Tuesday’s primaries in Colorado mark the next front in the establishment-insurgent battle within the Democratic Party a week from now. after major victories for New York City candidates supported by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Colorado’s Democratic primaries have flown under the radar, but they feature three major contests where veteran Democrats face challengers looking to capitalize on the party’s growing anti-Washington sentiment.
Here’s what to watch for Tuesday night as the votes come in. Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.
Established Colorado Democrats face major obstacles
The Democratic primary in Colorado’s 1st District represents the second-best chance for the party’s progressive wing to score another victory over an entrenched incumbent.
Rep. Diana DeGette, who has served in Congress for nearly 30 years, is now fighting for her political survival. She has sought to polish her progressive credentials, with a recent ad touting her role as impeachment manager during President Donald Trump’s Senate trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, while also highlighting her support for “Medicare for All” and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Melot Kiros, a 29-year-old doctoral student and former lawyer who immigrated from Ethiopia as a child, argued that the 68-year-old incumbent is not adequately fighting for the district. She is supported by key left-wing politicians and groups, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Justice Democrats, the Democratic Socialists of America and a handful of Democratic candidates who won their insurrection efforts.
Israeli politics loom large in the race. Kiros said she was fired from her job after publishing a letter criticizing how law firms were responding to protests against Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip following the 2023 Hamas attack.
Kiros was recently pressed by KUSA of Denver, NBC affiliate regarding his comments that Hamas’ attack on Israel was “the inevitable consequence of apartheid.” She also refused to say whether a firebomb attack on protesters gathered in Boulder, Colorado, to support Israeli hostages was anti-Semitic.
There was a last-minute spending spree: Justice Democrats spent more than $500,000 to bolster Kiros, while various super PACs spent more than $2 million to bolster 68-year-old DeGette. All of this shows how seriously both sides are taking the challenge after last week’s election in New York.
Similar dynamics are playing out in two statewide elections with longtime Colorado Democratic politicians on the ballot.
Sen. Michael Bennet has been the favorite in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Jared Polis, but he faces a significant challenge from Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
The competition has become increasingly negative, with both candidates and their allied outside groups launching attacks over who has took a tougher approach towards Trump. Whoever wins will be the heavy favorite in the blue-leaning state. If Bennet wins, he will be able to appoint your own replacement to the Senate to serve the remainder of his term.
In the Republican primary, Victor Marx, a former Marine and department head, will face two state legislators: Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer and state Rep. Scott Bottoms.
Marx recently told KUSA that his abusive stepfather forced him to kill a man when he was 7 years old and that “I’ve been in other situations where, maybe, people or people died because I was defending myself in other countries.” (It is unclear whether he was referring to military service.)
Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper is running for a second, and probably permanentterm after flipping the Colorado seat in 2020. Hickenlooper faces a younger, more progressive primary challenger, state Sen. Julie Gonzales. The 43-year-old man is aforformer member of the Democratic Socialists of America who painted Hickenlooper, 74, as a product of “a politics of getting along” and criticized him for voting for 10 of Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
Hickenlooper heavily outpaced and outspent Gonzales in the race, hitting the airwaves with advertisements that highlight his work in the Senate and his opposition to Trump. The senator is also no stranger to left-wing primaries, having easily fended off a more liberal opponent in 2020.
State Sen. Mark Baisley, who was running for governor, is the only candidate for Senate in the Republican Senate primary runoff.
Clashes on the battlefields
Colorado’s 8th District is Colorado’s most competitive seat this year: In 2024, Trump won it by less than 2 points and freshman Republican Rep. Gabe Evans won it by less than 1 point.
The two leading Democratic candidates are former state Rep. Shannon Bird and state Rep. Manny Rutinel. Rutinel, the top fundraiser, leaned heavily on his family’s immigration history in a district with a high proportion of Latino voters.
Rutinel is also backed by powerful unions and former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a well-respected Democrat in the state.
Bird presents herself as more of a classic moderate who can appeal to influential voters. She is supported by EMILY’s List and centrist Democratic groups such as New Dems, Blue Dog PAC and The Bench.
The winner of the Democratic primary will move on to what is expected to be one of the most competitive House races in the country this fall. So far, only nine House races have attracted more ad bookings in the fall, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.
There aren’t many primaries in the Colorado Springs-area 5th District, where Republican Jeff Crank is seeking a second term in a district Trump won by 9 points in 2024. Crank also has the president’s support.
Democrat Jessica Killin, veteran and former chief of staff to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, is seeking to take advantage of demographic shifts in Colorado Springs’ population to eke out a victory in red-leaning terrain in November.
Trump’s intermittent endorsement
The saga surrounding Trump’s endorsement of Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd makes Colorado’s 3rd District primary one to watch.
Earlier this year, Trump canceled its approval when Hurd supported a resolution blocking the president’s tariffs on Canada and supported one of his opponents, Hope Scheppelman. But a month later, Trump reversed course again and reaffirmed Hurd. Scheppelman then dropped out of the race at Trump’s request and now works at the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
Yet Hurd faces a major challenge from former state Rep. Ron Hanks, a retired Air Force intelligence officer who has been a vocal defender of false claims about the 2020 election and marched with Trump supporters to the Capitol building before the January 6 riot.
Hurd raised more than $3 million for his re-election, significantly more than the $42,000 Hanks reported. And Hurd beat Hanks by 14 points in the 2024 primary.
The Democratic candidates running are Dwayne Romero, president of a construction management company, and Alex Kelloff, a businessman whose family owns a grocery store. But whoever wins will face an uphill battle in a Republican-leaning district.
Ben Kamisar is a national politics reporter for NBC News
Annelise Hanson is an intern at NBC News.
I cover state legislatures, politics and policy – and how these topics blend and intersect with national political trends. Given what state lawmakers have focused on in recent years, my areas of coverage tend to lean toward reproductive rights, voting rights and education policy. I was born and raised in Milwaukee and try to make my home state proud by covering as many compelling political stories as possible.
Bridget Bowman is a national politics reporter for NBC News.
