Another far-right extremist files to run for Greeley-Evans school board

Scott Rankin has repeatedly donated to Weld County's Republican fringe

A new candidate for the Greeley-Evans School District 6 board jumped into the race early this month, and he has a history of support for far-right candidates and organizations.

Scott Rankin is running for the Greeley-Evans School District 6 board. He has a history of support for far-right candidates and organizations.

James Scott Rankin, who goes by his middle name, filed to run for the school board June 6. His initial fundraising report shows he gave his campaign $550 to start.

Rankin started his own health insurance brokerage, Leading Edge Financial Group, in the late 1980s.

In 2011, he was elected to the D6 board to serve out the remaining two years of a four-year term when then-board member Doug Kershaw resigned in 2010. Rankin received about 40% of the vote among the three candidates, winning with a plurality. He then opted not to run for re-election in 2013.

More recently, Rankin worked to help elect Rob Norwood to the current school board in 2021; Rankin was Norwood’s registered agent during that campaign. Norwood, a retired teacher who worked at Northridge High School for almost 20 years, was one of a slate of conservatives in Greeley-Evans who won school board elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A seat on the D6 school board opened up this past year when then-board member Pepper Mueller moved out of the district, and Rankin threw his hat in the ring to receive an appointment to the seat. Dr. Brenda Campos-Spitze was ultimately appointed, with Norwood voting against the measure.