Colorado Secretary of State election, 2026 (June 30 Republican primary)
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| Colorado Secretary of State |
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| Filing deadline: March 18, 2026 |
| Primary: June 30, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
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A Republican Party primary takes place on June 30, 2026, in Colorado to determine which candidate will earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's secretary of state election on November 3, 2026.
This page focuses on Colorado's Republican Party Secretary of State primary. For more in-depth information on Colorado's Democratic Secretary of State primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Colorado Secretary of State election, 2026 (June 30 Democratic primary)
- Colorado Secretary of State election, 2026
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list of candidates is unofficial. The filing deadline for this election has passed, and Ballotpedia is working to update this page with the official candidate list. This note will be removed once the official candidate list has been added.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State
James McKinzie, Cory Parella, Ross Taraborelli, and James Wiley are running in the Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 30, 2026.
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Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Submitted Biography: "I’m running for Colorado Secretary of State because the citizens of Colorado deserve transparency, security, and accountability in our elections. As a conservative, I believe election integrity is not optional, it’s essential. I’m committed to restoring trust in our electoral process, defending the Constitution, and ensuring that every legal vote counts. Our state must protect both ballot access and ballot integrity, not one at the expense of the other."
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Submitted Biography: "I plan to unite my teammates with a plan that infuses the Colorado Republican Party with a renewed spirit and freshness, invigorating seasoned veterans while inspiring the young. I use the energy of showmanship to elevate and surprise our pre-teammates with goals and expectations of a champion educator. I engage. I articulate. And I use cine-metaphor to convey ideas with precisions and passion. Our team and the State's voters demand better business resources, secured data and trustworthy elections. I plan to deliver all of that and more - I am bringing the entertainment industry - specifically movies - to Colorado, once and for all. It's time to give the old west a new economic transfusion beyond an economy built on cows. I am also going to remove the dead from the voter registry."
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Submitted Biography: "My name is James Wiley, known as the Red Flame of Liberty. I am a Colorado native, born in Colorado Springs, with a graduate degree from Colorado State University Pueblo. My background includes work as a political consultant and leadership roles in liberty-focused organizations, such as director of Project Thaler, director of Save Our Suffrage, former executive director of the Libertarian Party of Colorado, and Secretary of the Chainsaw Caucus. I grew up in Kazakhstan witnessing the fall out of the communist government in the former Soviet Union, which ignited my lifelong passion for defending individual rights, transparency, and secure elections. This fueled my activism against vulnerable electronic voting systems and my recent lawsuits challenging election integrity issues in Colorado. After running as a Libertarian for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District in 2024, I switched to the Republican Party to run this campaign to amplify the urgent fight for election reform on a larger platform. As a Republican candidate for Colorado Secretary of State in 2026, my mission—Liberty S.O.S.—is to free whistleblower Tina Peters, to decertify compromised machines, and implement blockchain for tamper-proof state records to prevent cartel laundering. I am committed to regenerating the Republican Party with principles of unity and liberty, ensuring every Coloradan's democracy is protected. Visit libertysos.co to join the fight."
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Colorado
Campaign finance
The section and tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA.
Election analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
- Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
- State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
- Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
Cook PVI by congressional district
| District | Incumbent | PVI |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado's 1st | Diana DeGette | D+29 |
| Colorado's 2nd | Joe Neguse | D+20 |
| Colorado's 3rd | Jeff Hurd | R+5 |
| Colorado's 4th | Lauren Boebert | R+9 |
| Colorado's 5th | Jeff Crank | R+5 |
| Colorado's 6th | Jason Crow | D+11 |
| Colorado's 7th | Brittany Pettersen | D+8 |
| Colorado's 8th | Gabe Evans | EVEN |
2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines
| District | Kamala Harris  | Donald Trump  |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado's 1st | 77.0% | 21.0% |
| Colorado's 2nd | 69.0% | 29.0% |
| Colorado's 3rd | 44.0% | 54.0% |
| Colorado's 4th | 40.0% | 58.0% |
| Colorado's 5th | 44.0% | 53.0% |
| Colorado's 6th | 58.0% | 39.0% |
| Colorado's 7th | 56.0% | 41.0% |
| Colorado's 8th | 48.0% | 50.0% |
| Source: The Downballot | ||
2016-2024
How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
Following the 2024 presidential election, 59.6% of Coloradans lived in one of the state's 21 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 35.8% lived in one of 39 Solid Republican counties. Overall, Colorado was Solid Democratic, having voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, Joe Biden (D) in 2020, and Kamala Harris (D) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Colorado following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.
| Colorado county-level statistics, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Democratic | 21 | 59.6% | |||||
| Solid Republican | 39 | 35.8% | |||||
| Battleground Republican | 1 | 2.9% | |||||
| Trending Democratic | 2 | 1.4% | |||||
| Trending Republican | 1 | 0.3% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 23 | 61.0% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 41 | 39.0% | |||||
Historical voting trends
Colorado presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 14 Democratic wins
- 18 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | D | R | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D |
This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.
U.S. Senate elections
The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Colorado.
Gubernatorial elections
- See also: Governor of Colorado
The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Colorado.
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Colorado's congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Colorado | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Republican | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 8 | 10 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Colorado's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Jared Polis |
| Lieutenant Governor | Dianne Primavera |
| Secretary of State | Jena Griswold |
| Attorney General | Phil Weiser |
State legislature
Colorado State Senate
| Party | As of March 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 23 | |
| Republican Party | 12 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 35 | |
Colorado House of Representatives
| Party | As of March 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 43 | |
| Republican Party | 22 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 65 | |
Trifecta control
Colorado Party Control: 1992-2025
Thirteen years of Democratic trifectas • Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
The table below details demographic data in Colorado and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.
| Demographic Data for Colorado | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | United States | |
| Population | 5,773,714 | 331,449,281 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 103,636 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 73.5% | 63.4% |
| Black/African American | 4% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 3.2% | 5.8% |
| Native American | 1% | 0.9% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| Multiple | 12.7% | 10.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 22.2% | 19% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 92.8% | 89.4% |
| College graduation rate | 44.7% | 35% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $92,470 | $78,538 |
| Persons below poverty level | 9.4% | 12.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
State profile
| Demographic data for Colorado | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 5,448,819 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 103,642 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 84.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 4% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.9% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 3.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 21.1% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.7% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 38.1% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $60,629 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 13.5% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Colorado. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Colorado
Colorado voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Colorado, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[1]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Colorado had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Colorado coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Colorado
- United States congressional delegations from Colorado
- Public policy in Colorado
- Endorsers in Colorado
- Colorado fact checks
- More...
See also
| Colorado | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
