Heidi Ganahl on Tuesday became the first Republican gubernatorial candidate to qualify for the June primary ballot after state election officials determined she submitted enough valid signatures on her petitions.

One of a dozen Republicans seeking the nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, Ganahl was the only GOP gubernatorial candidate to submit petitions. The others will compete against Ganahl for a slot in the primary at Saturday’s state GOP assembly in Colorado Springs. For those who didn’t petition, it will take support from at least 30% of delegates for any of them to advance, while Ganahl needs just 10% at assembly because she’s already on the ballot.

Ganahl, an at-large member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents, is the only Republican to hold statewide office in Colorado following Democratic sweeps in recent cycles. While Democrats still hold an edge among registered voters, state Republicans are hoping to stage a comeback in this year’s midterm election amid plunging approval ratings for President Joe Biden and voters’ frustration with inflation, a rising crime rate and pandemic restrictions.

“This is great news for our campaign,” Ganahl told Colorado Politics via a spokeswoman. “The momentum is real. We have assembled a winning team and this was the first step in our strategy to kick Jared Polis to the curb in November. Thank you to the more than 16,000 registered Republicans who have supported my effort to get on the ballot. I am looking forward to the next step, earning the support of as many delegates as possible at this weekend’s assembly.”

In order to petition onto the ballot, Ganahl’s campaign had to collect 1,500 valid signatures from registered Republicans in each of the state’s eight congressional districts for a total of 12,000 signatures. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said Tuesday that 16,513 of the 24,432 signatures her campaign submitted were valid.

Ganahl cut it closest in the heavily Democratic, Denver-based 1st Congressional District, where officials ruled she submitted 1,798 valid signatures. She submitted the most valid signatures from the heavily Republican 4th Congressional District, covering most of Weld and Douglas counties and the Eastern Plains, where she gathered 2,548 valid signatures.

A wealthy tech entrepreneur and former five-term congressman from Boulder, Polis became the first openly gay man in the United States to be elected governor four years ago when he defeated then-State Treasurer Walker Stapleton by a wide margin.

Accompanied by his running mate, Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, Polis launched his reelection campaign in February by promising to make Colorado more affordable in his second term. Polis also declared that he kept the promises he campaigned on in his first run – lowering the cost of health care, expanding preschool and kindergarten and moving the state toward 100% renewable energy – even amid a once-in-a-century pandemic and the blows it dealt to the economy.

Polis spent more than $23 million on his 2018 campaign and plans to spend what it takes this time, his campaign said.

Ganahl is also a wealthy entrepreneur, having founded and later sold the Camp Bow Wow national chain of dog day care centers. She also founded several nonprofits, including the Fight Back Foundation, and runs a digital lifestyle platform with her daughter. Ganahl and her husband, Jason, who owns four GQue BBQ restaurants, live in Douglas County.

Ganahl’s chief rivals for the Republican nomination include first-time candidate Danielle Neuschwanger, an Elbert County real estate agent, and Greg Lopez, a former mayor of Parker who finished in third-place in the 2018 gubernatorial primary.