Multiple Political Hopefuls Host Local Campaign Events
Trevor Phipps
Even though the bulk of Election 2026 action won’t occur until later this summer and early fall, many local candidates are now ramping up their campaigns.
All of the elections this year aren’t technically finalized until November. But locally, most of the seats basically get decided during the primary elections, which take place on June 30 and even earlier in some cases. The Teller County Assembly occurs on March 21, the first main test for some Teller County candidates seeking support from GOP party leaders.
On Feb. 4, a number of local candidates appeared for a special “Meet the Candidates” event that took place at the Ute Lodge Bar and Grill in downtown Woodland Park. Current Teller County Sheriff and Colorado Governor Candidate Jason Mikesell headlined the evening with a slew of other candidates running for various positions.
Joining Mikesell at the podium was CO House District 60 Candidate Michelle Gray, CO Senate District 4 Candidate Teddy Collins, Teller County Sheriff Candidate Kevin Tedesco, Teller County Treasurer Candidate Krystal Brown, Teller County Assessor Candidate Kurt Schoenberger and Teller County Commissioner Candidate Carl Andersen. Other Teller County Commissioner contenders, include Aaron Helstrom and Dave Paul, who also held events for their respective campaigns for the sole open District 2 commissioner seat, currently held by Bob Campbell. Campbell is term-limited and can’t run again.
The candidates seeking the county treasurer, assessor and sheriff spots are running unopposed. Michelle Gray is currently running against fellow Republican Matthew Alexander and Democrat Kathryn Green for the House District 60 seat. And Teddy Collins faces competition from Republicans Kevin Conrad and Jennifer James for the Senate District 4 position.
All of the candidates got a chance to introduce themselves and a few minutes to talk about their proposed agendas. The event attracted a packed house with many residents eager to question the all-Republican slate of candidates.
The overall theme of the evening was that Republicans across the state need to get out and vote to try and put an end to the heavy Democratic majority in Colorado’s legislature. All of the candidates attending the event vowed to oppose many of the laws getting passed by the Democratic lawmakers.
“We need a fighter up in the legislature to change things,” State Senate Candidate Collins said. “I’m a proven fighter. I have been going up there for the last four years organizing protests and testimony to fight back against the left. And, we have killed about 30 of the bills they have tried to pass, but we haven’t killed them all.
Aside from the Republican lawmakers fighting on the House and Senate floors against certain bills, most of the local candidates also emphasized the need to join the fight in Denver. The county commissioner, sheriff and assessor candidates all voiced concern about laws getting passed and proposed, which some leaders believe clash with the rural way of life many Teller County residents enjoy.
“I believe the role of the county commissioner has changed in the last four to eight years,” Teller County Commissioner Candidate Andersen said. “It used to be really a county-based job. Unfortunately, in the last five to ten years, the attacks on our way of life here have increased.”
Meet the Local Candidates Running for Office in 2026
Gray, a candidate for House District 60, is a retired lifelong math teacher who moved to the Pueblo area more than 30 years ago. She was a candidate for Pueblo County Treasurer in 2022 and has chaired the Pueblo County Republican Party since 2023. She is currently looking to take Representative Stephanie Luck’s seat who announced she would not be re-running in 2026.
Collins, who recently entered the Senate District 4 race, is the founder/owner of one of the state’s largest family-owned firearm businesses. Collins has so far received several endorsements for this seat from many of the state’s prominent Republicans. Collins is vying for the state Senate seat currently held by Mark Baisley. Baisley recently announced that he would be running against U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper in a key national race.
Schoenberger and Brown, meanwhile, are both incumbents for assessor and treasurer. Tedesco is the only candidate for the sheriff spot. This seat is currently held by Mikesell, who is term limited. Tedesco is a commander for the sheriff’s office and sports extensive experience in all facets of law enforcement.
Mikesell was the last one who spoke at the event, after being introduced by Teller County Commissioner Dan Williams. Mikesell has served as the Teller County sheriff for the last decade. Now since he is term-limited, he decided to run as a Republican for the Colorado Governor seat. This is a wide-open race due to the pending exit of current Governor Jared Polis, who is term limited.
Mikesell outlined a number of changes he favors to make the state better, if elected as governor. But initially, the sheriff faces a major hurdle to jump to secure the Republican nomination, with a large field of at least seven other GOP candidates.
