Even before last week’s debate featuring the Republican contenders for Colorado governor, it was clear Barb Kirkmeyer is the only GOP candidate who has the capabilities and qualifications to serve as the state’s chief exec.

What’s clearer in the debate’s aftermath is that Kirkmeyer also is the only credible Republican vying for the office — the one who should be taken seriously. 

Meaning, she’s the only Republican who could carry the day next Nov. 3 in the general election against either of two well-funded Democrats. If Republicans hope to recapture the governor’s office after nearly two decades of Democratic occupants, Kirkmeyer is the best option — for the party and for Colorado.

What’s also evident following the debate is that only Kirkmeyer has the potential to reboot the Republican Party as the leading voice in Colorado for economic prosperity, public safety, fiscal prudence and regulatory restraint.

It’s why The Gazette editorial board emphatically endorses Kirkmeyer for the GOP nomination in the June 30 primary election as well as in the general election next fall. 

We encourage not only Colorado Republicans but also the state’s many unaffiliated voters — who are eligible to cast a Republican ballot in the primary — to vote for Kirkmeyer when mail ballots arrive this week.

Kirkmeyer’s two main GOP rivals haven’t a clue. They displayed it early and often in last Tuesday’s debate sponsored by Denver’s 9News, The Gazette and Colorado Politics. Neither of the other two candidates would have a prayer of victory in November. Both would drag the state GOP down a rabbit hole with cockeyed claims and kooky conspiracy theories they’ve been peddling on the campaign trail.

A Kirkmeyer victory in the primary would signal to all Coloradans that the state’s Republican Party, too long out of power, is back. And that it has made a clean break from the outlandish politics of her GOP opponents. 

Claims of stolen elections and other fantasies should have no place in the playbook of a party that has so much of substance to offer. Especially to an electorate growing weary of ruling Democrats tilting ever further to the left. 

Kirkmeyer gets that.

Currently a state senator representing parts of Weld, Larimer and Broomfield counties, she has championed common-sense conservatism at a Capitol dominated by Democrats. That places her on the side of most voters regardless of party affiliation. 

Notably, Kirkmeyer is a diehard defender of Colorado’s taxpayers. At the legislature, Kirkmeyer has been a relentless advocate for the wildly popular Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights and has fought Democrats’ repeated attempts to undermine it. She’s a watchdog exposing budget waste, calling out majority Democrats’ reckless, runaway spending. 

Her appeal to a broad swath of Coloradans includes her staunch advocacy of law enforcement and public safety in a state whose residents are fed up and crave leadership in the crime fight. She has stood up against the legislature’s assaults on Coloradans’ right to defend their homes and families against violence, staring down politicians pushing more gun control. And she helped secure more than $1.3 billion in additional funding for Colorado schools, showing Colorado can prioritize its kids while protecting its taxpayers. Kirkmeyer also is a longtime road warrior for funding overburdened and deteriorating highways long neglected by Democrats.

The state GOP’s infighting and misadventures on meaningless and bizarre political tangents have lost the attention of the state’s vast political middle — the unaffiliated voting bloc that now makes up over half of Colorado’s electorate. 

Only Kirkmayer can get them back, by focusing on the issues that always have mattered to rank-and-file Republican voters — and now mean more than ever to Coloradans across the board who are longing for a change. 

The stakes are high. Vote for Kirkmeyer in the state Republican primary.