Barbara Kirkmeyer

Barbara Kirkmeyer lives in Weld County, Colorado.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado in 1980. Her career experience includes working as a business owner and dairy farmer.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Barb Kirkmeyer is a 4th generation Coloradan, Mom, and small businesswoman. Barb has a record of delivering meaningful results for her community as a State Senator and a Weld County Commissioner.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

To Address Colorado's Affordability crisis, Barb will:

-Lower Insurance by increasing competition, reducing mandates, and reining in lawsuit abuse. L

-Lower Grocery and Home construction costs by repealing onerous regulations and increasing water supply.

-Create a “Regulatory Bill of Rights” that holds State Agencies accountable for the private sector costs from new regulations.

-Pursue a “Best of the Above” energy plan that will lower prices and power new jobs. “Best of the Above” means the most cost-effective, substantial and ready-to-go energy solutions for Colorado.

-Stop the bureaucratic growth in government that that’s leading to more taxes and fees.To Address Colorado's Public Safety problems, Barb will:

Support law enforcement.

Strengthen drug laws and sentencing.

Equip Schools with security and technology to prevent attacks.

Ensure roads and bridges are safe.

Ensure Every Community has access to a Hospital.To Rebuild Colorado's unravelling infrastructure, Barb will:

-Nearly double road maintenance and construction funding by focusing $6 billion in four years, $10 billion in 8 years, without raising taxes.

-Restore CDOT to its mission of maintaining our roads to a high standard of safety.

-Support bottom-up transportation planning, by removing Denver bureaucrats' influence over regional planning.

-Support reservoir expansions and other water projects that increase water storage.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

As a member of the Joint Budget Committee, Barb is passionate about a state government that keeps its eye on the ball, meeting the needs of its citizens efficiently and effectively. She wants Colorado Government to do the basics, and do them well, rather than distract agency missions with pet political projects and divisive special interest agendas. "Back to the Basics" means less regulations, improved public safety, and better infrastructure throughout Colorado.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To make sure Colorado's government does basics. Our roads should be safe. Our laws should be enforced. Our schools should produce smart and self-sufficient young adults. And we need to reign in government overreach that is so rampant right now, because it makes life in Colorado more expensive.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked on my family's dairy farm in northern Jefferson County. My first job was to feed and water the animals first thing in the morning and again in the evening each day. I later owned and operated the farm.

Different states require governors to have different degrees of responsibility for the state budgeting process. If it were your choice, what do you believe is the appropriate degree of gubernatorial involvement with this process in your state?

I believe it is important for a separate-but-equal branch of government, with elected representatives accountable to voters, to hold the Executive Branch accountable for its stewardship of tax dollars. That is why the Founders bestowed the Legislature with the power of the purse, as a member of the Joint Budget Committee, I certainly agree. It may not be perfect, but it's better than all the other alternatives.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Former Governor Bill Owens, Congressman Gabe Evans, Former Attorney General John Suthers, and many state legislators, to name a few.

What role should your state’s government have in the development or use of artificial intelligence?

I believe Colorado's government needs to embrace new technologies and welcome emerging business sectors. 30 years ago, Colorado was the central hub for the nascent broadband internet market. We need to reform state tax laws on data center equipment, which are prohibitive, or we will miss out on biggest evolution in high tech since broadband internet. With regard to regulation: State regulators do not have the technical capacity or expertise to regulate artificial intelligence in a specific manner. AI companies, like all other kinds of businesses, must abide by existing Colorado law respecting privacy, intellectual property, and liability.

