COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado State Rep. Rebecca Keltie announced Wednesday that she will not be running for a second term in 2026, citing “deeply personal professional and circumstances” behind her decision.
Keltie, a Republican, was elected to serve House District 16 – which includes a portion of Colorado Springs – in 2024.
She announced her decision not to seek reelection in a letter to constituents on Wednesday, in which she wrote that serving the district was “one of the highest callings of [her] life.”
However, she said stepping away was necessary for her, given recent medical and professional challenges.
“I believe that if I cannot give this position 100% of the dedication, time, and energy it deserves for another term, then it is my duty to step aside and make room for a new, positive conservative voice to continue the fight,” Keltie wrote in the letter.
Keltie said she will continue serving out the remainder of her two-year term, and pledged to continue to fight for a “safer and more affordable Colorado.”
In the letter, Keltie also urged her Republican colleagues to be careful in choosing her successor.
“We need leaders with true grit and heart, those who are qualified, grounded, and ready to serve the people, not themselves or their agenda,” Keltie wrote.
Read Keltie’s full letter below:
Currently, the only declared candidate for the role is Keltie’s predecessor, former Democratic Rep. Stephanie Vigil. Keltie narrowly unseated Vigil in 2024, winning by just three votes following a mandatory recount in the state’s closest race of the year.
Keltie’s decision not to seek reelection comes five months after a KRDO13 report highlighted controversial comments she made on a libertarian podcast, in which she said Colorado needed to be “burned to the ground” so the GOP could rise from the ashes and build the state “from the top up.”
READ MORE: ‘Colorado needs to be burned to the ground’: Legislator stands by fiery comments on podcast
In the podcast, Keltie also accused most of her Democratic colleagues of lacking integrity – at one point saying she wasn’t sure they “have a soul” – and expressed frustration over what she described as a toxic and unproductive environment at the Capitol.
In a written statement to KRDO13, Keltie defended those remarks, saying, “I will not apologize for using strong words to describe the dysfunction I have witnessed firsthand. I will always choose honesty over political speak, no matter how uncomfortable that may be.”