Colorado will not​ get a rematch in one of the tightest races for U.S. Congress in Colorado. State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer narrowly lost to former state representative now-Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo. But Kirkmeyer has decided against pursuing the congressional seat in 2024 in hopes of staying in a powerful position in state government.

The short answer behind Kirkmeyer’s decision to stay is that she enjoys her work at the state Capitol. The big question now is: Who will Republicans choose to be the next candidate in what was a very tight race last time?

“I pretty much made up my mind about that decision during the last week of session,” Kirkmeyer said.

Folks who know Kirkmeyer were probably not surprised by her decision to rerun for state Senate instead of another congressional bid.

“She went through a tough race last time, one of the closest in the nation, a 1,600 vote difference, less than a percent,” FOX31 political analyst Michael Fields said. “It’s always hard to go through those races but she is in the state Senate and is on the Joint Budget Committee. I think she really enjoyed it and wants to stay there and continue working for the people of Colorado there.”

Kirkmeyer said those are all the reasons that she has decided to run for her state Capitol seat again despite recent criticism from the state party chair on social media. Kirkmeyer said whoever the next Republican candidate in the district race is will have to figure out how to work with everyone.

“It is important to have that partnership when you’re running in this type of race between the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the state party, and really feel like you have their full support,” Kirkmeyer said. “I just think, unfortunately, we are at a period where it just would be nice to have a relevant state party chair who was focused on defeating Democrats instead of ridiculing and criticizing Republicans.”

Kirkmeyer said the Republicans’ historic minority at the state Capitol makes it all the more important for her to stay put right now. But in the district intentionally drawn to be competitive, who else has a shot against incumbent Caraveo? Fields said the race is wide open.

“I think there is going to be a robust primary given the fact there is no clear frontrunner: somebody who has a ton of name ID, who can raise a ton of money,” Fields said. “I think you are going to see maybe some state legislators get in the race, some former county commissioners, current county commissioners. I think there are going to be a lot of people that are going to jump into this race and I think that is healthy to have a primary that is tough because it is a tough general election race.”

On top of the race for this district, Republicans will also be trying to hold on to Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District on the Western Slope where Lauren Boebert won by only 554 votes in 2022.



Note: This story is from the Fox 31 Website, which can be found here.