Barb Kirkmeyer
Barb Kirkmeyer – Senate District 23
As a 4th generation Coloradan who has lived in southern Weld County for over 35 years, Barb Kirkmeyer has a record of delivering results for her community as a State Senator and a Weld County Commissioner. In 2023 alone, in the face of Democrat dominance of the Legislature, Barb passed 49 bills to promote economic and personal freedom and improve Coloradans’ safety. In 2021, she was acknowledged by Colorado Politics as a notable legislator who “debated like a statehouse veteran, not a first-year back bencher.” Barb has gotten more measures passed than any other Republican legislator, including buying down the Budget Stabilization factor to the tune of $180 million, more than five times what Governor Jared Polis proposed in his budget presentation. Colorado Politics called her “a shining star for Coloradans, both in her work on the Joint Budget Committee and her attempt to come up with a win-win on the housing bill.” Senator Kirkmeyer currently serves on the Joint Budget Committee and Appropriations. She previously served on Senate Education, Senate Health and Human Services and Senate Local Government Committees. She was also appointed to the Statutory Revisions Committee, where she served as vice-chair of the Public School Finance Interim Committee, and vice chair of the Early Childhood and School Readiness Interim Committee. As a Weld County Commissioner, Kirkmeyer pursued a strong 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. Barb has previously 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 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 raised their families in southern Weld County. When not involved in legislative related business, Kirkmeyer enjoys volunteering and spending time with her family, including her six grandsons.