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Victor Marx Republican
Residence: Colorado Springs
Profession: Humanitarian leader and nonprofit founder
Education: One year of college; United States Marine Corps training
Experience: Marine veteran; founder of All Things Possible; author; led humanitarian and trauma-recovery missions in high-risk regions around the world.
What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please identify any immediate actions you would take, whether through legislative advocacy or executive action.
My priorities are affordability, safety and accountability. I will order a review of costly regulations, fees and spending; accelerate permitting; and press lawmakers for property-tax relief. I will strengthen support for law enforcement, target fentanyl traffickers and expand practical mental-health and addiction treatment. I will open the books: publish agency spending, contracts and major-project costs, schedules and results in plain language. Every department will have measurable goals, and Coloradans will be able to see whether government is delivering.
What specific actions would you take to address the state’s ongoing Medicaid funding crisis?
First, I will require an independent, transparent audit of Medicaid enrollment, utilization, payments, contracts and administrative costs. We will strengthen eligibility reviews and payment-integrity controls, pursue fraud and improper payments, renegotiate poor-performing contracts and use competitive purchasing where it improves value. I will seek federal waivers that reward better outcomes and coordinate care for high-cost patients. Savings should protect access for children, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities, while maintaining adequate rates for essential providers. We cannot solve this with one-time money or across-the-board cuts that drive providers out.
Would your administration encourage or seek to impede federal immigration agents operating in Colorado, and do you agree with state laws that restrict that cooperation?
My administration would not obstruct lawful federal immigration enforcement. Colorado should cooperate when public safety is at stake, especially involving violent offenders, repeat felons, traffickers and cartel activity. I oppose state laws that broadly prevent appropriate information-sharing or release dangerous offenders without timely federal notification. At the same time, cooperation must respect the Constitution, due process and warrants where legally required. State and local police should remain focused on public safety, not indiscriminate civil enforcement. The rule of law and the dignity of every person are not competing principles.
As governor, would you agree to mandatory Colorado River usage cuts in the state in exchange for a seven-state deal safeguarding its future? And what specific actions would you take to better insulate Colorado’s water supplies from drought?
I would not pre-commit Colorado to undefined mandatory cuts. I would negotiate in good faith toward a durable seven-state agreement, but any deal must protect Colorado’s compact rights, agriculture, rural communities and future growth, with measurable obligations for every basin state. To strengthen supply, I would accelerate responsible storage, repair aging infrastructure, improve forest and watershed health, expand reuse and conservation, support agricultural efficiency without permanently drying up farms, and improve measurement and forecasting. Colorado should lead with collaboration, science and urgency – not surrender its water through a rushed agreement.
How would you steer the future of transportation in Colorado, while balancing the push for more mass-transit options with the fact that most Coloradans still rely on their personal cars to get around?
Colorado needs a transportation system that reflects how people actually live. I would prioritize road and bridge maintenance, safety, congestion relief and completion of promised projects, with public reporting on cost and schedule. I support reliable transit and passenger rail where demand, measurable benefits and sustainable funding justify them, while preserving local flexibility for rural and suburban communities. We should use technology, coordinated signals, managed lanes and faster project delivery to improve mobility now. Coloradans should have more practical choices – not policies designed to punish drivers or force families into transportation options that do not fit their lives.
Phil Weiser Democrat
Residence: Denver
Profession: Attorney General of Colorado
Education: Swarthmore College (Bachelors degree); New York University Law School (JD)
Experience: Colorado Attorney General; clerk to Justices Byron White and Ruth Bader Ginsburg; senior positions in Clinton and Obama DOJ’s; advisor in the Obama WH
What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please identify any immediate actions you would take, whether through legislative advocacy or executive action.
First, I’ll prioritize lowering housing costs by working to build 40,000 affordable starter homes for first-time buyers, expanding down-payment assistance, and protecting renters from predatory corporate landlords.
Second, I’ll work hard to protect, support, and strengthen Colorado’s K-12 public education system, including ensuring teachers have the resources and support they need and addressing the youth mental crisis.
