| Beth Martinez Humenik | |
| State Senate: | Colorado |
| District: | 24th |
| Term Start: | January 7, 2015 |
| Term End: | January 4, 2019 |
| Predecessor: | Lois Tochtrop |
| Successor: | Faith Winter |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Thornton, Colorado |
| Alma Mater: | Colorado State University |
| Occupation: | Educator |
Beth Martinez Humenik is a Republican politician in the U.S. state of Colorado. She served one term in the Colorado State Senate from 2015 until 2019, representing District 24, which includes parts of Adams County.
A fourth-generation Coloradoan, Martinez Humenik grew up in Fort Collins and has lived in Thornton since 1997. She received a bachelor's degree and master's degree from Colorado State University.[1]
Marinez Humenik was formerly an adjunct instructor and substitute teacher.[1]
Marinez Humenik was a member of the Thornton City Council from 2007 to 2015.[2]
Martinez Humenik unsuccessfully ran for the state House in 2012, losing to Democrat Joe Salazar.[3]
Martinez Humenik was elected to the Colorado State Senate from District 24 in 2014. Martinez Humenik ran uncontested in the Republican primary election. She defeated Democrat Judy Solano in the general election, receiving 26,164 votes to Solano's 25,268 votes, winning by a 1% margin.[4] [5] The district encompassed parts of Adams County,[4] specifically Westminster, Northglenn, and Thornton.[6]
In the Senate, Martinez Humenik served as chair of the Health & Human Services committee and Local Government committee, and was vice chair of the Joint Technology Committee and Statutory Revision Committee.[7] Martinez Humenik is considered fairly moderate by the standards of Colorado Republicans;[6] in 2015, Martinez Humenik broke with the Republicans to defeat a key anti-abortion bill, joining Democrats in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in voting against the legislation.[8] The vote earned Martinez Humerik the enmity of Colorado anti-abortion activists.[9]
Martinez Humenik was a member of the executive committee of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.[10]
In the 2018 Senate elections, Martinez Humenik's district was considered one of the two most competitive seats held by a Republican and was targeted by Democrats in their aim to regain control of the state Senate.[11] She narrowly won the seat in 2014 and Hillary Clinton won the district in the 2016 presidential election. She ultimately lost the race to Democratic challenger Faith Winter by a double-digit margin.[12]
In September 2019, Martinez Humenik announced her candidacy for Mayor of Thornton.[13] She came in third out of five candidates, winning 21.4% of the vote.[14]