Popular 13-Month Campaign of Jason Mikesell Screeches to a Halt
Trevor Phipps
For the last year, local residents have enthusiastically thrown their support behind the gubernatorial bid of Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell who entered the race in March 2025 as a Republican contender.
It marked the first time in recent history that a local elected leader sought the governor position. As a result, his campaign attracted much attention and grass roots support from Teller officials and area residents.
But 13 months later, the sheriff’s bid screeched to a halt, following the results of the Colorado State Assembly. In fact, local political experts are now questioning the direction of state party leaders in their final selections, and question if they have conceded the race to the Democrats.
During the Republican state assembly in Pueblo on April 11, disagreements and discrepancies ruled the day. At the end of an assembly that went into the late evening hours, only two governor candidates received the required 30 percent or more delegate votes to secure a place on the ballot. Unfortunately, Mikesell wasn’t one of them.
Out of the 18 contenders vying for a spot on the 2026 Republican gubernatorial primary ballot, only Colorado Springs State Representative Scott Bottoms and minister Victor Marx received enough votes to continue their campaigns. Bottoms earned the right for his name to appear at the top of the ballot list with 45 percent of the delegate vote. Podcaster and minister Victor Marx got 39 percent of the delegate vote.
“This is our year. This is the year we’re going to do this,” Bottoms told delegates during his speech, according to CPR.org. “I’m going to reclaim parenthood and childhood for all Coloradans. Two sexes, no genders. We will reclaim safety and security.”
Mikesell first announced that he was running for governor this year in March 2025. Ever since then, the current Teller County sheriff has spent considerable time travelling the state and pursuing his campaign. During his campaign speeches, Mikesell touted his leadership experience and business ownership as reasons why he thought he was the only Republican candidate running for governor that could win in the general election. He also vowed to reduce crime by 40 percent within his first year in office, if elected, and cited his desire to heal the urban/rural divide plaguing the state. Many of his ideas were heavily supported by the county commissioners and other leaders in the region.
The sheriff chose not to pursue the petition route, which would have required him to gather thousands of signatures to snag a spot on the ballot. The petition route has become more difficult and is filled with stringent regulations. Instead, Mikesell pressed his luck at the state assembly, but he fell short and only picked up 12 percent of the delegate vote. Mikesell fared better than any other contender who didn’t make the ballot, but he failed to earn the 30 percent delegate votes needed to continue the race.
Marx and Bottoms will face off during the Republican primaries, and they will most likely have another opponent. State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer out of Weld County, will most likely join the other two on the primary ballot, after choosing not to participate in the state assembly process. Kirkmeyer turned in petitions with many signatures, but they were not yet validated by press time.
Therefore, if Kirkmeyer gets enough approved signatures, the three Republicans will battle it out over the next couple of months to determine who will become the Republican gubernatorial candidate in the November 2026 election. Whoever wins the Republican primary election, will then have a long road ahead to beat the eventual Democratic nominee for this position. Colorado hasn’t elected a Republican Governor since 2002
On the Democrat side, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet will face off against Attorney General Phil Weiser. Current Governor Jared Polis is term-limited. The June 30 primary elections that will decide the finalists for the November ballot, which ultimately will decide who becomes the next Colorado governor.
State Senator Mark Baisley out of Woodland Park emerged from the assembly as the only one out of seven U.S. Senate candidates to earn more than 30 percent of the delegate vote with 46 percent. Baisley initially ran for governor but dropped out of that race to pursue Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat. Baisley will be the sole Republican on the primary ballot in his bid to unseat current U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper.
After a long haul on the campaign trail, Mikesell now has time to reflect regarding his long journey on the campaign trail. He will continue serving Teller County as sheriff until the end of 2026, when a new elected sheriff will take the reins as Teller’s head law officer due to term limits.
