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United States Senate election in Colorado, 2026

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2022
U.S. Senate, Colorado
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
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. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th
Colorado elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

Voters in Colorado will elect one member to the U.S. Senate in the general election on November 3, 2026. The primary is June 30, 2026. The filing deadline is March 18, 2026. The election will fill the Class II Senate seat held by John Hickenlooper (D), who first took office in 2021. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

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 U.S. Senate Colorado

Clinton Dale, Joshua Kuebler, Robert Wolfe, and Matthew Wood are running in the general election for U.S. Senate Colorado on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Clinton Dale (Unaffiliated)
Image of Joshua Kuebler
Joshua Kuebler (Unaffiliated) Candidate Connection
Robert Wolfe (Unaffiliated)
Matthew Wood (Unaffiliated)

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.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

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


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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

Janak Joshi and George Washington Markert are running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 30, 2026.


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.

Image of Joshua Kuebler

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Unaffiliated

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "I have enjoyed studying Natural Law & Philosophy since I was a homeschooler in high school. Having served in combat as a Marine Corps Arabic cryptologic linguist (OIF 2005-06) and then as a DoD contractor & USAF Civilian (GS-12) in intelligence & cybersecurity, I witnessed American foreign & domestic policy in action, along with its far-reaching effects. As a result of my studies & experiences, I am essentially libertarian: I believe government exists to maximize personal & social liberty. Going back further in time, I could be described as a Jeffersonian Democrat blended with a Lincoln Republican. I am influenced by John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Edmund Burke, James Madison, Frédéric Bastiat, etc. Frédéric Bastiat eloquently summarizes my mindset on law & government, from The Law: "The mission of Law is not to oppress persons and plunder them of their property, even though the Law may be acting in a philanthropic spirit. Its [the Law's] mission is to protect property.""


Key Messages

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


Unity: I believe that in order to be strong, we must be unified, both as a nation and as an international community. We live in divisive times, but that has been true for most of recorded human history. When it comes down to it, I trust that each of us desires to live in peace and prosperity with our neighbors. We can start to achieve this by focusing on what unites us over that which separates us. Once we have an open dialoge, we can begin to find the best solutions for all involved.


Integrity: A strong influence on our Founding Fathers, the 18th century political philosopher Montesquieu wrote how a republic (our system of government) is rooted in virtue. As the ultimate leadership of our nation is its citizenry, we must each exercise ethical courage in daily life and our decisions. While it is not the place of the state to dictate religious policy nor to legislate a particular specific moral code, we must choose political leadership that reflects our values, in order that we remain solid in an often turbulent world. As corruption is ever the downfall of republics, we must work endlessly to ensure that our elected officals are held accountable.


Responsibility: Responsibility, both private and public, is the bedrock of our nation. In order to maintain the maximum level of liberty, we as citizens must each take a hand in the preservation of our social order. We cannot trust government outside of its proscribed spheres, nor can we allow any particular religious organization to dictate our social policies. I believe we must legally scale back from government (through legislation and the court system) much of the social oversight and authority it has assumed over the past years, reverting it back to We The People. In doing so, we can reempower our private citizenry, sharing the responsiblity for our future without costing us our inherent liberties.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Colorado

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

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.

Expand all | Collapse all

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Joshua_Kuebler_20240626_123903.jpg

Joshua Kuebler (Unaffiliated)

Unity:

I believe that in order to be strong, we must be unified, both as a nation and as an international community.

We live in divisive times, but that has been true for most of recorded human history.

When it comes down to it, I trust that each of us desires to live in peace and prosperity with our neighbors.

We can start to achieve this by focusing on what unites us over that which separates us.

Once we have an open dialoge, we can begin to find the best solutions for all involved.

Integrity:

A strong influence on our Founding Fathers, the 18th century political philosopher Montesquieu wrote how a republic (our system of government) is rooted in virtue.

As the ultimate leadership of our nation is its citizenry, we must each exercise ethical courage in daily life and our decisions.

While it is not the place of the state to dictate religious policy nor to legislate a particular specific moral code, we must choose political leadership that reflects our values, in order that we remain solid in an often turbulent world.

As corruption is ever the downfall of republics, we must work endlessly to ensure that our elected officals are held accountable.

Responsibility:

Responsibility, both private and public, is the bedrock of our nation.

In order to maintain the maximum level of liberty, we as citizens must each take a hand in the preservation of our social order.

We cannot trust government outside of its proscribed spheres, nor can we allow any particular religious organization to dictate our social policies.

I believe we must legally scale back from government (through legislation and the court system) much of the social oversight and authority it has assumed over the past years, reverting it back to We The People.

In doing so, we can reempower our private citizenry, sharing the responsiblity for our future without costing us our inherent liberties.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Joshua_Kuebler_20240626_123903.jpg

Joshua Kuebler (Unaffiliated)

Oversight of the Executive Branch, Foreign Policy, Legislation.

I believe that our government exists to protect our Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness, not to guide social (or largely, economic) policy.

Scaling back the Federal government to its original Constitutional bounds is my passion.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Joshua_Kuebler_20240626_123903.jpg

Joshua Kuebler (Unaffiliated)

I appreciate the following political leaders for their strengths:

George Washington for his honesty, his courage under fire and his ability to keep his head in extremely stressful conditions.

