Steamboat Springs Democratic Rep. Meghan Lukens announced on Tuesday that she will seek a third term in the Colorado House next year. 

Lukens represents House District 26, which encompasses Eagle, Moffat, Rio Blanco and Routt counties. She was first elected in 2022, beating her Republican challenger by a 7-point margin, and was reelected in 2024 by a 13-point margin. 

She will run again in the November 2026 General Election, saying in a news release that her focus will be “a thriving economy, quality education, and the preservation of the beautiful environment that makes our region special.”

Lukens, a high school social studies teacher, has centered education as one of her top priorities since first coming to the statehouse. She currently chairs the House Education Committee, which reviews bills related to higher education and K-12 schools. 

Lukens was a prime sponsor of this year’s School Finance Act, the annual K-12 budget that lawmakers pass every year, alongside House Speaker Julie McCluskie. While a routine bill, this year’s measure had heightened attention amid the state’s $1.2 billion budget deficit and pressure from school districts on lawmakers to avoid the longstanding pattern of cutting into the state’s K-12 funding. 

Lawmakers in 2024 eliminated a 14-year-old budget loophole that had allowed them to fund schools below what is required under the state’s Constitution. This year’s funding bill both avoided cuts to public schools and increased K-12 spending by roughly $256 million, though that amount was slightly less than what districts were initially projected to get before the state’s budget crunch. 

Other education measures sponsored by Lukens this year included a bill requiring all school districts in Colorado to adopt policies on students’ cell phone use, and another bill creating a downpayment assistance program for teachers and school staff. 

Lukens, in her reelection announcement, also highlighted her work on legislation related to affordable housing, the economy, and the environment. That includes bills that extend tax credits and grants for rural businesses and allow local governments and developers to build more housing on underutilized state-owned land.

The second-term lawmaker has also sponsored measures to reform groundwater permitting and hold local government to a timeframe for reviewing new cell tower applications in a bid to improve coverage in rural areas. 

Lukens opposed efforts by state Democrats last year to pass a ban on “assault” weapons, specifically semiautomatic firearms, which she called “overreaching” and “unconstitutional.” 

But she voted for this year’s gun control bill, Senate Bill 3, which requires new permits and training for Coloradans to be able to purchase most semiautomatic guns. Lukens, in a statement after her vote, said the bill would “help prevent gun violence” without banning firearms.