Will McBride

Will McBride

Republican Party

Candidate, Governor of Colorado

Elections and appointments

Next election

June 30, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Florida State University, 1996

Graduate

Florida State University College of Law, 2025

Law

Pepperdine University School of Law, 2002

Personal

Birthplace

Tampa, Fla.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Attorney/businessman

Contact

Campaign website

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Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

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Will McBride (Republican Party) is running for election for Governor of Colorado. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on June 30, 2026.^{[sources: 1, 2]}

McBride completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Will McBride was born in Tampa, Florida. He earned a bachelor's degree from Florida State University in 1996, a law degree from the Pepperdine University School of Law in 2002, a graduate degree from the University of Florida, Warrington School of Business in 2020, an MDiv from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2024, and an LLM from Florida State University College of Law in 2025. His career experience includes working as an attorney and businessman.

Elections

2026

See also: Colorado gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on June 30, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for Governor of Colorado

The following candidates are running in the general election for Governor of Colorado on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Stephen Hamilton (American Constitution Party)
	Submit photo	Kelsey Heikkinen (No Labels Party)
		Abass Yaya Bamba (No Labels Party)
	Submit photo	Shawn Bennett (Unaffiliated)
	Submit photo	Willow Collamer (Unaffiliated)
		Charles Evanson (Unaffiliated)
		Marla Fernandez (Unaffiliated)
	Submit photo	Justin Ganoe (Unaffiliated)
		Chante Jones (Unaffiliated)
	Submit photo	Marcus Marte (Unaffiliated)
	Submit photo	Jarvis Ray (Unaffiliated)
		Bradley Wall (Unaffiliated)
	Submit photo	Matthew Yearous (Unaffiliated)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Robin Jones (R)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Colorado

Michael Bennet, David Hughes, William Moses, Daniel Thomas, and Phil Weiser are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Colorado on June 30, 2026.

		Candidate
		Michael Bennet
		David Hughes
		William Moses
	Submit photo	Daniel Thomas
		Phil Weiser

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Colorado

The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for Governor of Colorado on June 30, 2026.

		Candidate
		Mark Baisley
		Scott Bottoms
	Submit photo	Bob Brinkerhoff
		Jason Ray Clark
		Brycen Garrison
		Stevan Gess
	Submit photo	Jon Gray-Ginsberg
		Joshua Griffin
		Barbara Kirkmeyer
		Greg Lopez
		Rabin Mahanty
		Will McBride
	Submit photo	Jason Mikesell
		Robert Moore
		Alex Mugatu
	Submit photo	Katie Pierce
		Jim Rundberg
	Submit photo	Kelvin Wimberly

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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.
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Endorsements

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Campaign themes

2026

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released June 3, 2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Will McBride completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McBride's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

William “Will” McBride is an accomplished Colorado trial attorney, small business owner, and community philanthropist who has fought for justice inside and outside the courtroom for over 22 years. As the son of a Mexican migrant worker, McBride has earned the American dream through hard work, obtaining a BA from Florida State University, an MBA from the University of Florida, an MDiv from the Southern Baptist Seminary, an LLM from Florida State University, and a JD from Pepperdine University.

Will taught and coached football in public schools. As a public-school teacher, he saw firsthand the needs of students, teachers, and faculty. Will believes teachers and faculty must be supported as they invest in our children’s future. Will McBride is running for Governor to restore good government, defend our constitutional freedoms, and keep Colorado safe. As a courageous, constitutional, and compassionate leader,

Will believes government must serve the people — not the other way around. He believes good government empowers individuals, strengthens families, and creates opportunity — not bureaucracy.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• End the state income tax
• Create a pro-business climate
• Restore First and Second Amendment freedoms

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Will is passionate to reduce government overreach by eliminating outdated and burdensome regulations to unleash small business growth by cutting red tape and lowering startup barriers.

Will is a principled constitutionalist who will fight to ensure your rights are never infringed.
Will McBride is committed to restoring law and order while treating every Coloradan with

fairness and dignity.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to Ronald Reagan because of his respectful presidential professionalism.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Respectful Ronald Reagan communication style and courage to lead with presidential professionalism.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

An elected official must be compassionate, courageous, and constitutional to serve all Coloradans.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I possess a deep passion to help people and conviction to follow the rule of law to ensure equal justice and opportunities for all Coloradans.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibility for an elected official is to ensure the US and Colorado Constitution is followed.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to be know as a persons who served others by empowering Coloradans to reach their full potential.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

My first historical event I remember was the assination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. I was 8 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was a public school teacher and football coach for three years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book is the Bible because it tells the good news of how God's love provided a plan for the forgiveness of sin and how God gives unmerited favor to his children.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

The Lone Ranger because I grew up watching the Lone Ranger. I enjoy horseback riding, and the outdoors.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"We're not gonna take it" by Twisted Sister because I am not going to allow current liberal legislators to continue to take our constitutional freedoms away and run our economy into the ground.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I have struggle against the establishment mindset. Those who have position and power believe they are above the law.

Governors have many responsibilities, which vary from state to state. Which of those do you personally consider the most important in your state?

The most important responsibility to follow the rule of law as stated in the US and Colorado Constitutions.

Different states require governors to have different degrees of responsibility for the state budgeting process. If it were your choice, what do you believe is the appropriate degree of gubernatorial involvement with this process in your state?

The governor must provide a vision for the direction of Colorado to ensure funding for essential services and infrastructure to eliminate wasteful taxpayer spending.

In most states, governors have the power to make line-item vetoes. If that is true in your state, what would be your philosophy for how and when to use this power?

The governor should veto any bill that violates the US or Colorado Constitutions and wasteful taxpayer spending.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

The governor must provide a vision for the legislature and encourage the state legislatures to follow the US and Colorado Constitution and to spend taxpayer money responsibly.

What do you love most about your state?

I love the people of the State of Colorado!

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

I am most concerned about the economic challenges facing Coloradans and the loss of constitutional rights.

Tell us your favorite joke.

What do you call a priest that becomes a lawyer? A father in law.

Under what circumstances should the governor of your state be able to use emergency powers?

A governor should use emergency powers to protect the safety of Coloradans in cases of natural disasters or stop violence and crime.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

There must be 100% financial transparency between the government and We the People.

Do you support or oppose changes to the current state ballot initiative process? If so, what kind of changes would you consider?

I support the state ballot initiative process. I filed a ballot initiative #100 to repeal individual state income taxes because We the People have a constitutional right to make laws or repeal laws.

A governor is the top executive authority in his or her state. What does that mean to you?

A governor's loyalty is to the US and Colorado Constitutions and not to a political party or special interest groups. A governor must follow the rule of law as setforth in the constitutions.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

See also

2026 Elections

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Footnotes

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