9NEWS is hosting both debates in partnership with the University of Denver and Colorado Politics.
DENVER — Candidates vying to be the next governor of Colorado will face off in debates hosted by 9NEWS ahead of the state’s primary elections.
Barb Kirkmeyer, Scott Bottoms and Victor Marx will participate in the Republican primary debate at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 2. The debate will be broadcast live on 9NEWS and streaming on the free 9NEWS+ app.
Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser will participate in the Democratic primary debate at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 4. The debate will be broadcast live on 9NEWS and streaming on the free 9NEWS+ app.
9NEWS is hosting both debates in partnership with the University of Denver and Colorado Politics. Next’s Kyle Clark and Marshall Zelinger will moderate the debates.
Election officials will begin mailing primary ballots to voters on June 8. Ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. June 30. In Colorado, voters who are registered Democrats or Republicans receive a ballot for that party. Unaffiliated voters receive both ballots, but can only return one.
Primary winners from each party will be on the ballot in the general election Nov. 3.
About the Republican candidates
Barb Kirkmeyer
State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer was first elected to the Colorado legislature in 2020 and won reelection in 2024. She represents Colorado’s 23rd District, which encompasses Larimer and Weld counties. Kirkmeyer serves on the state Senate Appropriations Committee and the powerful Joint Budget Committee.
In 2022, Kirkmeyer ran to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, where she narrowly lost to Democrat Yadira Caraveo.
Prior to her time in the state Senate, Kirkmeyer served as Weld County commissioner from 1993-2001 and 2008-2020. In between her tenures, Kirkmeyer was the acting executive director of the Department of Local Affairs under Colorado’s last Republican governor, Bill Owens.
Scott Bottoms
State Rep. Scott Bottoms, a pastor in Colorado Springs, was first elected to the legislature in 2022 and won reelection in 2024. He represents Colorado’s 15th District, which includes a portion of El Paso County. In the state House, Bottoms serves on the Appropriations Committee and the State, Civic, Military & Veterans Affairs committee.
Victor Marx
Victor Marx, a first-time candidate, is a ministry leader from Colorado Springs. He brings a social media following, with more than 2 million followers on Facebook. Marx has been connected to the national MAGA movement and wrote a book with a foreword by Charlie Kirk.
About the Democratic candidates
Michael Bennet
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet has represented Colorado in D.C. since 2009, when he was appointed to the Senate after incumbent Ken Salazar resigned to take a position in the Obama administration. In 2010, Bennet won the general election against former Republican Rep. Ken Buck. Bennet was reelected in 2016 and again in 2022. He serves on four Senate committees: Finance; Intelligence; Rules and Administration; and Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Before his career in Congress, Bennet held various public service roles in the state. From 2005 to 2009, he served as superintendent for Denver Public Schools. Before that, he was chief of staff for then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Phil Weiser
Attorney General Phil Weiser was elected as the state’s top legal officer in 2018 and won re-election in 2022.
Before his time as attorney general, Weiser was the dean of the University of Colorado Law School. He also served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron R. White and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Weiser worked in the U.S. Department of Justice in the Clinton and Obama administrations.
This story includes reporting by Marissa Solomon and by Ernest Luning for Colorado Politics.
