January 05, 2026 11:53 AM UTC

Baisley Drops Out of GOP Primary for CO Gov, Switches to U.S. Senate

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• by: Erik Maulbetsch

(From the department of LOL — Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Originally published at the Colorado Times Recorder

State Sen. Mark Baisley (R-Woodland Park) is dropping out of the governor’s race and says he is instead running for U.S. Senate. His exit from the GOP gubernatorial primary leaves 20 candidates still vying to lead the state.

In making the switch, Baisley instantly becomes the most prominent Republican seeking to be the party’s nominee to run for the Senate seat currently occupied by Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper in November.

Baisley’s switch comes one day after another GOP elected official, Montrose County Commissioner Sean Pond, announced his intention to run for U.S. Senate. Business. Other candidates include former state Rep. Janak Joshi, George Markert, a retired Marine colonel from Broomfield, and Dathan Jones, a pastor and current acting chair of the Alamosa GOP.

Other legislators remaining in the GOP primary race for governor include state Rep. Scott Bottoms of Colorado Springs and Weld County state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer.

Baisley, who runs an engineering software firm called Slipglass, was first elected to the state House in 2018 and then ran for the state Senate in 2022. He was one of the first Republicans to announce a run for governor, launching his campaign in February, although an independent committee, New Colorado Promise, which endorsed him for governor, was established even earlier in November of 2024. That committee’s website has since gone dark.

Baisley first announced his switch on conservative podcast Free State Colorado. Asked by host Brandon Wark why he thinks he can win when recent Republicans “didn’t do well at all,” Baisley predicts a “red wave” in 2026. He cited two factors: the Trump Administration’s recent actions in Minnesota and increased enthusiasm of grassroots conservatives following the murder of Charlie Kirk.

Six weeks ago, Baisley posted that he’d been approached about “taking over the state party as chairman,” but insisted then that he was committed to his campaign for Governor.

Incumbent John Hickenlooper is widely expected to be reelected to a second term, though he faces a primary challenge of his own from Baisley’s state Senate colleague Julie Gonzalez. Baisley cited that primary as another reason he thinks he can win, noting that “they’ll dust it up in the primary and hopefully that will benefit my stepping in and representing Colorado the way we ought to be represented in Washington D.C.”

Baisley’s official announcement will take place in Castle Rock at noon today.

“Colorado needs a U.S. Senator relentlessly for our Constitution, our economy, and our families,” said Baisley in a release. “After traveling the state and listening to voters, it’s clear Washington, not just Denver, is where this fight must be taken.”

Baisley did not immediately respond to an email request for comment as to whether the independent committee that had backed him for governor would now be supporting his Senate campaign and whether he plans to endorse any of the other Republicans running for governor. This article will be updated with any response received.

RELATED: The GOP Field to Oust Hickenlooper Is Thin and Unabashedly Pro-Trump