(L) Photo via: philforcolorado.com / (R) Photo via: victor2026.com

OAN Staff Sophia Flores 
6:33 AM – Friday, July 10, 2026

In the race to succeed outgoing two-term Democrat Governor Jared Polis, Victor Marx secured the Republican nomination while Phil Weiser won the Democrat primary, locking in the matchup for November’s general election.

According to the Associated Press, with 99% of the vote counted as of Thursday, Marx won the Republican primary with 39.9% of the vote. He defeated his fellow Republican competitors, State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer, who garnered 39.4%, and State Representative Scott Bottoms, who pulled in 20.8%.

With 99% of the vote counted on the Democrat side, Weiser won the primary with 56.9% of the vote. He defeated Michael Bennet, who received 43.1% of the votes.

According to his website, Marx focused his campaign on government accountability and transparency, housing affordability, job creation, tax relief, and public safety. His highest backing comes from Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.). Additionally, he has been endorsed by musician Ted Nugent and the late conservative figure Charlie Kirk.

 

Kirk and Marx were close friends, with Kirk writing the foreword in Marx’s 2024 memoir, Dangerous Gentleman.

“Victor Marx is just amazing,” Kirk stated in Marx’s campaign launch video. “One of the most powerful ministries, and someone who loves the Lord. I’ll tell you what, in a world where it’s hard to find strong men, Victor Marx is one of them.”

Kirkmeyer, who refers to herself as “Colorado’s conservative powerhouse,” ran her campaign on restoring affordability, cutting regulations and government size, housing and water infrastructure, education reform, and public safety.

 

State Representative Bottoms, who ran on the campaign slogan “Reclaim Colorado,” focused on protecting children in the Centennial State. Additionally, his platform focused on dramatically shrinking government, economic relief and deregulation, energy innovation, artificial intelligence, and cultural and social issues.

Weiser, the Democrat nominee, is the current Colorado Attorney General. He has served in the position since 2019. During his gubernatorial run, his core “Opportunity Agenda” focused on aggressively tackling cost-of-living crises by capping corporate price gouging, targeting algorithmic rent-fixing and creating financial incentives to build entry-level starter homes.

Like his competitor, he holds a deeply negative view of President Donald Trump, having sued his first administration dozens of times. He has also spoken out against him while on the campaign trail.

 

Bennet has served in the U.S. Senate since 2009. He ran his campaign on the idea of “standing up to Trump.” Additionally, his platform placed a heavy emphasis on aggressive climate and health policies, including a sweeping “cap-and-invest” program to charge major corporate polluters for their emissions, alongside a push for a statewide public health insurance option to lower medical costs.

On education, Bennet pledged to secure high-wage career training pathways while also advocating for a mandatory statewide ban on cellphones and social media use inside school classrooms.

While Bennet was initially viewed as the favorite when he entered the race over a year ago, a late surge of support for Weiser helped make the race much more competitive.

 

The Democrat race initially seemed neck-and-neck but was called shortly after the polls closed last Tuesday. The Republican race, first expected to be a landslide victory for Marx, took nine days to be called in his favor, with him beating Kirkmeyer by less than a percentage point.

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