Republican district attorney candidate John Kellner has been endorsed by former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens in the race for the open 18th Judicial District seat, his campaign said Monday.

Kellner is a chief deputy district attorney under term-limited Republican DA George Brauchler. He’s a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, assigned to NORAD-USNORTHCOM.

“John Kellner is a man of principled integrity and I am confident – with a wealth of experience as an effective prosecutor, U.S. Marine and a husband and father – he will be an outstanding District Attorney for the residents of Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln Counties,” said Owens, who served two terms as governor from 1999 to 2007.

“John is the kind of man who will always stand with victims and stand against those who wish to do us harm.”

Calling Owens “a good man,” Kellner said he was proud to receive his support.

“Bill and I agree that Colorado truly is a special place to build a home and raise a family, and while the issues he faced as governor are different than those I will tackle as district attorney, the core values and principles still hold true: we need to fight for the safety and security for our families and hold those who attack that basic liberty accountable for their conduct,” Kellner said in a statement.

Owens is the only Republican governor to win election in Colorado in the last 46 years. Before his two terms as the state’s chief executive, he was a state legislator for 12 years and served one term as state treasurer. He is a senior director in the Denver office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, and sits on a number of corporate boards.

Kellner is the only Republican running for the seat. Two Democrats are running in  a primary: Matt Maillaro, the assistant district attorney under Brauchler, and Amy Padden, a prosecutor who ran for attorney general in 2018.

The 18th Judicial District is by far the state’s largest, with nearly 1 million residents across Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties. There are more Republicans than Democrats in the district, but both parties are outnumbered by unaffiliated voters. In the 58 years since the district was formed, it has only elected Republican DAs.