2 weeks Ago By Ernest Luning [email protected]
Former U.S. Rep.
Greg Lopez kicked off his third run for Colorado governor Monday, saying he intends to put "people over politics" in a bid to fix a state he described as broken. The 60-year-old Lopez, who served six months in the U.S.
House of Representatives last year after winning a special vacancy election, said in a statement that his focus is on Colorado's future. “Congress is gridlocked. We all see it.
But what’s happening in Colorado? That’s personal,” Lopez said. “Our families can’t afford groceries. Our kids are falling behind.
Small businesses are getting crushed. And crime is pouring into our neighborhoods. It’s time for common sense, not political theater.
” Lopez is one of nearly a dozen Republicans running to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Jared Polis after next year's election. His launch comes on the heels of U.
S. Sen. Michael Bennet joining Attorney General Phil Weiser in the Democratic gubernatorial primary .
In a campaign video , Lopez suggested that the Polis administration and Democratic-controlled General Assembly is to blame for many of the state's woes. "Government overreach is making life harder, and it feels like we're losing the Colorado we love," Lopez said. "But we don't have to accept this.
" He added: "We've been told we must pick sides, that we're too different to work together, but I don't believe that or a second. We don't need more political games; we need real leadership." Greg Lopez For Governor video People Over Politics The son of Mexican immigrants, Lopez served as mayor of Parker in the early 1990s and as state director of the U.
S. Small Business Administration from 2008 to 2014. He was elected last summer to fill the remainder of fellow Republican Ken Buck's term in the heavily GOP 4th Congressional District after Buck resigned from Congress.
Lopez ran as a "placeholder" candidate for the seat now held by Republican U.S. Rep.
Lauren Boebert, who moved into the district at the beginning of last year and won election to a full term in November. Lopez ran for governor in 2018 and 2022 but lost in the GOP primaries both times. During his previous gubernatorial runs, Lopez struck a more partisan note, declaring his unabashed opposition to abortion and support for the Second Amendment.
In a campaign video, he asked voters if they wanted Colorado "to continue to become the ugly twin sister of California," noting that both states were "controlled by the Democratic Party." This time around, Lopez revives the comparison with California but frames it on less confrontational terms. “We’ve got to stop copying California.
We’re Colorado. We solve problems. We take care of each other.
We think for ourselves. That’s who we are — and that’s who we need to be again," Lopez said, adding, "I’m not running for governor to make a name for myself. I’m running to fix what’s broken and bring people together.
Not as a Republican governor. But a Colorado governor.” Other Republicans who have filed paperwork to run for governor in 2026 include state Sen.
Mark Baisley, R-Woodland Park; state Rep. Scott Bottoms, R-Colorado Springs; Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell; and former congressional candidate Joshua Griffin. State Sen.
Barb Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, a former congressional nominee, is also considering running..
