Greg Lopez | |
|---|---|
 Lopez in 2024 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromColorado's4th district | |
| In office July 8, 2024 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Ken Buck |
| Succeeded by | Lauren Boebert |
| Mayor ofParker | |
| In office December 1992 – December 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Ann Waterman |
| Succeeded by | Gary Lasater |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gregorio Lopez (1964-06-07)June 7, 1964 (age 61) |
| Party | Democratic (before 1994) Republican (1994–2026) Independent (2026–present) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | New Mexico State University, Alamogordo (AAS) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1983–1987 |
Gregorio Beltran Lopez[1] (born June 7, 1964)[2] is an American politician who served as theU.S. representative forColorado's 4th congressional district from 2024 to 2025. From 2008 to 2014, he served as theSmall Business Administration'sColorado director. He previously served as mayor ofParker, Colorado, and ran for Governor in2018 and2022. He was theRepublican nominee for the2024 special election inColorado's 4th congressional district to replaceKen Buck, who resigned in March 2024. He did not run in thegeneral election for a full term.[3] He was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives in June 2024.[4][5] He is currently an independent candidate for governor of Colorado in the2026 election.
A third-generation Mexican American,[6] Lopez grew up inIrving, Texas, with parents and grandparents who werefarm workers. Lopez joined theUnited States Air Force upon graduating from high school and used the military benefits to pay for anassociate's degree in business administration fromNew Mexico State University Alamogordo. Lopez and his wife, Lisa, moved fromTexas to Colorado in 1988.[7]
Lopez served in theUnited States Air Force 1983 to 1987 as a weapon specialist atHolloman Air Force Base. In that role, he prepared airplanes for flight and leftactive service after sustaining significant hearing loss from airfield work.[8]
Lopez was elected Mayor ofParker at 27 years old in 1992 as aDemocrat, but switched parties in 1994.[9] As Mayor, Lopez was for managed development and growth.[7]
Lopez was the Colorado director for theSmall Business Administration in 2008.[7]He served until 2014.[7]
In 2020, theUnited States Department of Justice pursued acivil case alleging Lopez had improperly tried to influence former SBA colleagues years earlier, after his departure from the agency. The case centered on an email and two phone calls, where he had asked a former colleague would look into the status of an open case. Lopez agreed to pay $15,000 to settle the case.[7]
Lopez ran for the open30th district of theColorado State Senate in 1998, but placed fourth in the Republican primary behindJohn Evans,Ted Harvey, and Gayle Elton Wintors II respectively.[10]
Lopez announced a campaign for the Republican nomination forU.S. Senate in 2016, but ultimately withdrew before the election.
Lopez first ran for Governor in 2018. He placed third in the Republican primary with 13.20% of the vote.
Lopez campaigned again for the Republican nomination in 2022. In the campaign, he stated he wanted to outlaw abortions without exceptions, denied man-made climate change, and alleged that the 2020 election was won by Trump and stolen.[11] He lost the primary toHeidi Ganahl by seven points.
In April 2025, Lopez announced his candidacy for Governor of the state of Colorado.[12] Initially running as a Republican, Lopez announced he had left the GOP and was mounting an independent campaign for governor in January 2026.[13]
Lopez was selected as the Republican nominee for the2024 special election inColorado's 4th congressional district caused by incumbentKen Buck's resignation.[14] He won the nomination in the sixth round of voting by a nomination committee, beatingLogan CountyCommissionerJerry Sonnenberg by a vote of 51 to 46.[15] Much of Lopez's pitch to the committee voters was as a placeholder candidate. His selection as the nominee over Sonnenberg, a candidate running in the regular primary in the 4th district, was considered a boon toLauren Boebert, who won that regular primary (after moving from the 3rd district); she was running for the full term but not in the special election, as she already enjoyedincumbent status.[3] Lopez faced Democratic nominee Trisha Calvarese, Libertarian nominee Hannah Goodman, and Approval Voting nominee Frank Atwood, in the June 25 special general election, and expectedly won by a comfortable margin due to the district's strong Republican lean.[16][17][18][19]
Following his victory, Lopez penned anop-ed inThe Denver Post, pledging to not "buy, sell, or trade individual stocks" while in Congress, and to not miss any votes.[20] He was sworn in on July 8, 2024.[21]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Evans | 3,783 | 31.74 | |
| Republican | Ted Harvey | 3,234 | 27.13 | |
| Republican | Gayle Elton Wintors II | 2,587 | 21.70 | |
| Republican | Greg Lopez | 2,306 | 19.35 | |
| Total votes | 11,919 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Walker Stapleton | 239,415 | 47.66 | |
| Republican | Victor Mitchell | 151,365 | 30.13 | |
| Republican | Greg Lopez | 66,330 | 13.20 | |
| Republican | Doug Robinson | 45,245 | 9.01 | |
| Total votes | 502,355 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Heidi Ganahl | 341,157 | 53.87% | |
| Republican | Greg Lopez | 292,187 | 46.13% | |
| Total votes | 633,344 | 100.0% | ||
| Republican convention results | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | First ballot | Second ballot | Third ballot | Fourth ballot | Fifth ballot | Sixth ballot | ||||||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Greg Lopez | 12 | 12.2% | 17 | 17.3% | 27 | 27.6% | 34 | 34.7% | 45 | 45.9% | 51 | 52.6% |
| Jerry Sonnenberg | 23 | 23.5% | 24 | 24.5% | 24 | 32.6% | 24 | 24.5% | 30 | 30.6% | 46 | 47.4% |
| Ted Harvey | 24 | 24.5% | 27 | 27.6% | 24 | 24.5% | 26 | 26.5% | 23 | 23.5% | Eliminated | |
| Richard Holtorf | 12 | 12.2% | 13 | 13.3% | 16 | 16.3% | 14 | 14.3% | Eliminated | |||
| Mike Lynch | 11 | 11.2% | 10 | 10.2% | 7 | 7.1% | Eliminated | |||||
| Scott Melbye | 10 | 10.2% | 7 | 7.1% | Eliminated | |||||||
| Chris Phelen | 6 | 6.1% | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Floyd Trujillo | 0 | 0.0% | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Peter Yu | 0 | 0.0% | Withdrawn | |||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Greg Lopez | 100,068 | 58.40% | |
| Democratic | Trisha Calvarese | 59,003 | 34.43% | |
| Libertarian | Hannah Goodman | 9,065 | 5.29% | |
| Approval Voting | Frank Atwood | 3,224 | 1.88% | |
| Total votes | 171,360 | 100.00% | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
Lopez lives inElizabeth, Colorado, with his wife, Lisa Garcia.[7] The couple have two adult children, Michael and Christina. He is partially deaf, having no hearing in his right ear.
In 1993, Lopez's wife called the police allegingdomestic violence. She reportedly told police that she first struck Lopez, who then pushed her to the ground, kicked her, and attempted to drag her by the hair. The pair both pled guilty to a single charge of harassment. Despite the incident, they remain married and she stated she regrets the ensuing media coverage.[8]
In 2003, Lopez was charged with aDUI and stated the incident had cost him nearly $10,000.[7] In 2020, Lopez settled for $15,000 in a civil case brought by the Department of Justice for improperly trying to influence his colleagues at the SBA.[7]
When asked by an interviewer in 2022 about his numerous run-ins with the law, Lopez said "There's only been one perfect man that's ever walked this earth, and we nailed him to the cross, I'm not a perfect man. I've made my mistakes. But I've learned from them."[23]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromColorado's 4th congressional district 2024–2025 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
