Candidate websites
Governor / Lt. Governor
2026 Colorado Governor / Lt. Governor — General Election · November 3, 2026
Official filing status and all displayed profile fields are shown with retained source evidence. Final ballot placement remains explicitly pending.
Last reviewed September 15, 2026Policy statements from campaign-controlled sources are labeled candidate positions; they are not independently presented as proven outcomes.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
2026 General Election Official Candidate List
This list is official and reflects what was certified to the counties on September 4.
Candidate name: Erik Underwood
Office: Governor
District: State
Party: Approval Voting Party
Write in?: N
Lieutenant Governor: Frank Atwood
Lieutenant Governor party: Approval Voting Party
Only contact details published in official filing records, FEC filings, or a verified candidate-owned source with retained exact evidence appear here.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
2026 General Election Official Candidate List
This list is official and reflects what was certified to the counties on September 4.
Candidate name: Erik Underwood
Office: Governor
District: State
Party: Approval Voting Party
Write in?: N
Lieutenant Governor: Frank Atwood
Lieutenant Governor party: Approval Voting Party
Publication here means only that the contact detail appeared in the cited filing. It is not an endorsement, and older filings may remain visible until an amended official record is captured.
Verified records and candidate-provided claims are labeled separately.
Veterans Off the Streets. Roughly 1 in 13 unhoused Coloradans is a veteran. I will appoint a Governor’s Veterans Housing Coordinator with authority across DOLA, CDPHE, and the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to drive veteran homelessness toward functional zero within four years.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Veterans Off the Streets. Roughly 1 in 13 unhoused Coloradans is a veteran. I will appoint a Governor’s Veterans Housing Coordinator with authority across DOLA, CDPHE, and the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to drive veteran homelessness toward functional zero within four years.
My approach is built on four pillars: Housing First, Without Apologies. The evidence is clear: getting someone into stable housing is the prerequisite for everything else — sobriety, employment, family reunification, mental health stability. I will direct the Department of Local Affairs to fund Housing First placements at scale, paired with my existing platform’s state-backed affordable housing loan program. A Behavioral Health Bed Guarantee. Colorado is short thousands of psychiatric, substance-use treatment, and crisis-stabilization beds. As Governor I will commit to a five-year build-out so that no Coloradan in crisis is turned away or sent to jail because the bed didn’t exist. Veterans Off the Streets. Roughly 1 in 13 unhoused Coloradans is a veteran. I will appoint a Governor’s Veterans Housing Coordinator with authority across DOLA, CDPHE, and the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to drive veteran homelessness toward functional zero within four years. End the Criminalization of Poverty. I will use executive authority and budget leverage to push every Colorado jurisdiction away from camping bans and toward outreach, navigation, and housing. Sweeps without housing offers don’t solve homelessness — they relocate it and traumatize the people inside the tents.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
My approach is built on four pillars: Housing First, Without Apologies. The evidence is clear: getting someone into stable housing is the prerequisite for everything else — sobriety, employment, family reunification, mental health stability. I will direct the Department of Local Affairs to fund Housing First placements at scale, paired with my existing platform’s state-backed affordable housing loan program. A Behavioral Health Bed Guarantee. Colorado is short thousands of psychiatric, substance-use treatment, and crisis-stabilization beds. As Governor I will commit to a five-year build-out so that no Coloradan in crisis is turned away or sent to jail because the bed didn’t exist. Veterans Off the Streets. Roughly 1 in 13 unhoused Coloradans is a veteran. I will appoint a Governor’s Veterans Housing Coordinator with authority across DOLA, CDPHE, and the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to drive veteran homelessness toward functional zero within four years. End the Criminalization of Poverty. I will use executive authority and budget leverage to push every Colorado jurisdiction away from camping bans and toward outreach, navigation, and housing. Sweeps without housing offers don’t solve homelessness — they relocate it and traumatize the people inside the tents.
