ELECTION 2026
Ministry leader Victor Marx took the lead over state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer on Wednesday evening in Colorado’s Republican primary for governor.
Marx had 39.9% of the vote to Kirkmeyer’s 39.5% of the vote at 5 p.m. They were separated by fewer than 2,000 votes.
State Rep. Scott Bottoms was in a distant third with 21% of the vote.
The race between Kirkmeyer and Marx for a chance to become the state’s first Republican leader in 20 years remains too close to call. Kirkmeyer was leading Marx on Tuesday night by a few thousand votes.
It may be several more days before it becomes clear who won the race. The lead may ping-pong between Kirkmeyer and Marx until it’s decided.
Whoever ultimately wins the primary will face Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser in November. Republicans haven’t won a statewide race in Colorado since 2016, and the last GOP candidate for governor lost by nearly 20 percentage points in 2022.
Bill Owens was Colorado’s last Republican governor, serving from 1999 to 2007.
Whoever wins the governor’s race in November will replace term-limited Gov. Jared Polis early next year.
Kirkmeyer was the establishment favorite to win the Republican primary, winning endorsements from Owens, U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans and The Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs. But she struggled to fundraise and match Marx’s momentum.
Marx, a Marine veteran and ministry leader who lives just north of Colorado Springs, used his national social media following and extraordinary, albeit mostly unprovable, life story to fuel his campaign.