State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer (R-Weld County) had quite the busy week. In addition to officially making the Republican gubernatorial primary ballot last Monday, she also led her party’s input into the state budget bill, known at the Capitol as the “long bill.”
U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO) will face a Libertarian challenger this November in his run for reelection in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District (CD8), one of the closest-watched U.S. House races in the country, after David Wood was nominated at the 2026 Libertarian Party Convention on Saturday.
As the country’s first meatpacking strike since the 1980s reaches its fifth day, a handful of Colorado’s top Democrats have spoken out in support of workers at the JBS facility, while leading Republicans, with one exception, have been silent or noncommittal — or critical of the 3,800 workers for walking off the job at the largest employer in Weld County.
With 19 Republicans running for the 2026 gubernatorial nomination, the candidates, many of whom are true MAGA patriots, will have to compete to set themselves apart from one another. And while GOP candidates like to quote Reagan’s so-called 11th Commandment, “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican,” in this crowded field, the reality is that another revised biblical mandate applies: “do unto others before they do unto you.”
Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer (R-Weld County) officially entered the crowded field of Republican gubernatorial candidates after making her official campaign announcement Tuesday. Kirkmeyer will be competing against notable Republicans like former Congressman and Parker Mayor Greg Lopez, Rep. Scott Bottoms (R-Colorado Springs), Sen. Mark Baisley (R-Roxborough Park), Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell, and a half-dozen others.
After gaining the support of an overwhelming 72.5% of Republican delegates at a GOP assembly Saturday, giving her the top-line position on the June 28 primary ballot, Weld County Commissioner Lori Saine called on her Republican opponents in the race for Colorado’s new congressional seat to “reconsider their campaigns” and “unite on Team Lori so we can crush the Democrats in November.”
