, a free society falls apart. History and experience bear that out time and again.

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Worth the Fight: A Call to Action

My fellow Coloradans, I know this has been heavy stuff. You might be thinking, this is a lot of preaching for a political speech! I speak this way because I feel an urgency in my soul. I love this country with all my heart. I have bled for it, and I have lost brothers-in-arms who died defending the American ideal. I cannot stand by and watch us lose in a few short decades what generations built and defended, without doing everything in my power to turn the tide. Freedom is worth the fight. Our children's future is worth the fight. America’s soul is worth the fight.

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So, I am asking you tonight to join me in this fight, not with guns or fists, but with hearts and voices and votes. I'm asking you to stand up in your own sphere of life, in your church, your school board, your workplace, your community, and be a champion for what is right. Don't be afraid to speak the truth in love. Don't be afraid to live your faith openly. We’ve been the “silent majority” for too long. It’s time to be a vocal majority, speaking with civility but with clarity about the values we stand for.

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We need prayer warriors as much as policy warriors. So, I call on people of faith across Colorado: pray fervently for our state and our nation. Pray for a spiritual awakening to sweep our land. And then put feet to those prayers. Faith without works is dead, so if you pray for God to heal our land, also be ready to be His instrument in that healing. Maybe that means volunteering at a local charity, or mentoring a fatherless child, or simply being kind to a neighbor who disagrees with you. Maybe it means running for local office yourself, or supporting leaders who share your values. Each of us has a role.

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As for the political battle, yes, we are in one, I ask you to rally to this cause of renewing Colorado. Help me get this message out. The odds may be against us; the establishment may scoff at a faith-based movement. But grassroots people power can overcome all that. When ordinary citizens talk to their friends and family, when congregations mobilize with purpose, when patriots show up at the polls out of conviction, no machine and no amount of money can stop that.

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To the young people listening: You are not the problem; you are a vital part of the solution. I know many of you are disillusioned by what you see in society and politics. You crave authenticity, meaning, and hope. I challenge you, don’t give up on America, and don’t give in to cynicism. This is your home, your inheritance. Join us in making it better. Your energy and ideals are needed in this movement. And to the older generation: your wisdom and experience are our anchor. We need you to mentor the young and to remind us of the lessons of history. This must be an all-hands-on-deck effort, spanning young and old, every background and walk of life, because we are all Americans and we all have a stake in a free and virtuous society.

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In closing, I return to where we started, faith, liberty, service. These are not just campaign slogans for me; they are the core of who I am and who we are as a people. Our faith tells us that with God, all things are possible, even the revival of a nation. Our love of liberty reminds us that no matter how dark the night, the flame of freedom still burns in the hearts of patriots, and we will not let it be extinguished. Our commitment to service calls us to sacrifice our comfort today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.

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My fellow Coloradans, I ask for your support. But even more, I ask for your partnership; your willingness to labor alongside me in this cause bigger than any one election. Together, let's restore what is broken. Let's show the world that Colorado will be a state that honors God, defends the Constitution, and serves all its people with dignity and respect. Let it be said in years to come that when the moment of decision arrived, we stood strong, we fought the good fight, and we kept the faith.

I’ll leave you with the words of Scripture that strengthen me: “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” With that truth in our hearts, we face the future with confidence and resolve.

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Thank you, God bless you, God bless Colorado, and may God bless the United States of America.

Charles "Chaz" Evanson, CWO4, USMC (Retired).