The 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Colorado. Incumbent Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. The primary election was held on June 26.
The major party nominees were Democratic U.S. Representative Jared Polis and Republican State Treasurer Walker Stapleton. The general election took place on November 6, 2018, with Polis winning by 268,000 votes. This was the first Colorado gubernatorial election in which both major party candidates received over one million votes.
Polis's victory marked the fourth straight election in which Colorado elected a Democratic governor, the state's first Jewish governor and the first time in American electoral history that an openly gay politician was elected governor of a state.
The 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Colorado. Incumbent Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. The primary election was held on June 26.
The major party nominees were Democratic U.S. Representative Jared Polis and Republican State Treasurer Walker Stapleton. The general election took place on November 6, 2018, with Polis winning by 268,000 votes. This was the first Colorado gubernatorial election in which both major party candidates received over one million votes.
Polis's victory marked the fourth straight election in which Colorado elected a Democratic governor, the state's first Jewish governor and the first time in American electoral history that an openly gay politician was elected governor of a state.
Democratic primary
With Hickenlooper ineligible to run for a third term in office, multiple Democratic politicians vied for the party's nomination for governor. Prior to his resignation in 2015, former lieutenant governor Joseph Garcia was seen as a probable candidate for governor in 2018.
Candidates
Nominated
Jared Polis, U.S. Representative
Eliminated in the primary
Mike Johnston, former state senator
Cary Kennedy, former Colorado State Treasurer and former CFO and Deputy Mayor of Denver
Donna Lynne, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
Eliminated at the convention
Erik Underwood, former congressional aide, Republican candidate for GA-10 in 2007 and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016
Withdrawn
Noel Ginsburg, businessman
Ed Perlmutter, U.S. Representative (ran for reelection)
Declined
Joseph Garcia, former lieutenant governor
Steve Lebsock, State Representative (was running for State Treasurer before switching to the Republican Party, thus disqualifying him from the Democratic Primary)
Michael Merrifield, State Senator
Joe Neguse, former executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies and nominee for secretary of state in 2014 (ran for CO-02)
Joe Salazar, State Representative (ran for Attorney General)
Ken Salazar, former U.S. senator and former United States Secretary of the Interior
Caucus results
On March 6, 2018, Democrats of precincts across Colorado met and voted how many delegates each candidate who was caucusing on the ballot would get. As of March 11, 2018 at 7:30 p.m., 96.83% of precincts had reported and added up to the below results.
Cary Kennedy (11,700; 49.2%)
Jared Polis (7,784; 32.7%)
Mike Johnston (2,086; 8.8%)
Noel Ginsburg (433; 1.8%), dropped out of race
Erik Underwood (100; 0.4%)
Uncommitted (1,668; 7%)
Endorsements
Jared Polis
Federal officials
Luis Gutiérrez, United States Representative
John Lewis, United States Representative
Betsy Markey, former United States Representative
Barack Obama, former United States President
Pat Schroeder, former United States Representative
State Senators
Polly Baca, former
Steve Fenberg
Tom Glass, former, former Mayor of Crested Butte
Rob Hernandez, former
John Kefalas
Claire Levy, former
Chris Romer, former
Sue Windels, former
State Representatives
Jeni Arndt
Adrienne Benavidez
Jeff Bridges
Ed Casso
Mike Foote
Matt Gray
Leslie Herod
Edie Hooton
Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, former Speaker
Joe Miklosi
Angie Paccione
Cherylin Peniston
Dianne Primavera
Debbie Stafford
Val Vigil, former, also member of Thornton City Council
Roger Wilson
County Commissioners
Jorge Amaya, former, Alamosa County
Hillary Cooper, San Miguel County Commissioner
Thomas Davidson, Summit County
Cindy Domenico, Boulder County
Deb Gardner, Boulder County
Dan Gibbs, Summit County
Eva Henry, Adams County
Elise Jones, Boulder County
Tim Mauck, Clear Creek
Buffie McFadyen, former, Pueblo County
