Eagle County GOP official launches bid to unseat state Rep. Meghan Lukens in northwest Colorado
Robert Tann Follow
James Kellogg/Courtesy photo
An Eagle County Republican Party official is running to unseat state Rep. Meghan Lukens, a Steamboat Springs Democrat, in the November general election.
James Kellogg, a Gypsum resident who serves as a vice chair for the Eagle County Republican Central Committee, recently declared his candidacy for House District 26, which includes Eagle, Routt, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties.
Kellogg had previously been a candidate for the Eagle County Board of Commissioners but switched to the House District 26 race in mid-April after the initial Republican candidate, Scott Davison, withdrew. Kellogg is currently the sole Republican in the race, meaning he will face an uncontested primary in June.
Kellogg has lived in Eagle County since 2019 after previously spending two decades in Garfield County, where he served on the Silt Board of Trustees. A longtime engineering consultant specializing in geotechnical, geologic, and water resources engineering, he has worked on projects across Colorado and served as a water resource engineer for the Colorado Division of Water Resources from 2006 to 2015.
He is also a former opinion columnist for the Glenwood Springs Post Independent and the author of a thriller novel set in western Colorado.
In a statement, he called himself a “longtime conservative” whose top priorities for elected office are “affordability, reliable energy and protecting Western Slope water.”
“I have concerns about rising housing costs and property taxes, and I support maintaining Colorado’s TABOR framework,” Kellogg added. “I’m an advocate for a balanced energy approach that includes traditional energy industries. I understand water rights and the importance of protecting them for Western Slope communities.”
He has not yet reported any financial disclosures on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website. As of the most recent filing period on Jan. 15, Lukens had raised $32,000, with over $11,600 in expenditures and more than $27,200 in cash on hand.
House District 26 favors Democrats. Lukens won reelection in 2024 against her Republican challenger, former Craig City Council member Nathan Butler, by a 13.2 percentage point margin.