Third, I’ll support small businesses, startups, and growing businesses in Colorado, launching a Business Navigator program, removing unnecessary and burdensome regulations, and making it easier to start and build businesses here.
What specific actions would you take to address the state’s ongoing Medicaid funding crisis?
Colorado’s Medicaid program is growing beyond what our budget can afford—and Medicaid cuts by Congress are looming. How the state closes this budget gap will impact people’s health care—I take that very seriously and solemnly. The state must take a compassionate, thoughtful, and careful approach to address the Medicaid funding shortfall. That means protecting patients, key rural hospitals, and safety net providers. As governor, I will take a collaborative and transparent approach, working with those affected to protect the most vulnerable and engaging with those on the legislature’s Medicaid Commission to develop the best model to go forward.
Would your administration encourage or seek to impede federal immigration agents operating in Colorado, and do you agree with state laws that restrict that cooperation?
As governor, I will always stand up for Coloradans regardless of immigration status when their rights are attacked. In Colorado, we must continue to protect our immigrant communities, especially as they face continuous attacks by the federal administration. As attorney general, I have fought against attempts by the federal government to coerce states into sweeping immigration enforcement. I have also worked to defend and enforce state laws that prohibit local law enforcement coordination with federal immigration officials, including by bringing a lawsuit against a sheriff’s deputy in Mesa County for violating the law. I will continue these efforts as governor.
As governor, would you agree to mandatory Colorado River usage cuts in the state in exchange for a seven-state deal safeguarding its future? And what specific actions would you take to better insulate Colorado’s water supplies from drought?
My answer to the first question is simple: No. I will defend Colorado’s rights under the Colorado River Compact and ensure that any deal treats us fairly and is sustainable.
Going forward, Colorado must treat water like the precious commodity it is, meaning that we must advance a range of conservation strategies, from xeriscaping lawns to protecting our reservoirs and irrigation ditches from evaporation loss to encouraging and supporting voluntary actions by farmers to move to less water intensive crops. We also must invest in upgrading our water infrastructure, embrace greater reuse of water, and spearhead smart storage strategies.
How would you steer the future of transportation in Colorado, while balancing the push for more mass-transit options with the fact that most Coloradans still rely on their personal cars to get around?
To preserve Colorado’s quality of life for those who live here and remain economically competitive, we must have an affordable, multi-modal, and well-maintained transportation network that covers the Front Range and connects with mountain destinations and outdoor spaces. And above all, our transportation network must prioritize safety as it moves people, goods, and information. This is not only critical for Colorado’s long-term economic growth and for community health, it also impacts Coloradans’ day-to-day commutes, well-being, and affordability. As governor, I will ensure that Colorado’s transportation network is not only preserved, but also grows to match our modern needs.
Stephen T. Hamilton American Constitution Party
Residence: Canon City
Profession: Recovery Specialist Tower
Education: 12
Experience: Business owner, not career politician. I know payroll, budgets, and accountability. I’m running as a servant to We The People in our constitutional republic — to protect our values and build a brighter Colorado.
What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please identify any immediate actions you would take, whether through legislative advocacy or executive action.
1. CUT THE TOP. LEAD BY EXAMPLE. First cut is my own seat. Governor’s salary cut to $55.75/hr with a $15,000 cap on perks/expenses. No more bloated executive office. If we ask Coloradans to tighten belts, we go first.
2. REBUILD THE RAILROAD – 90% FREIGHT OFF HIGHWAYS. Executive order to fast-track track repair and reopen freight corridors. Move 90% of heavy freight back to rail. Takes stress off I-25/I-70, lowers shipping costs, lowers grocery prices, cuts potholes. Rail is cheaper and safer.
3. MINE TO PAY THE DEBT. Colorado is sitting on trillions in minerals. I will approve eco-friendly mining equipment and permits to go after critical materials in the ground. Use severance revenue to pay down Colorado’s deficit, fund schools and roads, not tax hikes.
Dig, build, and lead by sacrifice
What specific actions would you take to address the state’s ongoing Medicaid funding crisis?
Medicaid is in crisis because we allow abuse.
