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United States Senate election in Colorado, 2026 (June 30 Republican primary)

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U.S. Senate, Colorado
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 18, 2026
Primary: June 30, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Colorado

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
U.S. Senate, Colorado
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th
Colorado elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

A Republican Party primary takes place on June 30, 2026, in Colorado to determine which Republican candidate will run in the state's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
March 18, 2026
June 30, 2026
November 3, 2026


Heading into the election, the incumbent is John Hickenlooper (Democrat), who was first elected in 2020.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election.

Colorado utilizes a semi-closed primary system. According to Section 1-7-201 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, "An eligible unaffiliated elector, including a preregistrant who is eligible under section 1-2-101 (2)(c), is entitled to vote in the primary election of a major political party without affiliating with that political party."[1][2]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Thirty-three of the 100 U.S. Senate seats are up for election, and another two seats are up for special election. Democrats hold 13 of the seats up for election, and Republicans hold 22. As of January 2026, 11 members of the U.S. Senate announced they are not running for re-election. To read more about the U.S. Senate elections taking place this year, click here.

This page focuses on Colorado's United States Senate Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the state's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

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 U.S. Senate Colorado

The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 30, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Mark Baisley
Mark Baisley
Image of Amanda Calderon
Amanda Calderon Candidate Connection
Image of Dathan Jones
Dathan Jones Candidate Connection
Image of Janak Joshi
Janak Joshi
Image of George Washington Markert
George Washington Markert
Image of Sean Pond
Sean Pond

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

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.

Amanda Calderon

Image of Amanda Calderon

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "Amanda Calderon is a Colorado-raised entrepreneur, construction and design executive, and cofounder of Home Constructors Corp., a company built around integrity, transparency, and innovation. Her professional background includes years of leadership in construction operations and more than two decades of experience in interior and architectural design, giving her hands-on expertise in managing budgets, timelines, and large-scale planning. Amanda entered public service because she believes Colorado needs leaders who can lower the political temperature while standing firmly for the rule of law, free speech, and safe communities. She is running for the U.S. Senate to bring practical, business-minded accountability to government—cutting waste, challenging corruption, and focusing on solutions that improve affordability, strengthen public safety, and protect Colorado families."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

1. Public safety needs to be addressed: crime + fentanyl + support for law enforcement. 2. We need to focus on affordability: cost of living + housing + healthcare costs. 3. Rule of law & stability must be maintained: immigration that’s legal + restoring civil, effective governance.

Colorado is getting too expensive, too divided, and too unsafe. I’m running to restore a law-abiding society, defend free speech, and bring accountability back to government—so working families can afford to live here and communities can feel safe again.

Safe Colorado: back law enforcement, enforce the rule of law, stop fentanyl and repeat offenders. Affordable Colorado: attack the cost of living—housing pressure, insurance spiral, predatory debt, and energy costs. Accountable Colorado: cut waste, expose corruption, protect privacy, and make government work like it’s spending its own money.

Dathan Jones

Image of Dathan Jones

WebsiteFacebook

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "First, I'm a patriot who believes in standing by our nation's constitution. I have lived in Colorado 26 years, 20 of which were in the Denver metro area where I ran a small business, and 6 years in Alamosa where I serve as Vice-Chair of the GOP and Acting Chair. I hold a Masters in Business Administration which gives me the business skills to be successful as a US Senator, including common sense politics and balancing budgets. Washington DC does business - our business! Communication skills are critical in both business and government. I keep people informed and ensure that I act within my authority. I love people, and enjoy talking with them. My wife tells me I'm an extrovert and I believe she's right. I am convinced nothing can be established without the input of other intelligent and creative minds. But, also true is that a strong leader must make the final decision, taking full responsibility for the outcomes.Leaders are more than commanders and must listen to the needs of followers. I have 40+ years of leadership experience including being the National Director for 46 colleges and service as Senior Pastor where I mentored many young pastors. I have successfully built buildings by hand, overseen funding campaigns, and led groups of people toward aggressive goals.Like our forefathers demonstrated, leadership requires the heart of a servant to be approachable and with integrity."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

I seek to restore greatness to Colorado by making it affordable to live in this state. People and businesses are leaving due to taxes and regulations being levied, often without the vote of the people. Property taxes in some areas are trending up 44% more than last year. I would attract more corporations with high paying jobs to Colorado with lower regulations and taxes., after all they fled California due to these 2 pressures. The people of Colorado are paying for the ack of financial accountability from its leaders that has driven us into a 1.5 billion budget deficit. We cannot afford any more reckless spending or increased taxes.

Colorado needs to be in step with our federal administration. We have lost a billion dollars of federal support due to being out of step with federal oversight. I will work to put our state back in the good graces of our government. We must put priorities on spending correctly and lowering the tax burden. Let's get a better rapport going between our state and our federal governments so we can solve problems that make both greater.

Reducing crime and public safety ensures those who live in and visit our state are protected. It is important to coordinate efforts with our federal government to support civil peace and justice. Those who commit crimes must be held accountable. Homelessness needs to be dealt with in a meaningful way to break the cycle of poverty and protect our citizens. There are answers and we need leaders with vision to understand them and act on them.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Colorado

Election information in Colorado: June 30, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: June 30, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by June 22, 2026
  • Online: June 22, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: N/A
  • By mail: N/A by N/A
  • Online: N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: June 30, 2026
  • By mail: Received by June 30, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

June 22, 2026 to June 30, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. (MT)

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Mark Baisley Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Amanda Calderon Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Dathan Jones Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Janak Joshi Republican Party $458,096 $108,977 $349,120 As of December 31, 2025
George Washington Markert Republican Party $174,567 $102,024 $72,543 As of December 31, 2025
Sean Pond Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Colorado in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Colorado, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Colorado U.S. Senate Major party 1,500 per congressional district N/A 3/18/2026 Source
Colorado U.S. Senate Minor party 1,000 per congressional district N/A 3/18/2026 Source
Colorado U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 1,000 per congressional district N/A 7/9/2026 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ LexisNexis, "Colorado Revised Statutes § 1-7-201," accessed October 20, 2025
  2. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Primary Elections FAQs," accessed October 20, 2025


Colorado's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Michael Bennet (D)
John Hickenlooper (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
Jeff Hurd (R)
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
Democratic Party (6)
Republican Party (4)


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