Colorado's 2026 Governor's Race Takes Shape as Field Forms to Replace Term-Limited Polis

Colorado will hold an election in November 2026 to select a new governor, as current Democratic Gov. Jared Polis is term-limited after serving eight years in office. Democrats hold wide margins of control in both chambers of the state legislature, falling just short of a supermajority, meaning the next governor will likely work alongside a Democratic-controlled legislature regardless of the election's outcome. State lawmakers addressed a $1.5 billion budget shortfall during the current legislative session, and budget challenges are expected to persist into the next governor's term. Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer of Weld County announced her candidacy for governor in September 2025, becoming part of the field seeking to succeed Polis. Kirkmeyer serves on the Legislature's Joint Budget Committee and criticized a recent special legislative session, characterizing it as focused on raising taxes rather than resolving budget issues. She pledged to defend Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, which limits state tax revenue collection, and was joined at her campaign launch by several fellow Republican state legislators. The full field of candidates for the 2026 governor's race, including potential Democratic contenders, was not detailed in available reporting. It remains unresolved which other candidates, from either party, have entered or will enter the race, and how the budget shortfall and special session dynamics will factor into the broader campaign. The specific details and outcomes of the special legislative session Kirkmeyer criticized were not independently corroborated across both reports.