James McKinzie

James McKinzie

Republican Party

Candidate, Colorado Secretary of State

Elections and appointments

Next election

June 30, 2026

Education

High school

Greeley Central High School

Bachelor's

Colorado State University, 1991

Graduate

Charis Bible College, 2018

Graduate

University of Houston, Clear Lake, 1991

Personal

Profession

Consultant

Contact

Campaign website

James McKinzie (Republican Party) is running for election for Colorado Secretary of State. McKinzie declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on June 30, 2026.^[source]

McKinzie completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

James McKinzie earned a high school diploma from Greeley Central High School, a bachelor's degree from Colorado State University in 1991, a graduate degree from the University of Houston, Clear Lake in 1991, and a graduate degree from Charis Bible College in 2018. McKinzie's career experience includes working as a consultant.

Elections

2026

See also: Colorado Secretary of State election, 2026

General election

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

General election for Colorado Secretary of State

Celeste Landry (Colorado Forward Party) and Melissa Richards (Unaffiliated) are running in the general election for Colorado Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Celeste Landry (Colorado Forward Party)
	Submit photo	Melissa Richards (Unaffiliated)

---

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

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Jessie Danielson (D) and Amanda Gonzalez (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 30, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jessie Danielson
		Amanda Gonzalez

---

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

Republican primary

Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State

James McKinzie (R), Cory Parella (R), Ross Taraborelli (R), and James Wiley (R) are running in the Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 30, 2026.

		Candidate
		James McKinzie
		Cory Parella
	Submit photo	Ross Taraborelli
		James Wiley

---

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

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

James McKinzie completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McKinzie's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

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.

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?

• Restoring election integrity through rigorous auditing, voter ID verification, and clean voter rolls. Ensuring that only eligible citizens and residents of Colorado are voting in our elections.
• Protect small businesses, and non-profits with fair, efficient regulatory processes from the Secretary of State’s office.
• I’m committed to an honest and accountable government that serves the people, not the other way around. Every citizen deserves transparency in our elections and confidence that their voice counts. Our nation was built on the rule of law, personal responsibility, and the belief that freedom, not bureaucracy, leads to prosperity. I believe government should be limited, efficient, and focused on protecting individual rights, not expanding its own power. Fiscal discipline, constitutional fidelity, and respect for the free market are essential to securing the future of our Republic.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Election integrity and transparency at every level in our election process.

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

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Colorado Secretary of State

Website

Footnotes

2026 state executive official elections

Governor

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • U.S. Virgin Islands • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Lieutenant Governor

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • New York • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Texas • U.S. Virgin Islands • Vermont • Wisconsin

Attorney General

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Guam • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • New York • North Dakota • Northern Mariana Islands • Ohio • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Texas • Vermont • Wisconsin

Secretary of State

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Georgia • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • North Dakota • Ohio • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Treasurer

Alabama • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Massachusetts • Nebraska • Nevada • New Mexico • Ohio • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Vermont • Wisconsin • Wyoming

Auditor

Alabama • Arkansas • Delaware • Iowa • Massachusetts • Minnesota • Missouri • Nebraska • New Mexico • Ohio • Oklahoma • South Dakota • Vermont • Wyoming

Comptroller

California • Connecticut • Idaho • Illinois • Maryland • Nevada • New York • South Carolina • Texas

Education officials

Alabama (board of education) • Arizona (superintendent) • California (superintendent) • Colorado (board of education) • Colorado (board of regent) • District of Columbia (board of education) • Georgia (superintendent) • Guam (education board) • Idaho (superintendent) • Kansas (board of education) • Louisiana (board of education) • Michigan (board of education) • Michigan (board of regent) • Michigan (board of trustees) • Michigan (board of governors) • Nebraska (board of education) • Nebraska (board of regents) • Nevada (board of regents) • New Mexico (board of education) • North Dakota (superintendent) • Northern Mariana Islands (board of education) • Ohio (board of education) • Oklahoma (superintendent) • South Carolina (superintendent) • Texas (board of education) • U.S. Virgin Islands (board of education) • Utah (board of education) • Wyoming (superintendent)

Commissioners

Alabama (agriculture) • Alabama (public service) • Arizona (corporation) • Arizona (mine inspector) • Arkansas (public lands) • California (board of equalization) • California (insurance) • Florida (agriculture) • Georgia (agriculture) • Georgia (labor) • Georgia (insurance) • Georgia (public service) • Guam (utilities) • Hawaii (Hawaiian affairs) • Iowa (agriculture) • Kansas (insurance) • Louisiana (public service) • Massachusetts (governor's council) • Montana (public service) • Nebraska (public service) • New Hampshire (executive council) • New Mexico (public lands) • North Dakota (agriculture) • North Dakota (public service) • North Dakota (tax) • Oklahoma (corporation) • Oklahoma (insurance) • Oklahoma (labor) • Oregon (labor) • South Carolina (agriculture) • South Dakota (public lands) • South Dakota (public utilities) • Texas (agriculture) • Texas (public lands) • Texas (railroad) • U.S. Virgin Islands (board of elections)