Outgoing Republican state Rep. J. Paul Brown of Ignacio is considering a run for governor, and he believes former U.S. Senate candidate Darryl Glenn would make an excellent running mate, ColoradoPolitics.com has learned.

Brown-who lost his re-election bid earlier this month to Democrat Barbara McLachlan in the state’s most targeted House race-told ColoradoPolitics.com that he is in the early stages of considering a run.

“We’re kind of exploring a run for governor. But Debbie and I haven’t come to a conclusion yet,” Brown said, speaking of his wife.

“It would be a huge sacrifice … But I have been talking about the issues that I think are the most important to Colorado as a whole, and I don’t hear anybody else doing that. It’s frustrating.”

He said that he hasn’t spoken with Glenn yet about the possibility of running with him in the gubernatorial race. But Brown said he has come to admire Glenn, and that he believes Glenn would make a fantastic lieutenant governor.

“I’ve just been really impressed by him,” Brown said. “He’s got a real good conservative background. He would be great.”

Glenn lost his challenge to incumbent Democrat Michael Bennet by 6 points. The El Paso County commissioner struggled to garner mainstream establishment support, though he did gain some momentum towards the end of the race.

Glenn campaigned with Republican icon Ted Cruz, and after dismal fundraising earlier on, he ended the third quarter with nearly $2.8 million in contributions, raising more money since July than Bennet.

Brown, a rancher, made a name for himself in the legislature this year by working on rural issues, including water storage. He also bucked the majority of his party by supporting a restructuring of the Hospital Provider Fee to free state dollars for investments in education and transportation.

Brown also went against the majority of his party last year by supporting state funding for a program that provides intrauterine birth control to low-income women. This year, he voted against the funding when the issue came up during budget negotiations. But Brown clarified that it wasn’t the program he was trying to defund; he just felt the expansive state budget wasn’t the place to address it.

Brown has been a target for Democrats, who have hit him particularly hard for expressing skepticism that climate change is caused by humans.

In addition to considering a run for governor, Brown also said that he has had some conversations about taking a staff position in Republican Donald Trump’s administration working on agricultural issues.

Brown was part of a campaign list of Colorado Republican legislative leaders that supported Trump.

The Republican gubernatorial primary is shaping up to be a crowded race. Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler has expressed interest, as has state Treasurer Walker Stapleton. Also mentioned as possible candidates are Secretary of State Wayne Williams, Attorney General Cynthia Coffman and state Sen. Ray Scott of Grand Junction.