Barbara Kirkmeyer

Democratic Platform

Democrats support progressive taxation, with higher rates on top earners and corporations to fund public investment. The party favors raising the minimum wage, strengthening unions, and expanding worker protections. Democrats generally support government investment in infrastructure, education, and social programs as drivers of broad economic growth.

Barbara Kirkmeyer

Kirkmeyer supports lower taxes, reduced regulation, and a business-friendly environment to keep Colorado competitive. She has been a critic of state spending growth and backs rolling back regulations she argues burden Colorado's agriculture, energy, and small business sectors. She supports workforce development initiatives aligned with Colorado's industries.

Republican Platform

Republicans favor lower taxes across income levels, with particular emphasis on cutting corporate and capital gains taxes to stimulate investment and job creation. The party supports deregulation, reduced government spending, and free market solutions over federal programs as the primary engine of prosperity.

Democratic Platform

Democrats support expanding access to affordable healthcare, including protecting the Affordable Care Act and moving toward a public option or expanded Medicare coverage. The party broadly favors government negotiation of prescription drug prices and opposes removing protections for pre-existing conditions.

Barbara Kirkmeyer

Kirkmeyer supports market-based healthcare approaches and has been critical of Colorado's state public option program, arguing it increases costs for people with employer-sponsored insurance. She backs consumer choice, price transparency, and expanded insurance competition as alternatives to government-administered healthcare.

Republican Platform

Republicans have generally sought to repeal or significantly reform the Affordable Care Act, favoring market-based solutions. The party supports expanding health savings accounts, increasing competition among insurers across state lines, and reducing federal mandates on coverage requirements.

Democratic Platform

Democrats generally support pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including DACA recipients, and favor comprehensive immigration reform. The party supports increased resources for legal immigration processing and a humanitarian approach to asylum seekers at the border.

Barbara Kirkmeyer

Kirkmeyer supports enforcement-first immigration policies and has been a critic of Colorado's sanctuary policies. She backs cooperation between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities and supports federal border security measures. She has focused on the costs of immigration policy for Colorado communities.

Republican Platform

Republicans prioritize border security and strict enforcement of existing immigration law. The party broadly supports completing physical border barriers, ending policies they view as incentivizing illegal entry, and reforming legal immigration to favor applicants with marketable skills.

Democratic Platform

Democrats favor robust federal investment in public K-12 education and higher education, along with policies to reduce or eliminate student loan debt. The party generally opposes using public funds for private school vouchers and supports universal pre-K and affordable childcare.

Barbara Kirkmeyer

Kirkmeyer supports school choice, parental rights in education, and local control over curriculum decisions. She has been critical of progressive curriculum changes in Colorado's public schools and backs expanded charter school options. She supports vocational education and workforce training as paths to middle-class careers.

Republican Platform

Republicans support school choice, including voucher programs for private and religious schools, and local control over curriculum decisions. The party generally opposes federal education mandates and broadly supports parental rights in schooling. Many Republicans oppose student loan forgiveness as unfair to borrowers who repaid their loans.

Democratic Platform

Democrats broadly support stricter gun safety measures, including universal background checks, red flag laws, and restrictions on assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. The party frames these regulations as consistent with the Second Amendment and necessary to reduce mass shootings.

Barbara Kirkmeyer

Kirkmeyer is a Second Amendment supporter who has opposed gun safety legislation in the Colorado state senate. She has been critical of Colorado's red flag law and other gun regulations as infringing on the rights of law-abiding Coloradans, and backs existing law enforcement over new restrictions.

Republican Platform

Republicans strongly defend Second Amendment rights and generally oppose new gun control legislation, arguing that existing laws should be enforced more effectively. The party emphasizes mental health intervention, the right to self-defense, and opposes what they view as infringement on law-abiding gun owners.

Democratic Platform

Democrats view climate change as an urgent crisis requiring immediate government action. The party supports transitioning to clean energy through federal investment and regulation, reducing carbon emissions across the economy, and meeting international climate commitments. Democrats generally oppose expanding fossil fuel development on public lands.

Barbara Kirkmeyer

Kirkmeyer has opposed aggressive state climate mandates, arguing they raise costs for Coloradans and harm the state's agriculture, energy, and rural industries. She supports a balanced energy policy that maintains energy reliability and affordability and has been critical of Colorado's all-electric vehicle and building mandates as economically burdensome.

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize American energy independence through domestic production of oil, gas, and coal alongside renewable development. Many in the party are skeptical of aggressive climate regulations they argue harm economic growth and jobs. Republicans generally prefer market-based energy solutions over government mandates and oppose restrictions that raise energy costs for families.

Democratic Platform

Democrats generally support a multilateral approach to foreign policy, emphasizing alliances, international institutions, and diplomacy as the first line of engagement. The party broadly supports maintaining NATO commitments, providing aid to democratic allies, and engaging international bodies to address shared challenges.

Barbara Kirkmeyer

Kirkmeyer supports a strong U.S. military and backs American national interests in foreign policy. She has raised concerns about the scale of foreign aid spending and supports conditions on international assistance. As a governor candidate she engages foreign policy primarily through Colorado's defense industry and the economic effects of trade and energy policy on the state.

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize American sovereignty, a strong military as a deterrent, and bilateral relationships over multilateral institutions. The party broadly supports robust defense spending and is skeptical of international agreements they view as constraining American action or requiring open-ended foreign commitments.

Democratic Platform

Democrats oppose cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits and support expanding both programs. The party generally favors raising the Social Security payroll tax cap on high earners to ensure long-term solvency and opposes any form of privatization.

Barbara Kirkmeyer

Kirkmeyer supports protecting earned Social Security and Medicare benefits for current and near-retirees. She backs ensuring long-term program solvency through economic growth and fiscal restraint rather than tax increases.

Republican Platform

Republicans support reforming Social Security and Medicare to ensure long-term fiscal solvency, which some in the party argue requires adjusting benefits or eligibility ages. The party opposes tax increases to fund the programs and some members have supported personal investment account options.

Democratic Platform

Democrats broadly support criminal justice reform, including reducing mandatory minimum sentences, addressing racial disparities in policing and incarceration, and investing in community-based alternatives. The party generally supports police accountability measures and evidence-based approaches to reducing recidivism.

Barbara Kirkmeyer

Kirkmeyer supports strong law enforcement funding and has been critical of criminal justice reforms she argues have contributed to rising crime in Colorado. She backs tougher sentencing for violent and repeat offenders and has opposed bail reform measures she argues return dangerous individuals to the streets.

Republican Platform

Republicans emphasize law and order, strong support for law enforcement, and tough penalties for crime. The party generally opposes reducing mandatory minimum sentences for violent offenses and supports prosecutors pursuing strong sentences. Republicans broadly oppose policies they view as undermining police authority or creating leniency for criminals.