Greg Lopez Makes the Ballot for Gov, Scrambling Colorado Republicans’ Attempts to Unify

DENVER - Today the Secretary of State's office announced Greg Lopez has made the ballot as an Unaffiliated candidate for governor - scrambling Colorado Republicans' attempts to hold their party together for November.

Lopez, who was elected by Republicans to a deep-red seat in Congress in 2024, left the Republican Party in January of this year and has a long history of far-right stances and run-ins with the law:

Lopez's presence on the ballot will force Colorado Republicans to continue propping up their embattled nominee, Victor Marx, who barely defeated a three-candidate primary field this month - leaving Marx vulnerable to Lopez's conservative third-party challenge as he struggles to coalesce his party's support.

Marx's embattled campaign has failed to pivot away from the primary, and he remains mired in scandal after state officials accused him of accepting $80,000 in illegal campaign contributions. His situation is already dire enough that he sent out what 9NEWS called a "loyalty pledge" to other statewide campaigns pleading for their support.

"Make no mistake: there are two far-right Republicans on the ballot for governor this year. Greg Lopez can say he's unaffiliated, but there's absolutely no doubt about his hard-right stances or his past. Coloradans looking for their next governor will not accept Lopez's history of personal misconduct, or his attacks on our reproductive freedoms and robust vote-by-mail system - even if some Republicans already sick of Victor Marx's MAGA-grifter persona and endless scandals welcome Lopez's name on the ballot." - Colorado Democratic Party spokesperson Kailee Stiles.

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