Campaign websiteKirkmeyer's campaign website stated the following:It’s Time!Barb's plan to build a better, safer, more affordable ColoradoBARB'S PLAN TO REBUILD COLORADO​Colorado is unravelling, both literally and figuratively. Colorado’s roads are crumbling. Our facilities and institutions are failing. Our schools lose students, and test scores remain low, but school district administrative ranks keep growing. Our insurance market is falling apart.BARB'S PLAN: EducationRequire at least 65% of funding to be spent in the classroom.Require evidence of improved learning before new programs can be continued.Support school district efforts to ban phones in classrooms.Institutions Enforce strict safety and high staff performance standards at all state institutions serving youth, mental health patients, and developmentally disabled individuals.  Fully fund Colorado’s State Mental Health Hospital to ensure violent offenders do not walk free. RoadsImplement a $6 billion plan over four years to build, expand, and better maintain Colorado's crumbling roads and highways. Read my plan herePrioritize road repair and maintenance over non-road spending, such as bike paths and sound walls. Improve local/regional prioritization of spending priorities, leading from the local-up, rather than top-down.Restore full funding and accelerate construction of state and regional priority projects.InsuranceExpand rural health care accessibilityGet government and insurance companies out of the middle of the doctor-patient relationship.Allow Medicaid beneficiaries to use their benefits to “buy into” the private insurance market.Ensure price transparency, so consumers and patients know the cost of any treatment or procedure in advance.MAKE COLORADO AFFORDABLE Colorado has the 9th highest grocery prices, 6th highest median home prices, and 7th highest home insurance rates. The cost of government — propelled by runaway government spending and higher taxes, fees, and regulations on families, small businesses, and products — is crushing Colorado families. These high prices did not happen by accident or fate; they were a policy choice by one-party Democratic lawmakers.Lower Insurance by increasing competition, reducing mandates, and reining in lawsuit abuse.Lower Grocery and Home construction costs by repealing onerous regulations and increasing water supply.Create a “Regulatory Bill of Rights” that holds State Agencies accountable for the private sector costs from new regulations.Pursue a “Best of the Above” energy plan that will lower prices and power new jobs. Leverage workers, land and transmission from decommissioned coal plants by co-locating “Best of the Above” sources of energy in the same area. “Best of the Above” means the most cost-effective, substantial and ready-to-go energy solutions for those facilities.Stop the bureaucratic growth in government that’s leading to more taxes and fees. As a leader on the Joint Budget Committee, Barb has called for a 10% across the board personnel cost cut to every state agency, as well as the elimination of many new and ineffective state program.MAKE COLORADO SAFE From 2013-2022, Colorado’s Violent Crime rate increased dramatically, while the US rate remained flat overall. Since 2022, Colorado’s crime rate has remained sticky, falling modestly but more slowly than the US in general.BARB'S PLAN: Law Enforcement. Support law enforcement officers, who want to do their jobs but are threatened by recent laws holding cops personally liable while on the job. Appoint Judges who will enforce strict sentencing. No more cashless bail!Require truth-in-sentencing to ensure that convicts serve at least 85% of their sentence.  Fentanyl. Possession of ANY AMOUNT of FENTANYL should be a felony. Felony possession charges should be increased for other hard drugs such as cocaine, meth and Heroin. Audit recently-created drug treatment programs to determine effectiveness.To get ahead of the “next Fentanyl”, Governors should be empowered to add new drugs to the felony possession list on a provisional basis.School Safety As a State Senator, Barb passed legislation to create the Office of School Safety to provide grants and resources for added security in schools. Ensure every high school has a School Resource Officer on site, every school day. Ensure schools have funding to equip school camera systems with AI weapons detection software, to speed up threat detection and reaction times.  Road SafetyPrioritize highway repair and maintenance over non-road spending, such as bike paths and sound walls. Support Colorado State Patrol to strongly enforce traffic laws.— Barbara Kirkmeyer's campaign website (June 7, 2026)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

Barbara Kirkmeyer did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Barb Kirkmeyer has built a record as a conservative fighter who wins as the state senator from District 23, encompassing Broomfield and portions of Weld and Larimer counties, and as a 20-year Weld County Commissioner.

In her first year as a state senator, Barb was able to pass 17 bills to promote economic and personal freedom and improve Coloradans’ safety and quality of life, in spite of the Democrats’ advantage in the chamber. She was acknowledged by Colorado Politics as a notable legislator who “ debated like a statehouse veteran, not a first-year back bencher.”

Barb Kirkmeyer is a 4th generation Coloradan who has lived in southern Weld County for over 35 years. As a Weld County Commissioner for 20 years, Kirkmeyer pursued a strongly conservative agenda, leaving Weld County as Colorado’s only large, debt-free county. She also helped coordinate an effort to make Weld County a Second Amendment sanctuary from liberal assaults on gun rights. Prior to serving as a county commissioner, Barb co-owned and operated a dairy farm, was a small business owner for 15 years, and served in Governor Owens’ cabinet as the acting executive executive director of the Department of Local Affairs.

Kirkmeyer graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in physical education. Both her daughters graduated from Weld County schools and live with their families in southern Weld County.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Reduce the cost of livingRestore American energy independenceSecure the border

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Reducing deficit spending and the national debt

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Perhaps the greatest threat to America's long-term prosperity and standing in the world are runaway deficits and debt.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I support term limits and would back a Constitutional amendment.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

As a current state legislator and former county commissioner, I know that compromise is sometimes necessary. But it must be done without sacrificing core values.

Barbara Kirkmeyer did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Kirkmeyer's campaign website listed the following issues:[3]

Fiscal Responsibility: "Over 13 years as a County Commissioner, Barbara has a proven track record as a fiscal conservative. In her time on the Commission, Weld is the only county in the state with no debt, no county sales tax, and actually has given a refund back to taxpayers year after year."

2nd Amendment: "In Colorado, the right to keep and bear arms is more than just a slogan; it is a part of our culture. Barbara helped draft and pass a resolution in support of Weld County Sheriff John Cooke’s efforts to oppose the egregious anti-gun legislation imposed by the Colorado Legislature. Barbara strongly supports the 2nd Amendment, without compromise."

Defending the Right to Life: "Standing up for the unborn means more than just making speeches. As a County Commissioner, Barbara voted to ban the Plan B abortion bill, and has been a proud and consistent supporter of the Personhood movement, unambiguously defending life from conception."

Protecting our Energy Resources: "In Colorado, we are blessed with an abundance of oil and natural gas that have the potential to be a huge boon to our economy. Unfortunately, radical environmentalists and the EPA have put up roadblock after roadblock to try to stifle our energy sector. Barbara has been a strong advocate for fracking, and enthusiastically supports the further exploration for oil and gas in Colorado."

Health Care: "Colorado families have been hammered by ObamaCare, and Barbara will go to Washington, DC and fight to get rid of this costly program that has hurt our state. Thousands of families have seen their plans cancelled, while thousands more have fewer options and higher premiums and deductibles. ObamaCare has been a disaster, and it must be repealed."

[4]

—Barbara Kirkmeyer's campaign website, https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://www.kirkmeyerforcongress.com/issues/