Former U.S. Rep. Greg Lopez introduced his 2026 gubernatorial bid Monday morning, kicking off the third try by the Republican to mount a marketing campaign for the governor’s mansion.
In a video announcement, Lopez spoke about placing “folks over politics” whereas hitting on Republican red-meat points like “authorities overreach,” chopping taxes and rules, and referencing conservative issues about public schooling.
“Folks over politics means chopping by the federal government purple tape, making life extra reasonably priced and placing households first,” he stated within the video. “This motion is about listening, not dividing.”
Lopez is the highest-profile Republican to hitch the 2026 gubernatorial area in search of to succeed term-limited Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat who has served since 2019. Lopez is ready to compete within the GOP main subsequent yr in opposition to at the least two state lawmakers, Rep. Scott Bottoms and Sen. Mark Baisley, in addition to Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell.
Final week, Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet unveiled his long-anticipated marketing campaign for governor, catapulting himself to the entrance of small Democratic area beforehand dominated by Legal professional Common Phil Weiser.
In June, Lopez gained a particular election to symbolize the Jap Plains’ 4th Congressional District for roughly six months after former U.S. Rep. Ken Buck stepped down early. Lopez didn’t pursue a full time period, and the seat was later gained by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who switched from the third Congressional District.
Lopez’s stint in Congress was the second shortest of any Coloradan, behind William E. Burney’s two-month stretch within the early Nineteen Forties. Lopez beforehand informed The Denver Submit that it was an “honor and a pleasure” to have labored in Congress, even when he felt like an change pupil.
Earlier, Lopez served because the mayor of Parker. He ran for governor in 2018 and 2022, dropping within the main race every time. In 2016, he briefly ran for a U.S. Senate seat. A former director for the Small Enterprise Administration, Lopez reached a settlement with the Trump administration’s Division of Justice in 2020 to resolve allegations that he’d violated conflict-of-interest insurance policies.
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