Our youth deserves leadership who actually grew up in challenging circumstances. Someone who understands and talks their language. Here is my plan.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Our youth deserves leadership who actually grew up in challenging circumstances. Someone who understands and talks their language. Here is my plan.
I’m Erik, and I didn’t grow up in a mansion in Cherry Hills or learn politics in some Ivy League boardroom. I grew up in the housing projects, raised by a single mother who sometimes had to choose between keeping the lights on and putting food on our table. That struggle – that reality of working families getting left behind while the powerful get richer – that’s not just policy to me. It’s personal.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
I’m Erik, and I didn’t grow up in a mansion in Cherry Hills or learn politics in some Ivy League boardroom. I grew up in the housing projects, raised by a single mother who sometimes had to choose between keeping the lights on and putting food on our table. That struggle – that reality of working families getting left behind while the powerful get richer – that’s not just policy to me. It’s personal.
As Chairman of Illmatic Ventures, CEO of My24HourNews.Com and Vurbil, I’ve built tech businesses from the ground up. Having worked in the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C., I know how to craft legislation and develop working coalitions. As a former student Junior Prosecutor in Atlanta (Atlanta City Solicitor’s Office for 5 months), I’ve stood up for justice in the courtroom. I’ve spent years navigating the federal legal system, not as a comfortable insider, but as someone who had to earn every victory against overwhelming odds.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
As Chairman of Illmatic Ventures, CEO of My24HourNews.Com and Vurbil, I’ve built tech businesses from the ground up. Having worked in the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C., I know how to craft legislation and develop working coalitions. As a former student Junior Prosecutor in Atlanta (Atlanta City Solicitor’s Office for 5 months), I’ve stood up for justice in the courtroom. I’ve spent years navigating the federal legal system, not as a comfortable insider, but as someone who had to earn every victory against overwhelming odds.
To the single mother in Aurora choosing between her child’s medicine and next month’s rent – I see you. To the college graduate in Colorado Springs living with four roommates because that’s the only way to afford housing – I hear you. To the family in Pueblo watching their neighborhood get gentrified around them – I’m fighting for you.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
To the single mother in Aurora choosing between her child’s medicine and next month’s rent – I see you. To the college graduate in Colorado Springs living with four roommates because that’s the only way to afford housing – I hear you. To the family in Pueblo watching their neighborhood get gentrified around them – I’m fighting for you.
Fighting for Colorado • Speaking Truth to Power • Standing Up for What’s RightColorado, you know me, and you know my story.I’m Erik, and I didn’t grow up in a mansion in Cherry Hills or learn politics in some Ivy League boardroom. I grew up in the housing projects, raised by a single mother who sometimes had to choose between keeping the lights on and putting food on our table. That struggle – that reality of working families getting left behind while the powerful get richer – that’s not just policy to me. It’s personal.You know me as the man who took on Bank of America Corporation and their army of elite lawyers from firms like WilmerHale and Debevoise & Plimpton – not because it was easy, but because it was right. For eight years, I fought them in federal courts across multiple circuits, exposing their fraud and proving that one person with truth on their side can challenge the most powerful corporations in America. I didn’t back down when federal judges tried to silence me. I didn’t quit when they threw everything they had at me. I kept fighting because that’s what Coloradans do.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Fighting for Colorado • Speaking Truth to Power • Standing Up for What’s RightColorado, you know me, and you know my story.I’m Erik, and I didn’t grow up in a mansion in Cherry Hills or learn politics in some Ivy League boardroom. I grew up in the housing projects, raised by a single mother who sometimes had to choose between keeping the lights on and putting food on our table. That struggle – that reality of working families getting left behind while the powerful get richer – that’s not just policy to me. It’s personal.You know me as the man who took on Bank of America Corporation and their army of elite lawyers from firms like WilmerHale and Debevoise & Plimpton – not because it was easy, but because it was right. For eight years, I fought them in federal courts across multiple circuits, exposing their fraud and proving that one person with truth on their side can challenge the most powerful corporations in America. I didn’t back down when federal judges tried to silence me. I didn’t quit when they threw everything they had at me. I kept fighting because that’s what Coloradans do.
