Wiens was the Republican nominee for Colorado State Treasurer in 1978, taking 43% of the vote against incumbent Democrat Roy Romer.
In 2002, Wiens successfully ran for an open seat in the Colorado House of Representatives, winning by a wide margin in both the primary and general elections.
Wiens took just 16% of the vote at the 2010 Republican caucus and dropped out of the race two months later, endorsing Ken Buck, who would go on to win the primary but lose the general election.
[4][1] In August 2010, Wiens expressed interest in running for governor if former U.S. Representative Scott McInnis lost the Republican primary or dropped out of the race.
[5] McInnis did indeed lose the primary, but Wiens chose to endorse Constitution Party nominee Tom Tancredo rather than run himself.