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Polis launches bid for second term as Colorado’s governor

February 15, 2022 GMT

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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks during the ceremony to officially reopen the Table Mesa store on, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 in Boulder, Colo. Nearly a year after 10 people were shot and killed at a supermarket in Colorado, the redesigned store in the college town of Boulder is back open. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP)

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DENVER (AP) — Democrat Jared Polis formally announced his bid Tuesday for a second term as Colorado’s governor, citing his record in confronting the coronavirus pandemic, efforts to curb health care costs and a commitment to expanding early childhood education.

Polis announced his bid in a video with Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera that emphasized the cost of living and crime as key issues — an agenda also promoted by state Republicans this election year. Polis and Primavera planned to launch the campaign in Pueblo later Tuesday.

A tech entrepreneur and five-term U.S. congressman, Polis defeated Republican Treasurer Walker Stapleton in 2018 to win his first term.

Several Republican candidates are vying to challenge Polis. They include University of Colorado regent Heidi Ganahl and Greg Lopez, a former Parker mayor and former state director for the U.S. Small Business Administration.