Republican Doug Robinson, a former investment banker and Mitt Romney’s nephew, entered the race for Colorado’s next governor this week with an email to Republicans and online ads pointing to his campaign website.

Robinson is the fourth GOP candidate in a fast-growing primary field for the chance to take over when Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, faces term limits after next year’s election.

“I’ve been a committed Republican my entire life,” Robinson says in an email sent to GOP central committee members. After some brief words about his family and career path — he and his wife, Diane, live in Arapahoe County, where they’ve raised five children, and he helped found a firm that raises capitol for tech companies — he adds, “My background is in business — not politics.”

Saying that the reason he’s “the best candidate for the job is simple — I know how to get things done,” Robinson concludes, “I don’t mean finding new ways to spend taxpayer dollars. I mean finding real solutions to the problems that face our state, not because it’s my job but because it has to be done. I’ve done it before.”

He plans to hold his first public campaign event at the monthly breakfast meeting of the Highlands Ranch Republican group on Friday.

Robinson helped found St. Charles Capital and then worked as a managing director at KPMG after the financial giant bought the smaller company three years ago. He left his job earlier this month.

Robinson decided last year against running for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat after what he said was “much consideration,” including discussions across the state and with his family. He told The Colorado Statesman in an email last January that he was grateful for the encouragement he’d received “but [had] concluded that continuing would lead to a difficult intra-party fight when Colorado needs to rally around a consensus candidate to put forward thoughtful and productive conservative principles to win in November.”

El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn won the GOP nomination in a primary field of five candidates but then lost by about 5 points in November to the Democratic incumbent, Michael Bennet.

Robinson was state chair for Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012 and was finance co-chair for his uncle’s campaign in 2008.

The announced Republican gubernatorial candidates include entrepreneur and former state Rep. Victor Mitchell, 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler and Larimer County Commissioner Lew Gaiter III and Loveland retiree JoAnne Silva. State Treasurer Walker Stapleton is likely to join the race in coming months, while Attorney General Cynthia Coffman and business executive Kent Thiry have said they’re considering a run.

The Democratic field is almost as crowded. So far, U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, former State Treasurer Cary Kennedy, former state Sen. Mike Johnston and businessman Noel Ginsburg have announced they’re running. U.S. Rep. Jared Polis has said he’s weighing a bid.

— ernest@coloradostatesman.com