DENVER – Colorado voters will choose would-be successors to Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is limited after two terms, in the June 26 primary election. It’s the first primary in which unaffiliated voters, the state’s largest voting bloc, can participate in one or the other of the major party primaries.
Here’s a look at the top race. Colorado hasn’t elected a Republican governor since Bill Owens, who served from 1999 to 2007.
Former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy has mounted a grassroots campaign touting credentials on education that lifted her to victories in the March caucuses and the state party assembly in April.
Rivals Mike Johnston, a former state senator, and U.S. Rep. Jared Polis accused Kennedy of reneging on a clean-campaign pledge after a pro-Kennedy PAC ran an ad smearing their records on K-12 schools and higher education.
Kennedy garnered the support of the powerful Colorado Education Association teachers’ union and has trumpeted her role in writing a constitutional amendment that was designed to increase public schools funding yearly.
Johnston, a former school principal and state senator, challenged Kennedy to disavow the ad in a recent debate. She declined to do so. With repeated mass shootings, he’s also holding citizen forums to discuss gun policy – including “red flag” laws intended to temporarily remove weapons from those deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Polis is a five-term congressman, former state board of education member and self-made millionaire and philanthropist whose platform emphasizes publicly-funded preschool and kindergarten, forgiveness of college debt, single-payer health care and renewable energy. He, too, attacked Kennedy for the ad and cites his own education credentials, which include founding New America Schools in Colorado and New Mexico for immigrant young adults.
Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne casts herself as a nonpartisan manager and problem-solver, citing her extensive leadership experience in health care and as Hickenlooper’s “chief operating officer.”
Lynne has focused on another major issue for Democrats: Protecting President Barack Obama’s health care law while seeking ways to lower health care costs and expand coverage.
State Treasurer Walker Stapleton heads a field that collectively vows to defend any Democratic attempt to tamper with Colorado’s constitutional Taxpayers Bill of Rights, which leaves it to voters to approve tax hikes. All vow to fight any Democratic move toward a single-payer health system.
Despite prodigious fundraising, Stapleton stumbled his way into the primary after citing possible fraud by a contractor who gathered petitions on his behalf.
He has recently aligned himself with President Donald Trump on immigration and other issues but faces rivals’ questions over his participation in a bid by lawmakers to rescue Colorado’s state employee pension plan.
Doug Robinson is a first-time candidate who casts himself as a pragmatic conservative and, like his competitors, vows to protect gun rights. He stops short of calling for radical changes to Medicaid expansion or the Obama health care law.
Businessman Victor Mitchell, a former state representative, invested significantly in his own campaign and stresses his financial background.
Mitchell’s ads have emphasized he’ll stop Colorado from becoming another California, stressing the state’s rapid population growth and congested roads.
Greg Lopez is a former Parker mayor who served as area director of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Lopez made the primary by challenging Republicans to embrace and enroll Hispanic voters. He shares the Trump administration’s antipathy toward so-called “sanctuary cities.”
State voters in 2016 approved changes that allow Colorado’s unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in either the Democratic or Republican primary without affiliating.
The state’s 1.2 million active unaffiliated voters represent Colorado’s biggest voting bloc, and could previously vote in primaries only by registering with a party.
The state’s two major parties have about 1 million active voters each.
This year, most unaffiliated voters will receive two primary ballots – one for Democrats, one for Republicans. They can choose one; returning both will cancel their vote.
The impact is uncertain, and Colorado’s primaries in 2014, the last non-presidential election year, didn’t feature gubernatorial contests. Primary turnout that year was nearly 22 percent of active voters.
DENVER – U.S. Rep. Jared Polis of Boulder is running as a Democrat for Colorado governor in the 2018 primary election. Here are some biographical details:
NAME: Jared Polis.
AGE: 43 (Born May 12, 1975).
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, Princeton University.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: U.S. representative, 2009-present. Colorado State Board of Education member, 2001-2006.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Entrepreneur. Founder, ProFlowers. Co-founder, American Information Systems and Techstars.
FAMILY: Polis has two children with his partner, Marlon.
SOCIAL MEDIA: On Twitter, @PolisforCO, Facebook.com/PolisForColorado and Instagram.com/jaredpolis. Website: http://www.polisforcolorado.com/
DENVER – Mike Johnston of Denver is running as a Democrat for Colorado governor in the 2018 primary election. Here are some biographical details:
NAME: Mike Johnston.
AGE: 43 (Born Nov. 17, 1974).
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, Yale University; master’s, education, Harvard University; J.D., Yale University Law School.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: State senator, 2009-2016. Education adviser to Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Former high school principal, Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts. Former school teacher, Teach for America, Mississippi.