1. Co-pays to stop the flood: $25 co-pay for non-emergency ER visits. Stop flooding hospitals with BS. The ER is not primary care. This will save millions and open beds for real emergencies. Exempt kids, pregnant moms, true emergencies.
2. Protect our elderly: Medicare will be firewalled and managed responsibly. Seniors who paid in their whole lives come FIRST, not last. I will audit the system to ensure elderly care is protected, not raided to cover able-bodied adults.
3. Work & Audit: 20-hour work/training requirement for able-bodied adults on Medicaid. Full fraud audit to strip out ineligible, out-of-state, and dead people still on the rolls.
Responsibility saves the system for those who truly need it.
Would your administration encourage or seek to impede federal immigration agents operating in Colorado, and do you agree with state laws that restrict that cooperation?
I will ENCOURAGE federal enforcement, not block it. Colorado’s sanctuary laws put criminals before citizens. That ends day one.
FULL COOPERATION: I will order State Patrol and Dept. of Corrections to fully cooperate with ICE. If ICE issues a detainer for a criminal illegal in our jail, we honor it. No more catch-and-release of violent offenders.
REPEAL SANCTUARY LAWS: I oppose laws that ban police from talking to federal agents. Cops should work together, not be silenced by Denver politicians. I will push to repeal them.
LEGAL WORK ONLY: Remove the bad ones. If you’re here to work, get a work visa and be legal. I will push for expanded ag, construction, and hospitality work visas.
Deport criminals. Welcome legal workers. Colorado will follow the law again.
As governor, would you agree to mandatory Colorado River usage cuts in the state in exchange for a seven-state deal safeguarding its future? And what specific actions would you take to better insulate Colorado’s water supplies from drought?
Yes — if fair. I won’t let Colorado be the scapegoat for Lower Basin overuse, and I won’t let DC run our river.
I’ll accept cuts ONLY in a 7-state deal that: 1) Protects Colorado senior water rights, 2) Forces deeper permanent cuts in AZ/CA/NV, 3) Brings federal money for Colorado storage.
To drought-proof:
Fix: Fast-track reservoir enlargements, repair 150-year-old leaking ditches.
Protect ag: Pay farmers to bank water in-stream, not buy-and-dry.
Grow smart: 100-year water supply required before new subdivisions, turf removal credits.
Fight: Fund AG to defend the 1922 Compact — we’ve never violated it.
Forests=water: Double forest mitigation, 80% of water starts as snowpack.
We live within our share.
How would you steer the future of transportation in Colorado, while balancing the push for more mass-transit options with the fact that most Coloradans still rely on their personal cars to get around?
ROADS FIRST. No war on cars.
Colorado is a car state. Driving has become painful and that ends day one.
Toll lanes on I-25 don’t fix traffic, they cause it. You paid taxes to build the road, then pay again to use it while everyone is squeezed into two lanes. It’s a tax on workers. I will ban new toll lanes and audit CDOT to open existing express lanes back to general purpose.
I will stop siphoning gas tax to pet transit. Fix potholes, bridges, I-25, I-70 mountain safety, US-50 and Hwy 115 first.
Transit only where it pays for itself. No forced RTD rail fantasy. Support Denver ridership and rural park-and-ride.
I’ll cut car prices: 75% tax break for automakers who flood dealers with affordable gas/hybrid inventory. No CA EV mandate – grid can’t handle it.
Eric Mulder Libertarian Party
Residence: Aurora
Profession: Small Business Owner, Security Guard
Education: Bachelor of Fine Arts
Experience: US army veteran, small business owner, former Aurora Veterans Affairs commissioner
What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please identify any immediate actions you would take, whether through legislative advocacy or executive action.
Protecting our privacy from encroachment via the private surveillance to government agency pipeline, introduction of small modular reactors before 2033 to qualify for federal incentives, allow counties in need to vote on a state sales tax holiday for infrastructure projects or passing the savings directly to voters.
What specific actions would you take to address the state’s ongoing Medicaid funding crisis?
