A veteran Colorado Republican, state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, is entering the 2026 gubernatorial race.
Kirkmeyer is a state senator for Brighton, Colorado, and is known for being a centrist. Before taking office in 2021, she served for two decades as the Weld County commissioner and in former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens’s administration.
The 66-year-old ran for Congress in 2022 to represent the state’s 8th Congressional District but lost narrowly to former Rep. Yadira Caraveo.
Kirkmeyer joins a crowded Republican field, including state Rep. Scott Bottoms and fellow state Sen. Mark Baisley. She is one of the more prominent names in the race. If she wins the Republican primary, she will likely face either Sen. Michael Bennett (D-CO) or Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
Beating either of those Democrats will be a significant challenge in a state that has not elected a Republican governor in decades. Republicans got less than 40% of the vote in 2022 and just 42.8% in 2018. The 2014 election was the last competitive race, with former Gov. John Hickenlooper winning 49.3%-45.95%.
Both of the Democratic candidates also have fundraising numbers that are expected to dwarf the Republican field.
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Kirkmeyer will hold her campaign launch event on Tuesday evening in Fort Lupton. She has been a sustained critic of incumbent Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO), who is term-limited.
“Gimmicks, stunts and ridiculous videos — it’s all about deflecting, blaming others instead of governing and treating Coloradans with respect,” she wrote on social media of Polis late last month.
