Barbara Kirkmeyer’s Billionaire-First Agenda Puts Donors Before Coloradans

State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer is expected to announce her candidacy for governor today while touting her record, which is littered with decades of corruption, extremism, and putting special interests over working families. Colorado Republicans expect candidates who can bring their Party together, and unfortunately Kirkmeyer is sure to inflame an already divided Party plagued with infighting.

In response to her candidacy announcement, Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib issued the following statement.

“Coloradans are tired of politicians who sell them out to donors, and Senator Kirkmeyer is one of the worst offenders in the state legislature. From defending Trump’s giveaways to giant corporations and the wealthy, to her attempts to plunge the state into a deficit, Kirkmeyer is more of the same that Coloradans have come to expect of an out-of-touch Republican Party eager to please its donors and online trolls before voters,” said Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib

“While pretending to be a self-proclaimed budget hawk, Barbara Kirkmeyer defended Colorado Republicans in Congress when they blew a $1.2 billion hole in our state budget, cutting people’s health care and food assistance for kids while jacking up the cost of things like groceries, gas, and your health insurance.”

Here are 12 things you didn’t know about Barbara Kirkmeyer

1. She’s running to represent a state she wanted to secede from.

She’s expected to announce her candidacy at the Historic Fort Lupton, the same location where a watch party for Weld County’s secession referendum was hosted, a measure she supported. The measure asked voters if Weld County should leave Colorado and form its own state. Kirkmeyer said she had “no regrets” about trying to break Weld County away from Colorado.

2. She’s against reproductive freedom.

Kirkmeyer signed personhood petitions, compared abortion to prostitution and rape, and even voted to ban Plan B from Weld County health clinics. In her own words: “I don’t agree to any exceptions to abortion.”

3. She tried to hide her abortion record.

During her 2022 congressional campaign, Kirkmeyer scrubbed her website (original here) of references to her opposition to abortion rights after securing the GOP nomination, proving she knows her stance is toxic to Colorado voters.

4. She defended Trump and Colorado Congressional Republicans’ Medicaid and food stamp cuts, and a $1.2 billion budget hole.

Kirkmeyer was the lead Republican voice who spread lies and misinformation about the federal budget that Colorado Republicans in Congress approved and President Trump signed. That bill blew an immediate $1.2 billion hole in Colorado’s state budget, cut funding for Medicaid and food stamps, put at least six rural hospitals (all in Rep. Jeff Hurd’s district) at risk of closing, and more.

5. She’s anti-family and anti-worker.

In her time in the Colorado General Assembly, she opposed family leave, maternal health coverage, child tax credits, lowering property taxes and wage protections for agricultural workers.

6. She personally profited from oil and gas.

In 2013, Kirkmeyer and her siblings sold 110 acres to Anadarko Petroleum for $950,000 while she was a Weld County Commissioner approving sweetheart deals for the same industry. Anadarko’s PAC was also one of her top donors.

7. She sided with polluters over kids.

When high benzene levels were detected near Bella Romero Elementary School, Kirkmeyer accused the health department of “fear mongering” instead of protecting children.

8. She stripped retiree health benefits.

In 2009, she voted to terminate Weld County’s Retirement Health Savings Plan, cutting off benefits for about 300 retired employees during the Great Recession.

9. She voted against cracking down on fentanyl dealers.

In 2022, Kirkmeyer voted against a bipartisan bill that made fentanyl possession a felony and expanded law enforcement tools, even though police backed the bill.

10. She tried to block gun safety reforms.

When the Colorado General Assembly passed a law to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and those with severe mental illness, Kirkmeyer voted to declare Weld County a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” and opposed background checks, ammo limits, and training requirements. She dismissed Colorado’s post-Aurora reforms as useless.

11. She fearmongered about solar panels.

Kirkmeyer claimed solar facilities could become “superfund sites,” while never raising similar alarms about oil and gas, the industry that funded her campaigns.

12. She tried to silence Weld County’s watchdogs.

Kirkmeyer voted to eliminate the Weld County Council, the independent body that reviewed commissioner conflicts of interest and kept commissioners honest.

The Bottom Line

Barbara Kirkmeyer hasn’t changed. She’s the same extreme, donor-driven politician she’s always been. Now, she’s trying to hide her record from voters. Colorado hasn’t elected a Republican governor in over two decades for a reason: extremist candidates like Barbara Kirkmeyer are out of step with Colorado values.