2026 United States Senate election in Colorado

The 2026 United States Senate election in Colorado will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Colorado. Primary elections will be held on June 30, 2026. Incumbent Democratic Senator John Hickenlooper, who was first elected in (/wiki/2020UnitedStatesSenateelectioninColorado), has stated that he plans to run for re-election.

Source: Wikipedia

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2026 United States Senate election in Colorado

Background

2026 United States Senate election in Colorado

While Colorado was once considered a swing state, it has shifted significantly to the left over the past decade and is now regarded as solidly Democratic at both the federal and state levels. Democrats currently hold all statewide offices, both U.S. Senate seats, and strong majorities in both chambers of the Colorado General Assembly, while the state’s U.S. House delegation is evenly split. In (/wiki/2014UnitedStatesSenateelectioninColorado), Republican Cory Gardner narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Mark Udall for the U.S. Senate. As the state continued trending Democratic, Gardner—then the only Republican holding major statewide office—lost his 2020 re-election bid to Democrat John Hickenlooper by a significant margin. In late 2024, Hickenlooper announced he would seek re-election but indicated that the campaign would be his final run for the Senate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

To move forward to the primary, candidates had to petition onto the ballot or achieve 30% or more at the Colorado Democratic Party State Assembly. John Hickenlooper was the only candidate to petition onto the primary ballot. All other candidates went through the State Assembly process. Julie Gonzales was the only candidate to achieve 30% or more.

Declared

• Julie Gonzales, state senator from the 34th district (2019–present) • John Hickenlooper, incumbent U.S. senator

Disqualified

• Karen Breslin, college professor, candidate for U.S. Senate in (/wiki/2022UnitedStatesSenateelectioninColorado), and candidate for Colorado's 4th congressional district in (/wiki/2024UnitedStatesHouseofRepresentativeselectionsinColorado#District4) • Jessica Williams

Withdrawn

• Nichole Miner, college student • Brashad Hasley, software engineer • A.J. Zimpfer, accountant

Fundraising

<table><thead><tr><th>Campaign finance reports as of December 31, 2025</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Candidate</td><td>Raised</td><td>Spent</td><td>Cash on hand</td></tr><tr><td>Karen Breslin (D)</td><td>$130,570</td><td>$123,285</td><td>$7,284</td></tr><tr><td>Julie Gonzales (D)</td><td>$178,844</td><td>$17,952</td><td>$160,892</td></tr><tr><td>Brashad Hasley (D)</td><td>$20,313</td><td>$19,429</td><td>$884</td></tr><tr><td>John Hickenlooper (D)</td><td>$7,607,184</td><td>$5,371,502</td><td>$3,877,765</td></tr><tr><td>Anthony "A.J." Zimpfer (D)</td><td>$4,131</td><td>$2,227</td><td>$1,904</td></tr><tr><td>Source: Federal Election Commission</td></tr></tbody></table>

Polling

<table><thead><tr><th>Poll source</th><th>Date(s) administered</th><th>Sample size</th><th>Margin of error</th><th>Julie Gonzales</th><th>John Hickenlooper</th><th>Other</th><th>Undecided</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Data for Progress (D)</td><td>February 20–25, 2026</td><td>739 (LV)</td><td>± 4.0%</td><td>13%</td><td>45%</td><td>4%</td><td>37%</td></tr></tbody></table>

Republican primary

Declared

• Mark Baisley, state senator from the 4th district (2023–present) (previously ran for governor) • Amanda Calderon, business owner • Janak Joshi, former state representative from the 16th district (2011–2017) and candidate for Colorado's 8th congressional district in (/wiki/2024UnitedStatesHouseofRepresentativeselectionsinColorado#District8) • George Markert, AI strategic advisor • Sean Pond, Montrose County commissioner

Declined

• Brandi Bradley, state representative from the 39th district (2023–present)

Fundraising

General election

Predictions

<table><thead><tr><th>Source</th><th>Ranking</th><th>As of</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Inside Elections</td><td>Solid D</td><td>January 12, 2026</td></tr><tr><td>The Cook Political Report</td><td>Solid D</td><td>January 12, 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Sabato's Crystal Ball</td><td>Safe D</td><td>January 29, 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Race To The WH</td><td>Safe D</td><td>February 2, 2026</td></tr></tbody></table>