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Ongoing story / Colorado

The 2026 Colorado governor race: Phil Weiser vs. Victor Marx

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser won Colorado's 2026 race for governor and will succeed two-term Gov. Jared Polis, defeating Republican ministry founder Victor Marx.[1] Weiser had defeated Sen. Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary, while Marx narrowly defeated state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer for the Republican nomination.[2][3] Former Republican Rep. Greg Lopez also qualified for the November ballot as an unaffiliated candidate.[4]

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Weiser had defeated Sen. Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary, while Marx narrowly defeated state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer for the Republican nomination.[2][3] Former Republican Rep. Greg Lopez also qualified for the November ballot as an unaffiliated candidate.[4]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-06-29 (UTC): 3%, 15 of 569 tracked outlets (2 left, 10 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-07-06 (UTC): 7%, 38 of 560 tracked outlets (5 left, 22 center, 11 right)Week of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): 1%, 4 of 562 tracked outlets (1 left, 1 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-07-27 (UTC): 2%, 10 of 561 tracked outlets (1 left, 7 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): 1%, 7 of 479 tracked outlets (1 left, 6 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 1%, 6 of 471 tracked outlets (2 left, 2 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 2 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (6 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 2, 20262226 of 4711%
Oct 5, 20261607 of 4791%
Jul 27, 202617210 of 5612%
Jul 20, 20261124 of 5621%
Jul 6, 20265221138 of 5607%
Jun 29, 2026210315 of 5693%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 3, 2026 · first reported · Headline from The Hill

    Weiser wins Colorado governor race, succeeding Polis

Background

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser won the June 30 Democratic primary for governor over three-term U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. The campaign focused in part on which candidate was better at challenging President Donald Trump.[2] In July, Weiser chose Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper as his running mate.[5]

The Republican primary took more than a week to resolve. Early returns showed state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer narrowly ahead of nonprofit leader Victor Marx,[6] but reports on July 9 projected Marx as the winner. Reporting on his nomination also described skepticism about claims he had made about his past.[3]

Greg Lopez qualified for the general election ballot in July as an unaffiliated candidate. He had briefly served in Congress as a Republican in 2024 and 2025, and this was his third consecutive bid for governor.[4]

Supporting stories (6)
  1. Phil Weiser wins Colorado governor race: 2026 Election results
  2. Phil Weiser wins Democratic primary for Colorado governor
  3. Victor Marx narrowly wins Republican primary for Colorado governor
  4. Former Republican congressman makes ballot for Colorado governor as unaffiliated candidate
  5. Phil Weiser taps Jefferson County commissioner as running mate in Colorado governor’s race
  6. Victor Marx pulls ahead of Barb Kirkmeyer in GOP governor primary, but race is still too close to call

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 10 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Phil Weiser wins Colorado governor race: 2026 Election resultsHeadline from KDVR Denver · 6 outlets

October 2026

  1. Q&A: Meet Greg Lopez, an unaffiliated candidate running for Colorado governorHeadline from Summit Daily · 6 outlets
  2. Q&A: Meet Victor Marx, the Republican candidate running for Colorado governorHeadline from Summit Daily · 7 outlets
  3. Q&A: Meet Phil Weiser, the Democratic candidate running for Colorado governorHeadline from Summit Daily · 7 outlets

July 2026

  1. Weiser, Marx pick running mates in Colorado governor’s raceHeadline from Post Independent · 6 outlets
  2. Former Republican congressman makes ballot for Colorado governor as unaffiliated candidateHeadline from Aspen Times · 10 outlets
  3. Phil Weiser taps Jefferson County commissioner as running mate in Colorado governor’s raceHeadline from The Colorado Sun · 5 outlets
  4. Victor Marx narrowly wins Republican primary for Colorado governorHeadline from Summit Daily · 39 outlets

June 2026

  1. Victor Marx pulls ahead of Barb Kirkmeyer in GOP governor primary, but race is still too close to callHeadline from Summit Daily · 11 outlets
  2. Phil Weiser wins Democratic primary for Colorado governorHeadline from Summit Daily · 13 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →