Toltz came up empty-handed in his 2000 6th Congressional District battle against Republican firebrand Tom Tancredo, a contest that happened in the wake of the Columbine High School shootings. At that time, Toltz said he made gun-violence prevention a cornerstone of his platform, especially since one of his employees, in a manner unrelated to her job, provided the Columbine killers with guns used in the massacre. In 2013, he then created Safe Campus Colorado as a way to push back against efforts to allow the concealed carrying of firearms on the state’s college campuses. Toltz — who worked for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C. — said he also plans to make environmental protection and affordability and access to higher education and health care key parts of his campaign.