State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer has officially taken her run for Colorado governor from talking point to paperwork. The Brighton Republican walked into the Colorado Secretary of State's office in Denver on Tuesday and turned in her nominating petitions, a required step to land on the 2026 Republican primary ballot.
Video from the elections office shows Kirkmeyer arriving in Denver and handing over the petition packets, according to CBS News Colorado. With that drop-off, the clock is now ticking as filing deadlines approach and election officials gear up to verify whether campaigns gathered enough valid signatures.
Campaign background
Kirkmeyer announced her bid for governor last September and has been emphasizing her years at the Capitol as a Brighton lawmaker, including her experience on the Joint Budget Committee, a credential she has leaned on to argue she is prepared to govern, as reported by The Colorado Sun. Before her current stint in the legislature, she served on the Weld County commission and mounted a congressional run in 2022, a political résumé that has helped her find footing in Republican circles.
Petitions, deadlines and the numbers
To qualify for the ballot by petition, statewide campaigns typically collect thousands of signatures and often aim well above the legal minimum to leave room for any that get tossed during review. Colorado Politics reports that statewide contenders frequently submit around 1,500 valid signatures in each congressional district to give themselves that cushion over the statutory threshold. The deadline to turn petitions in to the secretary of state's office is March 18, leaving a tight window for officials to check signatures and certify who makes the cut.
Where the race stands
Kirkmeyer’s filing adds her name to a growing list of Republican hopefuls eyeing the governor’s mansion, while Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Attorney General Phil Weiser, are already taking shape on the other side of the ballot, according to The Colorado Sun. As petitions across the field are validated or challenged in the coming days, the 2026 primary lineup will solidify and campaigns will shift more of their energy into voter outreach and fundraising.
What comes next
Once petitions land at the Secretary of State's office, staff and county clerks review the signatures, determine whether the submission meets the legal standard, and then issue a certificate of sufficiency, while also managing any challenges or cures that arise, according to guidance from the Colorado Secretary of State. Campaigns that fall short on valid signatures can attempt to amend and cure their petition sheets or turn to the party assembly route instead to try to secure a spot on the primary ballot.
With the March 18 deadline looming, Kirkmeyer and her rivals now wait on final word from election officials before fully shifting into the next phase of the 2026 contest: making their case directly to Republican primary voters across Colorado. The campaign did not immediately provide additional comment beyond the petition turn-in.
