CO-GOV, CO-01: Colorado Democrats brace for their own insurgent earthquake

Bennet allies acknowledge his primary for governor race is far closer than they expected, a startling position for one of the state’s best-known Democrats, while DeGette is facing similar anti-Washington headwinds, as internal polling in recent days has set off alarm bells for the 30-year incumbent.

The primaries come after several Democratic incumbents and establishment-backed candidates have already fallen this year, including in New York City last week, where Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman lost to challengers from the left, as well as in Maine, where Gov. Janet Mills was forced from her Senate race by controversial progressive Graham Platner.......

The anxiety may be even greater around DeGette. The 68-year-old is facing her most serious primary challenge of her three decades in Congress from democratic socialist Melat Kiros, who at 29 years old was born just a few months after DeGette first won her seat.

People close to DeGette’s campaign say the warning signs have been there for months. But her team’s concern ratcheted up in recent weeks as the campaign’s internal polling found the race also narrowing to within the margin of error, according to two political strategists close to DeGette’s campaign. The tightening, coupled with New York’s insurgent sweep that took out a pair of congressmen, set off a panic and helped to finally convince skeptical donors and allied groups that the threat was real after DeGette’s team had spent weeks warning national Democrats they were facing a far more competitive race than many appreciated. National groups have poured in money in the race’s final week in a desperate attempt to save the Congress member, even as some DeGette allies privately grumble that she had not done nearly enough to stave off her challenger.





https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/29/bennet-degette-colorado-primaries-progressives-00979355