This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at coloradosun.com.
FORT LUPTON — Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer is the latest candidate vying to be Colorado’s next governor.
The state senator from Brighton filed paperwork Monday making her long-anticipated 2026 bid official and then held a launch event Tuesday evening in Fort Lupton.
“It’s time that we have a governor who knows how to govern — one who believes that Colorado’s best days are ahead,” she said at the launch event, which was attended by about 100 supporters.
Kirkmeyer has a long history in Colorado politics. She was elected to the statehouse in 2020 and sits on the legislature’s powerful Joint Budget Committee, which makes her a ubiquitous voice in the state’s budget conversations.
Kirkmeyer ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2022, losing narrowly to Democrat Yadira Caraveo in the 8th Congressional District. She spent two decades as a Weld County commissioner. As a commissioner, Kirkmeyer supported an unsuccessful 2013 push for 11 counties in northeastern Colorado, including Weld County, to break off from Colorado and form a 51st state.
Kirkmeyer also served as head of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs under-then Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican. Additionally, she ran unsuccessfully in 2014 for Congress in the 4th Congressional District.
While Kirkmeyer frequently works across the aisle at the Capitol, she has also embraced a number of GOP-specific positions. She is a die-hard supporter of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and believes abortions should be banned except for when a pregnancy threatens a mother’s life, a determination that should be made by a doctor.
Kirkmeyer previously said there should be no exceptions for when an abortion is allowed, but says her position has shifted.
Kirmeyer’s gubernatorial campaign platform includes a promise to drive down the cost of living, improve Colorado’s roads and boost public safety.
Current Gov. Jared Polis is term-limited and can’t run for reelection in 2026. He won reelection in 2022 by nearly 20 percentage points. He secured his first term in 2018 by 10 points.
Colorado has not elected a Republican to be governor since 2002, when Owens secured a second term.
Two prominent Democrats are running to replace Polis: U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
Weiser and Bennet released statements Tuesday tying Kirkmeyer to President Donald Trump and attacking her for her embrace of his policies.
The Democratic headwinds in the race haven’t stopped a growing crowd of Republicans from mounting a run for governor, including state Rep. Scott Bottoms of Colorado Springs; Sen. Mark Baisley of Woodland Park; and Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell.
Baisley and Kirkmeyer serve in the state Senate together. They’re statehouse colleagues with Bottoms.
Kirkmeyer said her experience and political track record set her apart from her Republican primary opponents.
She also brushed off the notion that a Republican can’t win statewide in Colorado, even though it hasn’t happened in a decade.
“There are a lot of people out there that are saying you have to be a Democrat to win statewide in Colorado,” she said at her launch event. “You know what? I just don’t think so.”
Asked how she would overcome the political challenges for Republicans in Colorado, Kirkmeyer said, “it’s a lot of hard work.”
She cited a recent poll that showed that 53% of registered Colorado voters believe the state is on the wrong track. Forty percent said the state is headed in the right direction.
The poll was conducted among 1,136 registered voters from July 30 to Aug. 12 by Magellan Strategies, a conservative-leaning political firm based in Colorado. It had a 2.91 percentage point margin of error.