I propose returning Medicaid to its pre-COVID baseline, reviewing everything added since then and eliminating what is unnecessary. We should strengthen disability eligibility standards to ensure assistance goes first to those who truly cannot work or care for themselves. Finally, the state should establish reasonable payment ceilings for expensive drugs such as GLP-1s and use its purchasing power to negotiate lower prices.
Would your administration encourage or seek to impede federal immigration agents operating in Colorado, and do you agree with state laws that restrict that cooperation?
I support limiting state cooperation with federal agencies in order to uphold constitutional safeguards on privacy and due process. The federal government should restore sensitive location restrictions (such as churches and schools). The wrongful arrest, detention, and deportation of citizens is inexcusable.
As governor, would you agree to mandatory Colorado River usage cuts in the state in exchange for a seven-state deal safeguarding its future? And what specific actions would you take to better insulate Colorado’s water supplies from drought?
Recently, the federal government intervened in the Colorado River Compact and determined that Colorado and other upper basin states will not have to cut our usage. I agree with that decision, given that Colorado has never used its full allotment of while lower basin states have consistently met or exceeded their allotment. We can help improve Colorado’s watershed in many ways, including the reintroduction of beavers, but that is only one piece of a very complex puzzle.
How would you steer the future of transportation in Colorado, while balancing the push for more mass-transit options with the fact that most Coloradans still rely on their personal cars to get around?
I support Senator Kirkmeyer’s plan of ensuring road funding goes strictly towards maintenance and construction. The state legislature restructured RTD’s board of directors to include 4 nominees from the governor’s office that meet state senate approval. I will ensure my nominees have relevant experience, are dedicated to making mass transit accessible to those who need it most, and that my nominees meet the requirements set forth by state law (ie DRCOG short list, ATU members, individuals from impacted communities, etc.
Jeff Peckman Unity Party
Residence: Englewood
Profession: Entrepreneur
Education: One year of Maharishi International University
Experience: Entrepreneur, consultant, strategist, researcher, innovator, project coordinator, book and ballot initiative author, writer, real estate agent, architectural/landscape designer, handyman, caregiver.
What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please identify any immediate actions you would take, whether through legislative advocacy or executive action.
1. Create the position of Chief Coherence Officer to form the Partnership for Applied Coherence Technologies. That will launch related economic engines (such as graphene and hydrogen) predicted to have over $10 trillion in global market impact by 2050.
2. Mandate results-based state budgeting that prioritizes the most affordable and effective solutions across all areas of government, and extend those solutions into more affordable housing and healthcare.
3. Assign the Honorable T.J. Cole, Lt. Governor, to examine all matters related to law, criminal justice, public safety and immigration, and ensure that best practices are applied in the most humane way.
What specific actions would you take to address the state’s ongoing Medicaid funding crisis?
1. Immediately audit the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to ensure that those eligible for Medicaid get simple, clear, and quick information, paperwork and processing for enrollment and re-enrollment.
2. Include, on an oversight board, health care practitioners who potentially offer more affordable and effective healthcare modalities than whatap typically covered by health insurance and Medicaid.
3. Deploy affordable and proven technologies to reduce air pollution. Resulting health benefits will cascade throughout society, especially in more polluted areas with higher concentrations of Medicaid recipients. That’ll reduce healthcare demand and costs, potentially saving hundreds of millions of dollars.
Would your administration encourage or seek to impede federal immigration agents operating in Colorado, and do you agree with state laws that restrict that cooperation?
I would encourage federal immigration agents to operate legally and humanely and uphold the right to due process. If they operate in a way that fits the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001, Sec. 802, definition of “domestic terrorism”, as many agents already have, then I would seek to impede them. I would also prosecute them to compel ICE to clean up its act and compensate innocent victims of illegal agent activity. I don’t agree with state laws that restrict legal and humane agent activities, but I agree that if profit-motivated ICE agents disregard laws, the state should restrict cooperation.
As governor, would you agree to mandatory Colorado River usage cuts in the state in exchange for a seven-state deal safeguarding its future? And what specific actions would you take to better insulate Colorado’s water supplies from drought?
