Who can best lead Colorado?

On October 4, 2026, I attended the Asian Roundtable of Colorado Governor Candidate Forum with speakers Greg Lopez (Unaffiliated), Phil Weiser (Democrat), and Victor Marx (Republican). Each candidate was given the same nine questions in advance and a total of 30 minutes to respond. The questions covered law enforcement, immigration, support for family care givers for aging parents, Medicaid costs, rising housing costs, excessive regulations on businesses, concerns about water, energy, data centers, and preservation of Asian and Pacific Islander history. The recording of this forum is available at Asian Roundtable of Colorado. This article is my assessment of the leadership potential of each of the three candidates for Colorado governor, and not a review of their policy positions.

Greg Lopez (Unaffiliated)

Greg Lopez’s strengths include his governing experience as a U.S. Congressman, former Colorado Director of the Small Business Administration, and former Mayor/City Manager of Parker. He is also an Air Force Veteran, which would serve him well in Colorado as potentially the Commander of the National Guard and in a state with significant Air Force assets. Lopez answered all of the questions with specific knowledge gained from his various positions. As the former President of the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he explained how regulations harm small businesses. As a former Parker Mayor, he shared examples when using his bilingual skills and translations were helpful in not only law enforcement situations, but also in enforcement of town policies with citizens. Lopez can also list the various fees in development that are driving up housing costs. Overall, he responds with specificity superior to his opponents, and he points to the thriving town of Parker as a valid measure of his successful leadership.

Lopez readily admits that his weakness is healthcare management, and he addressed that limitation by selecting running mate Taralyn Romero as his lieutenant governor. Romero brings 25 years of executive experience in healthcare to the ticket. Medicaid is the largest component in the Colorado budget deficit of $1.6 Billion, and Medicaid is trending to bankrupt the state budget in the near future without diligent cuts to fraud, waste, and abuse.

Phil Weiser (Democrat)

Weiser’s strength is his position as Colorado Attorney General. Weiser demonstrated an academic understanding of the main question categories: law enforcement, Medicaid, housing, energy, and the economy. He referenced his 100+ page “blueprint” plan for Colorado, and his intention to “listen” and “collaborate” to see if his proposed policies are effective. Weiser measures his success by citing 86 lawsuits joined or filed against corporations and the federal government.

Weiser’s weakness is that he has been in a leadership role during the Polis administration for the past eight years which has led to Colorado’s decline in all of the aforementioned categories. My main concern with Weiser is that his responses are disingenuous, using veiled terminology, and completely disconnected from the reality of long-term legislated agendas of the Democrat party in Colorado. The uninformed voter might not recognize Weiser’s omissions and lack of transparency. Regarding healthcare, Weiser talks about improving primary care and preventative care, but he does not mention that the Colorado Democrat party expanded Medicaid to people who otherwise would not qualify and then proposed cuts for family caregivers of the disabled and elderly. Weiser speaks about caring for the elderly but omits that he was the Attorney General during the COVID lockdowns that protected a state policy that allowed people to die alone in hospitals without family members. It was cruel that families were prevented from being with their hospitalized loved ones who were sick or dying. Regarding housing, Weiser talks about creating more affordable homes, but he does not mention the Colorado Democrat party’s statewide mandate for high density rental housing near public transportation, which he will expand if elected. Regarding water and energy, Weiser alludes to “climate goals” without disclosure that those goals include phasing out affordable natural gas for homes and taxing the use of gasoline for cars and deliveries. These policies will create an energy crisis in Colorado because the “clean” energy supply cannot meet the energy demands. Overall, under Weiser’s leadership as Attorney General, Colorado became worse in all major areas of national crime rankings: violent crime, property crime, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and homicide. Weiser’s rhetoric does not match the record of the Democrat party in Colorado over the past eight years.

Weiser’s running mate is Lesley Dahlkemper, who previously served on the Jefferson County Public Schools Board of Education. As a Jefferson County Commissioner in 2022, Dahlkemper and her co-commissioners sued a homeowner to confiscate her private property and make it a public park. The illegal property seizure failed and resulted in a $250,000 settlement with the homeowner, and made national news for an egregious violation of property rights.

Victor Marx (Republican)

Victor Marx’s strength is the influence of his personality. His online heroic persona is a veteran, who has allegedly saved children in foreign countries from trafficking. From my Army officer experience, working with orphans and civil affairs operations in Bosnia, I find the notion that Marx was allowed to relocate children to a foreign country as far-fetched. Nevertheless, many of his supporters are fervent loyalists to the Republican party, even defending Marx when he refuses to participate in debates.

Victor Marx’s weaknesses are threefold. First, he lacks leadership experience in Colorado at the local or state level. Second, he shows very little depth in responding to questions. Instead he reads a few bullet points from his notes. He refuses to participate in debates where the questions are not provided in advance, and he would be required to think on his feet. Third, on stage Marx occasionally mumbled and slurred some words, and then randomly yelled some responses. These can be signs of moodiness and emotional volatility. He has publicly claimed multiple mental health diagnoses. It is fair for voters to expect him to be transparent about his mental health management. He slammed his wife into a door and then told supporters that this is a self-defense preparedness tactic. I do not think he has the temperament, knowledge, or experience to be governor.

Marx’s running mate, George Markert, is a retired Marine veteran who also lacks an elected or appointed leadership position in Colorado and has only lived in Colorado for three years.

Conclusion

I asked an audience member for his opinion of the candidates, and he responded, “I like attending candidate forums and find them very helpful. It’s like a job interview with the public. This AAPI Governor Forum was excellent. They did a great job with their format and thoughtful questions. It made evaluating the candidates simple and straight forward. It was apparent only one candidate has what it takes to be our next Governor. That’s Greg Lopez. He will not need on the job training. Clearly, he’s ready to govern now.”

In my opinion, Greg Lopez, with his executive governing experience, is the best prepared to lead a state and its many agencies. If voted into office, he could provide the check and balance on the Democrat majority in the legislature to stop runaway spending into state bankruptcy. He has already made the first bold leadership decision of the three candidates by picking a running mate with experience in managing billions of dollars in health programs and who can solve the state Medicaid budget crisis. Currently, Lieutenant Governor Primavera leads the Office of Saving People Money on Healthcare, and her replacement must be an expert in healthcare, which is the most complex issue in the state. It is likely that Kyle Clark of 9News reneged on his debate invitation to Lopez because the gubernatorial forums show the public that Lopez is the most prepared leader among the three candidates.

For more on the laws passed leading to Colorado’s decline, see Pam Long’s series:

Eight Years of Colorado Theft Under Gov. Polis and Democrat legislation, Part 1: safety, security, parental rights

Eight Years of Colorado Theft Under Gov. Polis and Democrat legislation, Part 2: community, education, healthcare

Eight Years of Colorado Theft Under Gov. Polis and Democrat legislation, Part 3: energy, small businesses, and income