When Colorado voters cast their ballots in November, one of the races at the very top of those ballots will be for the office of governor—the state’s top elected official.
Colorado’s governor signs or vetoes state laws, proposes the state budget, and oversees state agencies. Jared Polis is term-limited after serving two terms. The Democratic nominee is Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Republican nominee is Colorado Springs ministry leader Victor Marx, and former GOP Rep. Greg Lopez is running as an unaffiliated candidate. Here’s where the top two candidates stand, in their own words, checked against what they’ve actually done.
Phil Weiser (Democrat)
Weiser, 58, is finishing his second term as attorney general— his first elected office—after years as University of Colorado law school dean and federal prosecutor at the Justice Department. His platform, the 109-page “Colorado Blueprint,” centers on affordability.
- Housing: Wants 40,000 new “attainable” homes and faster permitting, plus down-payment help for teachers and nurses,
- Medicaid (government health insurance for lower-income Coloradans): Want to talk to people who rely on Medicaid before considering any cuts as spending rises.
- TABOR (a 1992 rule requiring voters to approve most state tax increases and capping how much revenue the state can keep): He won’t touch that voter approval requirement, but wants to ask voters to loosen other parts of it so the state can spend more on childcare and education.
- Guns: As attorney general, he says he “fought for and defended common sense gun safety laws like waiting periods, ghost gun bans, red flag laws, and safe storage requirements,” and pledges to “sign any responsible gun safety bill that will save lives” as governor.
- Energy: Wants to hit Colorado’s existing clean-energy targets through more solar, wind, geothermal and battery storage, and says he isn’t opposed to a “cap-and-invest” program that would charge polluters and use the money for clean energy — though he says he needs more detail on cost before committing to one.
- Trump/federal government: As AG, he’s sued the Trump administration over 65 times over things like immigration, funding cuts, and healthcare. Courts have fully or partially blocked the administration in 36 of those cases so far, left the policy standing in eight of them, and are still deciding 21, as per a Colorado Sun tracker last updated May 20.
- Immigration: Weiser says the country needs “a secure border” and “pathways to citizenship for dreamers,” while calling Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) tactics “often lawless” and “cruel”. His platform commits to keep enforcing the state law that limits how much Colorado police can help federal immigration agents, and to bar state buildings from being used as ICE detention sites.
Worth noting: Weiser has ruled out letting cities try rent control as an approach to lowering the cost of rent, even though as attorney general he sued landlords over “deceptive” rent-pricing software.
Victor Marx (Republican)
Marx, 61, is a Marine veteran and founder of the Christian ministry All Things Possible, running for office for the first time. He narrowly won a three-way GOP primary over state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer (R, Larimer/Weld County), beating her by fewer than 2,500 votes.
- Housing: Wants to freeze new regulations and cap property taxes, and says his approach would let 150,000 new homes get built by fast-tracking permits — giving agencies a 90-day limit to review applications, with automatic approval if that clock runs out.
- Medicaid: Wants to cut Medicaid spending, focused on “reducing waste or fraud,” and says his first move would be a full financial audit of every state agency, each ordered to cut 10% of spending immediately.
- TABOR: Committed to protecting it exactly as it is.
- Guns: Opposes Colorado’s recent gun laws—including the ban on high-capacity magazines and the “red flag” law that lets police or family members ask a judge to temporarily take guns away from someone deemed dangerous—and wants to write gun rights directly into the state constitution so they’re harder to change.
- Energy: Blames what he calls “electric-only ideology”—state policies pushing toward electric cars and clean power—for rising costs, and wants more oil and gas development alongside renewables.
- Trump/federal government: Hasn’t detailed his own relationship with the Trump administration, but his running mate, George Markert, has called himself a “proud supporter of President Trump’s America First agenda.”
- Immigration: Wants state and local police to fully cooperate with ICE, including handing over people in custody — something current Colorado law restricts.
Worth noting: Marx has run as an outsider promising accountability, but Colorado’s Secretary of State’s office found in July that his primary campaign accepted 197 illegal donations—$78,613 over the legal limit—from 111 people, and ruled the campaign “failed to substantially comply” with fixing it; a hearing is set for September. That finding came from the state’s own election regulators, not an opponent. His primary rivals haven’t rallied behind him either: State Rep. Scott Bottoms (R, El Paso County) called him a “con man” and declined to endorse him, while state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer (R, Larimer/Weld County) publicly pressed him to “settle this issue” immediately.
Greg Lopez (Unaffiliated)
Lopez, 61, a former Parker mayor who briefly held a US House seat, dropped his GOP registration in January after decades as a Republican, saying “both parties raise money better than they solve problems.” He qualified for the ballot in July with nearly 12,000 petition signatures.
This switch is notable as it is Lopez’s third run for governor, the first two as a Republican, and analysts note his presence could pull conservative votes away from Marx.
Whoever wins inherits real budget pressure: lawmakers closed a $1.5 billion shortfall in this year’s state budget, and budget challenges are expected to continue.
How to vote
Every active registered Colorado voter gets a mail ballot no later than 18 days before Election Day. Register by Oct. 26 to receive your ballot in the mail; same-day registration is available in person through Nov. 3. Ballots must reach your county clerk by 7 p.m. Nov. 3 — regardless of the date it was postmarked.
