DENVER — Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidates State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and State Rep. Scott Bottoms took the stage Thursday evening in their first televised debate ahead of the June 30 primaries. Victor Marx, a third contender in the GOP gubernatorial race, was invited to participate in the debate but declined Denver7's invitation.
Both candidates fielded questions before a live studio audience of a few dozen people as they tried to make the case as to why it was time for Coloradans to hand power back to Republicans this November after nearly 20 years of Democratic control in the state. It was the first major televised debate for both candidates.
Thursday's debate was hosted by Denver7, CPR News and The Denver Post, and was broadcast across all three of each news organization's website. It was also broadcast across all of CPR's radio network in the state.
Watch Denver7's Colette Bordelon and Denver7 anchor Shannon Ogden break down highlights from Thursday's debate in the video player below:
The debate began with a question about leadership, and about the policies or issues both candidates saw as ripe for compromise with Democrats to solve the major issues facing Coloradans.
While both agreed property taxes were a big issue, Bottoms added he'd like to see both Republicans and Democrats work on reducing crime and immigration into the state.
Over the course of the debate, Denver7 also brought questions from viewers to the candidates. One of them was from Brian Shultz, a resident of Parker, who asked what both candidates were offering to a growing constituency of independent voters that need to be reached by both parties.
Here's how both candidates answered that question:
On top of mind for many Coloradans besides property taxes is TABOR. On this topic, both Kirkmeyer and Bottoms agreed — they would not consider changing the requirements for TABOR, even if that would help with resolving issues with the state's budget.
How would both candidates tackle Colorado's rising Medicaid costs?
Bottoms argued the state needs to stop funding "illegal immigrant abortions and transgender surgeries," saying those funds were being taken away from senior and disability care. That statement was rebutted by Kirkmeyer, who challenged Bottoms to "point to me which lines exactly in the budget" took those funds away.
On the topic of surveillance, both candidates agreed that Colorado should work with law enforcement to apprehend dangerous individuals who roam our streets, adding there should be limitations to the amount of data that is shared with these agencies.
Watch: Candidates answer question about public safety and surveillance
Just like their Democratic counterparts, the Republican gubernatorial candidates also fielded a rapid-fire series of "yes" or "no" questions that touched on everything from the validity of the 2020 presidential election to the dismantling of Boulder's NCAR lab and the relocation of Space Command in Alabama and... the Broncos uniforms?
Watch their answers to these questions in the video player below:
The second half of the Republican gubernatorial debate focused heavily on Colorado's relationship with the federal government, especially when it comes to working with the Trump administration.
Asked how he would differentiate himself from President Trump, Bottoms said he didn't "accept the premise of the question on face value," adding that if Trump were to do things that would benefit Colorado he would support him, but should that not be the case, he would not stand behind the president. "I don't have Trump Derangement Syndrome and I'm not going after Trump at every sentence," he remarked.
Kirkmeyer said there would be "some areas" where she would differentiate with Trump should she be the next governor of Colorado, and took a stab at the opposing party vying for the gubernatorial seat.
"I would say it doesn't help that my Democrat opponents in this race keep poking at him and keep going at him. I mean, lawsuit after lawsuit doesn't necessarily make for good relationships, so I'm not sure how they will ever be able to work with a Trump administration should they get elected," Kirkmeyer said.
Things got heated when both candidates were asked a question about focusing on fiscal responsibility instead of policing bathrooms by a Denver7 viewer.
Bottoms once alleged widespread corruption in the state, calling the budget "totally broken" and said he would "DOGE" the state if he became governor. Kirkmeyer responded to those allegations by outright stating that "pretty much everything that Representative Bottoms said is inaccurate."
While she said Colorado has uncovered some instances of fraud, "there are not hundreds and millions of dollars that are being done in a corrupt manner that are going from one program to another program," and argued that Bottoms has never submitted an amendment from him that cuts anything away from the budget. "In fact, the last budget, he didn't even vote on."
Watch the heated exchange below:
"There's no way I can prove this right now"
In a contentious moment of the debate, Denver7's Colette Bordelon pressed Rep. Bottoms to address claims he's made that pedophilia rings are abound through the Colorado House, Senate and Governor's Office.
"There's no way I can prove this right now because I'm not a federal investigator, I'm also not a prosecutor," Bottoms said. "But, we'll see."
When CPR's Bazi Kanani pointed out before the audience that Bottoms admitted he had no evidence to prove his claims, Bottoms replied with, "that's not what I said."
Watch the moment from the debate in the video player below:
The primary election is Tuesday June 30, with Monday, June 8, being the last day Coloradans can change their party affiliation.
Ballots will then be mailed out and 24-hour drop boxes will open. Voter service and polling centers open Monday, June 15; and Monday, June 22 is the last day Coloradans will be able to mail-in their ballots.
Watch the full Republican gubernatorial primary debate in the video player below: