They’re off to the races. We wish it were not so soon.
For term-limited Jared Polis’ seat, we’re aware of over two dozen candidates.
Among the better known, Sen. Mark Baisley and state Rep. Scott Bottoms are campaigning for the governor’s seat in the November 2026 election, as is former short-term Congressional Rep. Greg Lopez, all Republicans.
(Lopez was a placeholder for the months between the time Ken Buck stepped down and the election that Lauren Boebert won.)
The Democrats appear to be stepping out earlier than others.
In a surprise move, Sen. Michael Bennet announced he would be running for governor (Journal, Apr. 11), something Attorney General Phil Weiser did at the beginning of the year, and Ken Salazar, former senator and Interior secretary, has intimated he is considering.
State Sen. Jeff Bridges, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, would like to be Colorado’s next treasurer.
And Michael Dougherty, Boulder County’s District Attorney, and Jena Griswold, Secretary of State, would like to succeed Weiser as attorney general. Bennet, Weiser, Salazar, Bridges, Dougherty and Griswold are all Democrats.
That list is as of 4:57 p.m., Tuesday afternoon, April 22.
The party primaries – for the November 2026 election – occur in June of that year (although some Republicans would like to return to caucus events where leadership can control outcomes and the unaffiliated cannot participate). That’s 14 months from now.
We understand that early announcements are to: 1) stake out the territory and 2) begin the fundraising, but wouldn’t it be preferable if all of this didn’t commence until, say, early in January 2026? Or even September 2025?
Does the effort to gain name recognition and broadcast policy have to take place over such a lengthy period of time?
Here’s to elections, but may they have a shorter run-up.
