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Republican

Barbara Kirkmeyer

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Republican

Barbara Kirkmeyer

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Colorado Republican Governor nominee?

$1.4M

JUL 7, 2026

Primary Election

Party selects its nominee.

Overview

Current roleFormer Commissioner

PartyRepublican

Political ideologyConservative Republican

Age67 years old (Sep 15, 1958)

GenderFemale

LocationColorado

BackgroundPolitician

EducationUniversity of Colorado Boulder — B.S. (1980)

Notable personal detailsBarbara Jean Kirkmeyer is a Republican member of the Colorado Senate representing Senate District 23, having assumed office on 2021-01-13. She previously served as a Weld County Commissioner for multiple terms and also served as acting executive director of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs in Gov. Bill Owens’ administration. Kirkmeyer is a University of Colorado Boulder graduate and has worked as a small business owner and dairy farmer.

SourcesShow

leg.colorado.gov coloradosenaterepublicans.com kirkmeyerforcolorado.com fec.gov en.wikipedia.org larimer.gov thatsbarbara.com dccc.org cpr.org ivoterguide.com fostergraham.com ballotready.org hermes.cde.state.co.us spl.cde.state.co.us arxiv.org weldcoco.suiteonemedia.com coloradonewsline.com coloradosun.com coloradotimesrecorder.com axios.com coloradopols.com weld.gov coloradopolitics.com denvergazette.com denverpost.com newsfromthestates.com westword.com latimes.com cbsnews.com washingtonexaminer.com cryptobriefing.com nymag.com gazette.com justfacts.votesmart.org docquery.fec.gov votesmart.org govinfo.gov static.votesmart.org senate.gov ncsl.org congress.gov nga.org boebert.house.gov

Positions

LiberalConservative

Economy & Taxes

Supports cutting property taxes and protecting the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), opposes raising taxes, and favors balancing budgets through spending or program changes rather than new or higher taxes. Has sponsored and championed state-level property tax reduction legislation and argued against tax increases in special sessions.

Healthcare

Supports converting Medicaid to a block grant and reducing federal entitlement spending; has advocated looking at entitlement programs (including Medicaid) for cuts or transformation and emphasized market-oriented/fiscal restraint approaches to healthcare funding. Has opposed certain state proposals that would expand or reclassify health-provider fees aimed at increasing funding through enterprise mechanisms.

Immigration & Border

Supports strengthening border security and enforcement (including building the wall) while backing reforms to legal immigration pathways for agriculture workers and a pathway/process review for DACA recipients; frames the issue around stopping drugs like fentanyl and securing legal entry. Emphasizes securing the southern border as the first step before broader immigration reform.

Abortion & Reproductive Rights

Supports significant restrictions on abortion while allowing at least an exception when a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother. Previously expressed opposition to exceptions and supported personhood-related measures but has described her position as allowing a life-of-the-mother exception.

Climate & Energy

Supports Colorado oil and gas development and American energy independence, favors a “best-of-the-above” energy approach that uses cost-effective and ready-to-go sources, and opposes policies she characterizes as efforts to “destroy” the oil-and-gas economic engine; she has questioned the extent of human contribution to recent warming.

Public Safety & Guns

Barbara (Barb) Kirkmeyer has promoted Second Amendment protections and led her county to adopt a Second Amendment sanctuary resolution that opposed Colorado’s red-flag legislation. Her campaign messaging emphasizes defending gun rights and opposing “gun-grabbing” measures; she has portrayed expanded gun restrictions (background checks, red-flag enforcement) as unconstitutional or unwarranted.

News

AINews Summary

Last updatedJul 15, 2026

Barbara Kirkmeyer ran for the Colorado Republican gubernatorial nomination, campaigning on affordability, rural communities, infrastructure, water policy, energy, and public safety. In the primary, she was in a close race with Victor Marx, who first held a narrow lead and was later projected to win and then declared the winner. Kirkmeyer also took part in a GOP debate ahead of the primary and reported raising about $510,000 for her campaign.

leg.colorado.gov+42

Articles

TDThe Denver Post19 days ago