Garrison Ortiz, Pueblo County
Sal Pace, Pueblo County
Karn Stiegelmeier, Summit County
Will Toor, former, Boulder County
Mayors
Christine Berg, Lafayette
Dennis Coombs, former, Longmont
Cecil Gutierrez, Loveland
Suzanne Jones, Boulder
Bob Muckle, Louisville
Sean Murphy, Telluride
Susan Osborne, former, Boulder
Gustavo Reynar, pro tem, Lafayette
Tiffany A. Snyder, former, Ward
Dr. John Warner, former, Breckenridge
Jacque Whitsitt, Basalt
City Councilors
Yolanda Avila, Colorado Springs
Rich Ball, Loveland
Aaron Brockett, Boulder
Dean Brookie, Durango
Ed Brown, Pueblo
Maria De Cambra, Westminster
Mack Goodman, Thornton
Leah Johnson, Loveland
Kevin Kreeger, Broomfield
Paul Lopez, Denver
Ramona Martinez, former, Denver
Lisa Morzel, Boulder
Francoise Poinsatte, former, Boulder
Andy Schultheiss, former, Boulder
Andrew Shoemaker, Boulder
Richard Skorman, Colorado Springs
Kristin Stephen, Fort Collins
Sam Weaver, Boulder
Others
Anthony Aragon, LGBTQ leader
Beverly Breakstone, Summit County Assessor
Jeff Chostner, Pueblo County District Attorney, former County Commissioner, former State Representative
Nancy Cronk, Director of the Cunningham Fire Protection District's Board of Directors
Stan Garnnet, Boulder County District Attorney
Bob Hullinghorst, former Boulder County Treasurer
Dave Levy, Thompson School Board member
Denise Montague, Thompson School Board member
Rick Palacio, former Colorado Democratic Party Chairman
Beverly Benavidez Ryken, former Vice Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party
Angelika Schroeder, Chairwoman of the State Board of Education
Jeri Shepherd, DNC member
John Tayer, former RTD Board member
Nancy Tellez, former Poudre School Board member
Organizations
Colorado Professional Firefighters (CPFF)
Humane Society
IBEW Colorado – International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
National Cannabis Industry Association
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
Pipefitters Local 208
Sierra Club
Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters
Victory Fund
Mike Johnston
Federal officials
Gary Hart, former U.S. Senator for Colorado
State officials
Irene Aguilar, State Senator
Terrance Carroll, former Speaker of the House of Representatives
James Coleman, State Representative
Kerry Donovan, State Senator
Rhonda Fields, State Senator
Joyce Foster, former State Senator
Angela Giron, former State Senator
Millie Hamner, State Representative
Richard Lamm, former Governor
John Morse, former State Senate President
Christine Scanlan, former State Representative
Wilma Webb, former State Representative
Local officials
Gabrielle Aragon, former San Luis Council member
Albus Brooks, Denver City Council President
Lisa Flores, Denver Public School Board of Education member
Tracy Johnson, Academy District 20 Board of Education member
Jeanne McQueeney, Eagle County Commissioner
Theresa Peña, formerDenver Public Schools Board of Education member
Christina Rinderle, former Durango Mayor
Wellington Webb, former Mayor of Denver
Organizations
Students for Education Reform
Newspapers
The Daily Sentinel
Individuals
Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook
Cary Kennedy
Federal officials
Ken Salazar, former U.S. Senator and United States Secretary of the Interior
State officials
Bernie Buescher, former Secretary of State of Colorado
Mike Callihan, former Lieutenant Governor
Gail Schoettler, former Lieutenant Governor and former State Treasurer
State legislators
Betty Boyd, former state senator
Joan Fitz-Gerald, former President of the Colorado Senate
Evie Hudak, former state senator
Daniel Kagan, State Senator
Chris Kennedy, State Representative
Pete Lee, State Representative
Susan Lontine, State Representative
Alice Madden, former Majority Leader of the Colorado House of Representatives
Rosemary Marshall, former State Representative
Michael Merrifield, State Senator
Jeanne Nicholson, former State Senator
Pat Pascoe, former State Senator
Tom Plant, former State Representative and former Director of the Governor’s Energy Office
Peggy Reeves, former State Senator
Joe Rice, former State Representative and former Mayor of Glendale
Chris Romer, former State Senator
Dorothy Rupert, former State Senator
Brandon Shaffer, former President of the Colorado Senate
Gloria Tanner, former State Senator
Suzanne Williams, former State Senator
Dave Young, State Representative
Local officials
Doug Linkhart, Denver City Councilman and former State Senator