Thomas Jefferson for his penetrating insights, his ability to persevere over the long haul despite many setbacks and his vision of personal liberty for all.

Abraham Lincoln for his honesty, his legal mind, his heart of compassion and his passion for national unity.
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Joshua_Kuebler_20240626_123903.jpg

Joshua Kuebler (Unaffiliated)

Honesty, the ability to come to consensus without compromising ethical beliefs, servant leadership


You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:


Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
John Hickenlooper Democratic Party $4,778,005 $3,648,740 $2,771,347 As of June 30, 2025
Karen Breslin Democratic Party $13,012 $6,853 $6,159 As of June 30, 2025
Brashad Hasley Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Nichole Miner Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Michael Scanlon Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 As of August 5, 2025
Anthony Zimpfer Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Janak Joshi Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
George Washington Markert Republican Party $98,564 $40,819 $57,745 As of June 30, 2025
Clinton Dale Unaffiliated $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Joshua Kuebler Unaffiliated $0 $0 $0 As of August 10, 2024
Robert Wolfe Unaffiliated $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Matthew Wood Unaffiliated $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.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Colorado, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
9/9/20259/2/20258/26/20258/19/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.

Election history

The section below details election results for this state's U.S. Senate elections dating back to 2016.

2022

See also: United States Senate election in Colorado, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Colorado

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Colorado on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michael Bennet
Michael Bennet (D)
 
55.9
 
1,397,170
Image of Joe O'Dea
Joe O'Dea (R) Candidate Connection
 
41.3
 
1,031,693
Image of Brian Peotter
Brian Peotter (L) Candidate Connection
 
1.7
 
43,534
Image of T.J. Cole
T.J. Cole (Unity Party) Candidate Connection
 
0.7
 
16,379
Image of Frank Atwood
Frank Atwood (Approval Voting Party)
 
0.5
 
11,354
Tom Harvey (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
29
Joanne Rock (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
25
John Rutledge (L) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
9
Robert Messman (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
8

Total votes: 2,500,201
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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

Incumbent Michael Bennet advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 28, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Michael Bennet
Michael Bennet
 
100.0
 
516,985

Total votes: 516,985
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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

Joe O'Dea defeated Ron Hanks and Daniel Hendricks in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 28, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Joe O'Dea
Joe O'Dea Candidate Connection
 
54.4
 
345,060
Image of Ron Hanks
Ron Hanks
 
45.5
 
288,483
Image of Daniel Hendricks
Daniel Hendricks (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
302

Total votes: 633,845
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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Approval Voting Party convention

Approval Voting Party convention for U.S. Senate Colorado

Frank Atwood advanced from the Approval Voting Party convention for U.S. Senate Colorado on March 26, 2022.

Candidate
Image of Frank Atwood
Frank Atwood (Approval Voting Party)

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.

2020

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Colorado

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Colorado on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Hickenlooper
John Hickenlooper (D)
 
53.5
 
1,731,114
Image of Cory Gardner
Cory Gardner (R)
 
44.2
 
1,429,492
Image of Raymon Doane
Raymon Doane (L)
 
1.7
 
56,262
Daniel Doyle (Approval Voting Party)
 
0.3
 
9,820
Image of Stephan Evans
Stephan Evans (Unity Party) Candidate Connection
 
0.3
 
8,971
Bruce Lohmiller (G) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
0
Image of Danny Skelly
Danny Skelly (Independent) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
0
Michael Sanchez (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
0

Total votes: 3,235,659
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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

John Hickenlooper defeated Andrew Romanoff in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 30, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Hickenlooper
John Hickenlooper
 
58.7
 
585,826
Image of Andrew Romanoff
Andrew Romanoff
 
41.3
 
412,955

Total votes: 998,781
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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

Incumbent Cory Gardner advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 30, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Cory Gardner
Cory Gardner
 
100.0
 
554,806

Total votes: 554,806
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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

Raymon Doane defeated Gaylon Kent in the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 30, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Raymon Doane
Raymon Doane
 
62.8
 
4,365
Image of Gaylon Kent
Gaylon Kent
 
37.2
 
2,583

Total votes: 6,948
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.

Unity Party convention

Unity Party convention for U.S. Senate Colorado

Stephan Evans defeated Joshua Rodriguez in the Unity Party convention for U.S. Senate Colorado on April 4, 2020.

Candidate
Image of Stephan Evans
Stephan Evans (Unity Party) Candidate Connection
Image of Joshua Rodriguez
Joshua Rodriguez (Unity Party) Candidate Connection

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.

2016

U.S. Senate, Colorado General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMichael Bennet Incumbent 50% 1,370,710
     Republican Darryl Glenn 44.3% 1,215,318
     Libertarian Lily Tang Williams 3.6% 99,277
     Green Arn Menconi 1.3% 36,805
     Unity Bill Hammons 0.3% 9,336
     Independent Dan Chapin 0.3% 8,361
     Unaffiliated Paul Noel Fiorino 0.1% 3,216
Total Votes 2,743,023
Source: Colorado Secretary of State




Election analysis

This section will contain facts and figures related to this state's elections when those are available.

See also

Colorado 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
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External links

Footnotes

  1. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018


Senators
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)