Incumbent Democratic governor John Hickenlooper was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term.

[1] The major party nominees were Democratic U.S. Representative Jared Polis and Republican State Treasurer Walker Stapleton.

[2][3] This was the first Colorado gubernatorial election in which both major party candidates received over one million votes.

With Hickenlooper ineligible to run for a third term in office, multiple Democratic politicians vied for the party's nomination for governor.

[4] On March 6, 2018, Democrats of precincts across Colorado met and voted how many delegates each candidate who was caucusing on the ballot would get.