Prior conversations about Colorado River usage, water supplies and drought are obsolete and incomplete. They didn’t factor in the extraordinary benefits of coherence technologies which can affordably achieve huge and rapid and reductions in air and water pollution. They can harvest high value graphene from forest and agricultural waste that would otherwise be wildfire fuel. They can achieve better cooling for data centers and industry, without using excessive water resources. After all of that is factored in, more useful and responsible decisions can be made to reverse the downward spiral from pollution, climate change, drought, cuts, and competing users.
How would you steer the future of transportation in Colorado, while balancing the push for more mass-transit options with the fact that most Coloradans still rely on their personal cars to get around?
I support “Restore Our Roads” Initiative 175 to maintain existing infrastructure. It will produce prosperity for all Coloradans when partnered with coherence technologies that make graphene from methane, used tires, and forest, agricultural, and municipal solid waste.
I would employ Colorado-based technologies for gas and diesel engines to quickly and affordably achieve emissions reduction goals within 2 years. That would save at least $2 billion/year in fuel, health care, infrastructure, and environment costs, plus create export opportunities worth billions. More electric vehicles and expanded electric mass transit aren’t needed. I would end tax-funded incentives for EVs and EV infrastructure.
Erik Underwood Approval Voting Party
Residence: Denver
Profession: Technology CEO and patent holder. Founder of Vurbil, an AI moderation platform.
Education: Bachelor of Science in Political Science, International Relations. Attended law school.
Experience: Technology CEO and patent holder. Founder of Vurbil, an AI moderation platform. Former United States Senate staffer and former junior prosecutor, Atlanta City Solicitor’s Office.
What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please identify any immediate actions you would take, whether through legislative advocacy or executive action.
Housing first. On day one I will declare a housing emergency, direct state land and pension backed capital into permanently affordable units, and push a statewide rent freeze while supply catches up.
Second, cost of living. Universal child care, free college and trade school, reducing the cost of groceries, and a path to universal health care, paid for by my Wealth Gap Surcharge on Colorado’s highest earners (Billionaires).
Third, an executive moratorium on new AI data centers. They consume our water and power and raise everyone’s utility bills. I would also sign the Worker Protection Act, which my opponent opposes. Full details on my website.
What specific actions would you take to address the state’s ongoing Medicaid funding crisis?
I grew up in poverty. Colorado is being asked to absorb a federal cut it did not create. I will not balance it on the backs of the one in four Coloradans on Medicaid, or on home care workers whose hours were just capped.
I would push my Wealth Gap Surcharge (on Billionaires) to backfill the shortfall, expand the prescription drug affordability board’s authority to set upper payment limits, audit HCPF’s administrative growth and outside contracts rather than benefits, and cap what hospitals charge the state. Long term, a state universal health care system ends this cycle of federal whiplash.
Would your administration encourage or seek to impede federal immigration agents operating in Colorado, and do you agree with state laws that restrict that cooperation?
I would impede them, within the law. Colorado’s laws restricting cooperation are constitutional, and in March a federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s challenge to them under the Tenth Amendment.
As governor I would enforce Senate Bill 276 fully, deny state facilities and databases to civil immigration enforcement absent a judicial warrant, direct the State Patrol and CBI to keep out of it, and fund rapid response legal defense and know your rights outreach. Masked agents detaining parents outside schools and clinics makes Colorado less safe, not more. Public safety depends on people being willing to call police.
As governor, would you agree to mandatory Colorado River usage cuts in the state in exchange for a seven-state deal safeguarding its future? And what specific actions would you take to better insulate Colorado’s water supplies from drought?
Yes, if the cuts are shared, enforceable, and proportional. Colorado cannot promise water that does not fall as snow, but refusing every number for two years has produced two missed deadlines and handed Washington the pen. I would negotiate real numbers tied to actual hydrology, with the Lower Basin accounting for evaporation and system losses first.
At home I would fund agricultural efficiency and voluntary fallowing with fair compensation, expand reuse and storage, end nonfunctional turf, protect tribal water rights, and stop approving AI data centers that draw millions of gallons for cooling.
How would you steer the future of transportation in Colorado, while balancing the push for more mass-transit options with the fact that most Coloradans still rely on their personal cars to get around?