Beth McCann, Denver District Attorney and former State Representative
Labor unions
American Federation of Teachers-Colorado
Colorado Education Association
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 455
United Association Local 58, Plumbers & Pipefitters
United Steelworkers District 12
Organizations
EMILY's List
Donna Lynne
State legislators
Janet Buckner, State Representative
Jean Dubofsky, former state Supreme Court Justice
Joann Ginal, State Representative
Lucía Guzmán, State Senator
Local officials
Leanna Clark, vice chancellor for the University of Colorado Denver
Kathy Maloney Green, Gov. John Hickenlooper’s former spokeswoman
Jacque Montgomery, Gov. John Hickenlooper’s spokeswoman
Marguerite Salazar, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies executive director
Steve Barlock, former Trump campaigner, Colorado Republican National Alternate Delegate and Elector
Cynthia Coffman, Colorado Attorney General
Barry Farah, businessman
Lew Gaiter, Larimer County Commissioner
Withdrawn
George Brauchler, District Attorney for Colorado's 18th Judicial District (ran for attorney general)
Jim Rundberg, businessman
JoAnne Silva, retired banker
Tom Tancredo, former U.S. Representative, candidate for governor in 2014, Constitution Party nominee for governor in 2010, and candidate for President of the United States in 2008
Declined
John Elway, general manager of the Denver Broncos and retired NFL player
Owen Hill, state senator and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 (ran for CO-05)
Steve House, Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party and candidate for governor in 2014
Kent Thiry, chairman and CEO of DaVita Inc.
Brian Watson, businessman and candidate for the State House in 2012 (ran for State Treasurer)
Caucus results
Based on information shared by some key counties, as well as a recent survey, the following are believed to be results of the Republican Caucus from key counties.
Pueblo County
Steve Barlock – 3.14%
Cynthia Coffman – 7.55%
Greg Lopez – 16.35%
Victor Mitchell – 23.90%
Doug Robinson – 3.15%
Walker Stapleton – 45.91%
Douglas County
Steve Barlock – 32.5%
Cynthia Coffman – 4.6%
Lew Gaiter III – 2.2%
Greg Lopez – 18.8%
Victor Mitchell – 7.7%
Doug Robinson – 2.2%
Walker Stapleton – 23.2%
Tom Tancredo (dropped out of the race) – 1.6%
Uncommitted – 7.2%
Endorsements
George Brauchler (withdrawn)
Individuals
Ted Nugent, musician and gun rights activist
Tom Tancredo (withdrawn)
Political Commentators
Michelle Malkin, conservative commentator
Third party and independent candidates
Candidates
Declared
Paul Noel Fiorino (Independent), perennial candidate
Marcus Giavanni (Independent), radio host
Bill Hammons (Unity Party of America), insurance agent, chairman and founder of the Unity Party of America, and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 and 2016
Scott Helker (Libertarian)
General election
Endorsements
Jared Polis (D)
Organizations
Colorado Professional Firefighters (CPFF)
Humane Society
IBEW Colorado, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
National Cannabis Industry Association
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
Pipefitters Local 208
Sierra Club
Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters
Victory Fund
Federal officials
Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator (D-CO)
Diana DeGette, U.S. Representative (CO-1)
John Lewis, U.S. Representative (GA-5)
Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
Ed Perlmutter, U.S. Representative (CO-7)
Ken Salazar, former United States Secretary of the Interior and U.S. Senator (D-CO)
Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator (I-VT)
Pat Schroeder, former U.S. Representative (CO-1)
State officials
John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado
Donna Lynne, Lieutenant Governor of Colorado and former candidate
State Senators
Polly Baca, former
Steve Fenberg
Tom Glass, former, former Mayor of Crested Butte
Rob Hernandez, former
Mike Johnston, former
John Kefalas
Claire Levy, former
Chris Romer, former
Sue Windels, former
State Representatives
Jeni Ardnt
Adrienne Benavidez
Jeff Bridges
Ed Casso
Crisanta Duran, speaker
Mike Foote
Alec Garnett
Matt Gray
Leslie Herod
Edie Hooton
Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, former Speaker
Joe Miklosi
Angie Paccione
Cherylin Peniston
Dianne Primavera
Jonathan Singer
Debbie Stafford
Val Vigil, former, also member of Thornton City Council