As Chairman of Illmatic Ventures, CEO of My24HourNews.Com and Vurbil, I’ve built tech businesses from the ground up. Having worked in the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C., I know how to craft legislation and develop working coalitions. As a former student Junior Prosecutor in Atlanta (Atlanta City Solicitor’s Office for 5 months), I’ve stood up for justice in the courtroom. I’ve spent years navigating the federal legal system, not as a comfortable insider, but as someone who had to earn every victory against overwhelming odds.Now I’m running for Governor because Colorado families are facing the same fight I’ve always known – the fight against a system that works for the wealthy and powerful while leaving working people to pay the bill. Housing costs that force families out of communities they’ve called home for generations. Healthcare costs that bankrupt families facing cancer. A system where your ZIP code determines your opportunities.I’ve never been bought by millionaire special interest groups. I’ve never been compromised by corporate donors. I’ve been fighting the powerful my entire life, and I’m not about to stop now.Colorado deserves a Governor who understands what it’s like to worry about rent, who knows the weight of choosing between groceries and medical bills, who will stand up to corporate landlords and insurance companies the same way I stood up to Bank of America.I’m not running to manage the status quo. I’m running to change it.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
As Chairman of Illmatic Ventures, CEO of My24HourNews.Com and Vurbil, I’ve built tech businesses from the ground up. Having worked in the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C., I know how to craft legislation and develop working coalitions. As a former student Junior Prosecutor in Atlanta (Atlanta City Solicitor’s Office for 5 months), I’ve stood up for justice in the courtroom. I’ve spent years navigating the federal legal system, not as a comfortable insider, but as someone who had to earn every victory against overwhelming odds.Now I’m running for Governor because Colorado families are facing the same fight I’ve always known – the fight against a system that works for the wealthy and powerful while leaving working people to pay the bill. Housing costs that force families out of communities they’ve called home for generations. Healthcare costs that bankrupt families facing cancer. A system where your ZIP code determines your opportunities.I’ve never been bought by millionaire special interest groups. I’ve never been compromised by corporate donors. I’ve been fighting the powerful my entire life, and I’m not about to stop now.Colorado deserves a Governor who understands what it’s like to worry about rent, who knows the weight of choosing between groceries and medical bills, who will stand up to corporate landlords and insurance companies the same way I stood up to Bank of America.I’m not running to manage the status quo. I’m running to change it.
A position shows what the candidate said—not FactVote's endorsement.
Each summary is supported by the candidate's own words from a campaign source, direct candidate response, or official primary record retained with the profile.
Build a Western Slope Behavioral Health Hospital — modeled after West Springs in Grand Junction but with significantly expanded inpatient and crisis-stabilization capacity — so kids in Mesa, Delta, Montrose, Garfield, and surrounding counties are not flown to Aurora or sent out of state.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Build a Western Slope Behavioral Health Hospital — modeled after West Springs in Grand Junction but with significantly expanded inpatient and crisis-stabilization capacity — so kids in Mesa, Delta, Montrose, Garfield, and surrounding counties are not flown to Aurora or sent out of state.
Build out school-based health centers to provide mental health screening and treatment on campus, especially in rural districts and Title I schools.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Build out school-based health centers to provide mental health screening and treatment on campus, especially in rural districts and Title I schools.
Expand training pipelines at Colorado Mesa University, Adams State, CSU-Pueblo, MSU Denver, and Fort Lewis College.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Expand training pipelines at Colorado Mesa University, Adams State, CSU-Pueblo, MSU Denver, and Fort Lewis College.
I believe Colorado’s environment is not a partisan issue — it is a survival issue. Our drinking water, our air, our forests, our rivers, and our public lands are the inheritance we pass to the next generation. As Governor, I will protect that inheritance.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
I believe Colorado’s environment is not a partisan issue — it is a survival issue. Our drinking water, our air, our forests, our rivers, and our public lands are the inheritance we pass to the next generation. As Governor, I will protect that inheritance.
Reform ECMC commissioner appointments so that no commissioner with an active oil-and-gas industry conflict can vote on permits affecting their former clients or employers.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Reform ECMC commissioner appointments so that no commissioner with an active oil-and-gas industry conflict can vote on permits affecting their former clients or employers.
The 1922 Compact promised water this river never had. The 2007 Interim Guidelines expire December 31, 2026. Whoever wins this race takes office inheriting a crisis a century in the making. I will not blink.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
The 1922 Compact promised water this river never had. The 2007 Interim Guidelines expire December 31, 2026. Whoever wins this race takes office inheriting a crisis a century in the making. I will not blink.
Facilities cannot increase utility costs for Colorado families. Big Tech pays for their own infrastructure, not working families.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Facilities cannot increase utility costs for Colorado families. Big Tech pays for their own infrastructure, not working families.
AIPAC must be stopped. I have the courage to stand up to them and foreign money interest. Here is my plan.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
AIPAC must be stopped. I have the courage to stand up to them and foreign money interest. Here is my plan.
There needs to be three major airports in Colorado. Not one.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
There needs to be three major airports in Colorado. Not one.
I will work hard to end Tabor once and for all. Tabor is crippling our State.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
I will work hard to end Tabor once and for all. Tabor is crippling our State.
Mandate a 1:250 student-to-counselor ratio in every Colorado public school district within four years, with state funding to back it up — recognizing the American School Counselor Association’s recommended ratio.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Mandate a 1:250 student-to-counselor ratio in every Colorado public school district within four years, with state funding to back it up — recognizing the American School Counselor Association’s recommended ratio.
Pay Medicaid behavioral health providers a rate that does not drive them out of business.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Pay Medicaid behavioral health providers a rate that does not drive them out of business.
Fund tele-behavioral health permanently with broadband investments so a kid in Springfield, Colorado can see a licensed counselor without leaving their school.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Fund tele-behavioral health permanently with broadband investments so a kid in Springfield, Colorado can see a licensed counselor without leaving their school.
Fund a Youth Crisis Bed Buildout so no child in psychiatric crisis sits in an ER for days waiting for placement.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Fund a Youth Crisis Bed Buildout so no child in psychiatric crisis sits in an ER for days waiting for placement.
I will direct the Colorado Division of Insurance to enforce parity aggressively, with public reporting of insurer violations and meaningful financial penalties.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
I will direct the Colorado Division of Insurance to enforce parity aggressively, with public reporting of insurer violations and meaningful financial penalties.
Fund evidence-based youth mentorship at scale: Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs, faith-based programs, and culturally specific organizations serving Black, Latino, Indigenous, and immigrant youth.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Fund evidence-based youth mentorship at scale: Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs, faith-based programs, and culturally specific organizations serving Black, Latino, Indigenous, and immigrant youth.
Protect Colorado’s share of the Colorado River Compact in renegotiations.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Protect Colorado’s share of the Colorado River Compact in renegotiations.
All data center jobs must pay minimum $75,000 annually with full benefits. 75% of permanent positions go to Colorado residents.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
All data center jobs must pay minimum $75,000 annually with full benefits. 75% of permanent positions go to Colorado residents.
Implement universal trauma-informed training for educators, paraprofessionals, school resource officers, and bus drivers — every adult a kid encounters on a school day.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Implement universal trauma-informed training for educators, paraprofessionals, school resource officers, and bus drivers — every adult a kid encounters on a school day.
Stand up Regional Crisis Hubs in the San Luis Valley, the Eastern Plains, and the Northwest Mountain region — 24/7 walk-in stabilization, with mobile crisis response that arrives in under an hour.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Stand up Regional Crisis Hubs in the San Luis Valley, the Eastern Plains, and the Northwest Mountain region — 24/7 walk-in stabilization, with mobile crisis response that arrives in under an hour.
Fully fund 988 statewide and dedicate a youth-specific text and chat line co-designed with teens.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Fully fund 988 statewide and dedicate a youth-specific text and chat line co-designed with teens.
