October 07, 2025 02:36 PM UTC

Stop Trying to Make "George Brauchler for Governor" Happen

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

Republican George Brauchler, the former Arapahoe County District Attorney turned radio host turned back into a District Attorney in a new district is making an effort to drum up interest [snort] in a potential run for Governor [guffaw] in 2026.

A story from conservative “writer” Chris Dorsey was somehow published by Forbes magazine without anybody bothering to check the sheer absurdity of the claims. The headline alone is worth a justifiable double-take:

Dorsey bases this conclusion on a Denver Post editorial from Sept. 16 that opined on Democrats losing some support in Colorado in a Magellan Strategies poll. The author fails to include an important caveat from the Post:

To be clear, voters who were polled still said they were more likely to support a Democrat for governor next year. Only 38% of those polled said they would likely support a Republican for governor.

It’s important to note that Magellan Strategies was retained by Brauchler during the 2018 election cycle in which he pulled off the impressive feat of losing two different statewide races (more on that in a moment).

The rest of the analysis from Dorsey is based on a silly survey conducted via text by right-wing hacks On Message:

George Brauchler testing the waters for governor in a D+15 state that specifically rejects his brand of vile hateful politics is one of the most delusional things we can think of. Dude was the first Republican to lose the AG race in 20 years. We strongly encourage him to run. #copolitics

[image or embed]

— The Get More Smarter Podcast (@getmoresmarter.com) September 19, 2025 at 10:27 AM

Undeterred, Dorsey went into the Brauchler turd-shining business for Forbes:

On the Republican side, however, the poll revealed that of the declared and likely candidates, only longtime District Attorney George Brauchler stands a viable chance of pulling off one of the nation’s biggest political upsets in 2026. [Pols emphasis]…

…Among the potentially crowded Republican field, Brauchler pulled 33 percent support among party voters in the On Message survey, with populist evangelical conservative Victor Marx coming in a distant second with 15 percent. No other Republican managed more than single digits.

“On the Republican side, it’s Brauchler’s race to lose,” says On Message pollster Wes Anderson. “And given what we’re seeing in terms of dissatisfaction among the state’s voters—across all political affiliations—he would have a real shot should he choose to run.” [Pols emphasis]

Our reaction to this was immediate:

[pause for deep breath]

Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!

There is absolutely, positively, no way in this or any other universe in which George Brauchler is a viable candidate for Governor of Colorado. Full stop.

Underscoring the absurdity of his own conclusions, Dorsey sprinkles in some Trump-esque “many people are saying” nonsense:

Many state political operatives see his tough-on-crime track record and ability to engage voters on other key issues as the party’s best chance to win back the governorship. In 2018, he lost a close race for Attorney General, dramatically outperforming all other Republicans in statewide races…

…For now, all eyes are on Brauchler and whether he will enter the race for Governor with a realistic shot to flip the state red.

For readers who may be unfamiliar with Brauchler, he was a terrible District Attorney who maintained enough name ID in Douglas County to win a seat for DA in a new district in 2024. The man we once labeled “The Magnificent Putz” has long seen himself as a prime candidate for higher office, though he has had a hard time convincing other people of that belief. Brauchler also never seems to see the problem in flirting with a different race just months after getting elected to something else.

In 2017, Brauchler sought the Republican nomination for Governor but dropped out after about eight months when it became clear that he had no idea what he was doing and that donors had no interest in lighting money on fire on his behalf (Brauchler wasn’t able to surpass even $100k in a fundraising quarter). When Republican Cynthia Coffman decided not to seek re-election as Attorney General, Brauchler jumped into that race and promptly made a complete fool of himself on the way to losing to Democrat Phil Weiser by seven points. Brauchler was the first Republican to lose a race for AG in two decades.

After his 2018 double loss, Brauchler hosted a right-wing radio show and wrote a bunch of sore loser opinion pieces for local newspapers — primarily the Colorado Springs Gazette — sniping at Weiser for one thing or another. In the 2022 election, Brauchler promoted his apprentice (then-Arapahoe County DA John Kellner) to run against Weiser. Kellner proved to be an awful candidate, losing by 12 points to Weiser; two years later, Kellner declined to even run for re-election as DA.

It is not un-possible that Brauchler could win the GOP nomination for Governor in a crowded field of candidates led by rake-stepping State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer and goofy manly minister guy Victor Marx, but there is also no factual reason to believe that 2026 George would be any less incompetent than 2018 George. In a 2026 General Election, Brauchler would get crushed by either Democrat in the race — Senator Michael Bennet or (again) Attorney General Phil Weiser.

Brauchler’s, um, optimism is not unique to Republicans. Both political parties have their share of people who really want to be elected to something else and can’t see the writing on the wall in front of them; for the Democrats, look no further than Crisanta Duran, who recently dropped her no-hope bid for Attorney General and is still casting about for another campaign in 2026.

Decades from now, Brauchler will use his last breath to encourage people to float his name for Governor. Even in death, he won’t be any less plausible as a statewide candidate.