I am the only candidate with a high speed rail plan and an infrastructure jobs plan behind it. Grand Junction to Denver, Fort Collins to Denver, and Denver to Colorado Springs. I would also make Colorado Springs and Grand Junction major airports.
That means thousands of union scale construction jobs. I back Front Range passenger rail, plus mountain rail to the ski corridor. Rail wins riders by being fast, frequent, and cheap, never by punishing drivers. So build it first, keep fares low, free for students and seniors, and fix the roads and bridges we already own.
Greg Lopez Unaffiliated
Residence: Elizabeth
Profession: Small Business Owner
Education: Assoc. Degree Business Administration
Experience: Disabled Veteran, Mayor, SBA Director, Congressman 4th Congressional, Business Owner, Hispanic Chamber President, RMMSDC President, E470 Board Member, DRCOG, ACE Scholarships, Economic Development
What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please identify any immediate actions you would take, whether through legislative advocacy or executive action.
My top three priorities are affordability, public safety and government accountability. On affordability, I’ll work with the legislature to allow renters to deduct their annual rent from their state income tax and allow them to keep more of their money. I’ll also review regulations and fees that burden small businesses and make it harder to create jobs. On public safety, I will work with the legislature to restore qualified immunity for law enforcement and rebuild trust between officers and the communities they serve. On government accountability, I’ll implement zero-based budgeting review every state program. and eliminate programs that fail to deliver results. People Over Politics, Do No Harm, Do What Works.
What specific actions would you take to address the state’s ongoing Medicaid funding crisis?
I have already taken the first step by selecting a Lt. Governor that has 25 years of experience in the medical industry. She will be leading all efforts to address any funding issues the state is currently facing concerning the Medicaid funding crisis. The safety net of Medicaid will be properly administered in a compassionate manner for the most vulnerable and those with the most need. My administration will go after fraud, waste, and abuse to cut costs before cutting benefits and services for Colorado’s most vulnerable. I will ensure that rural Colorado has access to healthcare as many rural hospitals are struggling to stay open due to cuts in Medicaid reimbursements. It is my goal to ensure that all eligible Medicaid patients retain their primary care.
Would your administration encourage or seek to impede federal immigration agents operating in Colorado, and do you agree with state laws that restrict that cooperation?
Public safety is a top priority and under my administration I will not allow public safety to be a partisan issue. Colorado families want to feel safe in their communities and want criminals to be apprehended and detained. Violent offenders and those who commit crimes will be held accountable regardless of the citizenship or immigration status. I will work to ensure that all Colorado residents, state and federal employees respect and follow the state and federal laws. We must enforce the law and respect human dignity, there is no reason why we can’t do both. I will uphold the Colorado Constitution and make Colorado a safe state for everyone throughout the 64 counties.
As governor, would you agree to mandatory Colorado River usage cuts in the state in exchange for a seven-state deal safeguarding its future? And what specific actions would you take to better insulate Colorado’s water supplies from drought?
For decades, Colorado water users have willingly been using less water than what the Colorado River Compact of 1922 allows. California, Nevada and Arizona will need to enhance all conservations efforts and must start planning to provide their own water by building desalination facilities before I agree to even entertaining any mandatory Colorado River usage in the state. As Governor, I will lead the difficult conversation of allocating funding to water infrastructure projects identified in the Colorado Water Plan to ensure that we are better insulated from future droughts.
How would you steer the future of transportation in Colorado, while balancing the push for more mass-transit options with the fact that most Coloradans still rely on their personal cars to get around?
“Freedom of mobility” is what Coloradans believe in, and history has shown that they are not enthusiastic about having mass-transit options. A prime example is RTD Light Rail and RTD bus service are not able to financially sustain themselves due to low ridership and those mass-transit options have become unsafe. I see the future of transportation being addressed by promoting job growth outside the urban corridor. It is time that the Office of Economic Development and International Trade office to steer economic development projects to other parts of the state and away from Denver. For those individuals that are not interested in owning a car, mass transit communities work well but for most people that is not the case.