I will establish a Mental Health Patient Advocate within the Department of Regulatory Agencies to help Coloradans fight denials in real time.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
I will establish a Mental Health Patient Advocate within the Department of Regulatory Agencies to help Coloradans fight denials in real time.
Expand mental-health professionals in schools to a 1:250 student-to-counselor ratio.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Expand mental-health professionals in schools to a 1:250 student-to-counselor ratio.
Fund aquifer recharge, stormwater capture, and water reuse infrastructure on the Front Range and Western Slope.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Fund aquifer recharge, stormwater capture, and water reuse infrastructure on the Front Range and Western Slope.
Address the gun side of the youth suicide equation honestly — fund safe-storage programs, expand the Colorado Gun Shop Project, and partner with firearm-owning families on voluntary out-of-home storage during a crisis.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Address the gun side of the youth suicide equation honestly — fund safe-storage programs, expand the Colorado Gun Shop Project, and partner with firearm-owning families on voluntary out-of-home storage during a crisis.
Fund violence interruption programs modeled on Cure Violence and Advance Peace, embedded in the highest-need ZIP codes.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Fund violence interruption programs modeled on Cure Violence and Advance Peace, embedded in the highest-need ZIP codes.
Expand the Colorado Wildland Fire Workforce — Coloradans, paid Coloradan wages, training the next generation.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Expand the Colorado Wildland Fire Workforce — Coloradans, paid Coloradan wages, training the next generation.
Decentralize delivery, centralize accountability. Crisis response, treatment placement, and provider recruitment should run through regional hubs that know their communities. Statewide standards, statewide funding, statewide accountability — local execution.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Decentralize delivery, centralize accountability. Crisis response, treatment placement, and provider recruitment should run through regional hubs that know their communities. Statewide standards, statewide funding, statewide accountability — local execution.
Create a Colorado Violence Interrupter Corps — paid jobs for credible messengers, many of whom are formerly incarcerated and can reach kids no police officer ever will.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Create a Colorado Violence Interrupter Corps — paid jobs for credible messengers, many of whom are formerly incarcerated and can reach kids no police officer ever will.
Protect the Dolores, the Yampa, and the Thompson Divide.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Protect the Dolores, the Yampa, and the Thompson Divide.
Expand juvenile diversion and restorative justice — kids who do harm need accountability and a path out, not a pipeline into adult prison.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Expand juvenile diversion and restorative justice — kids who do harm need accountability and a path out, not a pipeline into adult prison.
Fully fund Colorado Parks and Wildlife and rural conservation easements.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Fully fund Colorado Parks and Wildlife and rural conservation easements.
Fund trauma-informed care in every public school, every juvenile justice facility, and every children’s hospital.
The text below is the exact source material used for this statement.
Fund trauma-informed care in every public school, every juvenile justice facility, and every children’s hospital.
Executive public-record methodology
An executive record will attach only from official orders, directives, vetoes, signed actions, legal filings, or direct official statements that explicitly attribute the action to this person. Agency outcomes and events during an administration are not inferred as personal actions.
Official filings may be amended after publication.
No state totals are attached because one exact current TRACER committee row did not resolve to this election identity, office, and party. Missing values are not zero.
Every profile claim points back to retained source evidence.
Colorado Secretary of State
Open Colorado Secretary of StateErik Underwood campaign
Open Erik Underwood campaignLink checked September 15, 2026.
Erik Underwood campaign
Open Erik Underwood campaignLink checked September 15, 2026.
Erik Underwood campaign
Open Erik Underwood campaignLink checked September 15, 2026.
Erik Underwood campaign
Open Erik Underwood campaignLink checked September 15, 2026.
Erik Underwood campaign
Open Erik Underwood campaignLink checked September 15, 2026.
Erik Underwood campaign
Open Erik Underwood campaignErik Underwood campaign
Open Erik Underwood campaignLink checked September 15, 2026.
Erik Underwood campaign
Open Erik Underwood campaign