Former U.S. Representative Greg Lopez is launching another bid for Colorado governor.

The Republican who spent six months representing Colorado’s 4th Congressional District in Congress last year has run for governor twice before, losing in primary elections in both 2018 and 2022.

Lopez became a self-described “placeholder” in Congress following former U.S. Representative Ken Buck’s resignation in March 2024. Shortly afterwards, a small committee of Republican Party members nominated Lopez to finish Buck’s term, and he went on to defeat Democrat Trisha Calverese in the June special election. GOP Representative Lauren Boebert of Windsor won election to a full term representing the 4th District in November.

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“My whole life, I’ve been a listener, a problem solver, a fighter for the people,” Lopez said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “I’m running to fix what’s broken and bring people together. Not as a Republican governor. But a Colorado Governor.”

Lopez also previously served as mayor of Parker. He said he will run a statewide “People Over Politics” tour starting later in April, named for his campaign mantra.

Democratic Governor Jared Polis, who has been in office since 2019, is term-limited in 2026. U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser are running on the Democratic side of the race. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will be favored to win the general election. Colorado hasn’t had a Republican governor since Governor Bill Owens left office after the 2006 election, and Polis won reelection in 2022 by nearly 20 percentage points.

In 2018, Lopez placed third in a four-way GOP primary won by then-State Treasurer Walker Stapleton. He then narrowly lost a head-to-head primary contest against former University of Colorado Regent At-Large Heidi Ganahl in 2022, winning 46 percent of the vote to Ganahl’s 54 percent.

Other Republican candidates to announce a 2026 run for governor include state Senator Mark Baisley, state Representative Scott Bottoms, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell and Brighton Fire Chief Brycen Garrison, among several others.

Lopez hinted that his name would appear on the Colorado ballot in 2026 in a November interview with Newsline.