FAMILY: Married to wife Courtney. They have three children.
SOCIAL MEDIA: On Twitter, @MikeJohnstonCO, Facebook.com/MikeJohnstonCO and Instagram.com/mikejohnstonco. Website: http://www.mikejohnstonforcolorado.com/
DENVER – Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne of Denver is running as a Democrat for Colorado governor in the 2018 primary election. Here are some biographical details:
NAME: Donna Lynne.
AGE: 64 (Born Oct. 27, 1953).
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, University of New Hampshire; master’s, public administration, George Washington University; doctorate, public health, Columbia University.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Colorado lieutenant governor and chief operating officer, 2016-present.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Former group president, Kaiser Permanente. Former executive vice president, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan. Former chair, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. Various administrative positions, New York City government.
FAMILY: Married to husband Jim Brown. Lynne has three children and two stepchildren.
SOCIAL MEDIA: On Twitter, @DonnaLynneCO, Facebook.com/LynneforColorado and Instagram.com/lynneforcolorado. Website: http://www.lynneforcolorado.com/
DENVER – Cary Kennedy of Denver is running as a Democrat for Colorado governor in the 2018 primary election. Here are some biographical details:
NAME: Cary Kennedy.
AGE: 49 (Born June 20, 1968).
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, St. Lawrence University; master’s, public administration, Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs; J.D., University of Denver, Sturm College of Law.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: State treasurer, 2007-2010.
PROFESSIONAL: Chief financial officer/deputy mayor, city of Denver. Budget analyst, Gov. Bill Romer’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting. Fiscal analyst, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.
MILITARY: None.
FAMILY: Married to husband Saurabh Mangalik. They have two children.
SOCIAL MEDIA: On Twitter, @CaryKennedy, Facebook.com/carykennedyforgovernor and Instagram.com/carykennedy4gov. Website: http://www.carykennedyforgovernor.com/
DENVER – Greg Lopez of Elizabeth is running as a Republican for Colorado governor in the 2018 primary election. Here are some biographical details:
NAME: Greg Lopez.
AGE: 53 (Born June 7, 1964).
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, New Mexico State University.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Parker mayor, 1992-1996.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Restaurateur; president, GNL Concepts, business/management consulting firm; director, ACE Scholarship Foundation; president/CEO, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver; director, U.S. Small Business Administration, Colorado district (2008-2014).
MILITARY: U.S. Air Force, 1983-1987.
FAMILY: Married to wife Lisa. They have two children.
SOCIAL MEDIA: On Twitter, @Lopez4Governor, Facebook.com/GregLopezForGovernor and Instagram.com/lopezforgovernor. Website: http://www.greglopez4governor.com
DENVER – Walker Stapleton of Denver is running as a Republican for Colorado governor in the 2018 primary election. Here are some biographical details:
NAME: Walker Stapleton.
AGE: 44 (Born April 15, 1974).
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, Williams College; M.A., business economics, London School of Economics; MBA, Harvard Business School.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Colorado state treasurer, 2011-present.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Former chairman/CEO, Sonoma West Holdings, Inc., commercial real estate; real estate investor.
FAMILY: Married to wife Jenna. They have three children.
SOCIAL MEDIA: On Twitter, @WalkerStapleton, and Facebook.com/Walker.R.Stapleton. Website: http://www.stapletonforcolorado.com
DENVER – Doug Robinson of Englewood is running as a Republican for Colorado governor in the 2018 primary election. Here are some biographical details:
NAME: Doug Robinson.
AGE: 56 (Born Oct. 29, 1961).
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, Brigham Young University; MBA, Columbia University.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Co-founder with wife Diane, Smart Colorado, which aims to protect children from marijuana harms.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Investment banker, KMPG; founder, St. Charles Capital, corporate financial consultancy.
FAMILY: Married to wife Diane. They have five children.
SOCIAL MEDIA: On Twitter, @DougRobinsonCO, Facebook.com/DougforCO and Instagram.com/DougRobinsonCO. Website: http://dougforcolorado.com
DENVER – Victor Mitchell of Castle Rock is running as a Republican for Colorado governor in the 2018 primary election. Here are some biographical details:
NAME: Victor Mitchell.
AGE: 52 (Born Dec. 12, 1965).
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, San Diego State University; master’s, public administration, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government.
POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: State representative, 2007-2009.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: CEO, Lead Funding, real estate lender; adjunct professor, Colorado State University College of Business; founder/chair/CEO, several wireless, data provider and real estate firms.
FAMILY: Married to wife Amy. They have three children.
SOCIAL MEDIA: On Twitter, @Vic4Gov, Facebook.com/Vic4Gov and Instagram.com/vic4gov. Website: http://www.vicforgov.com
