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Democratic Party primaries in Colorado, 2026
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← 2024
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| Democratic Party primaries, 2026 |
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| Primary Date |
| June 30, 2026 |
| Federal elections |
| Democratic primaries for U.S. House |
| State party |
| Democratic Party of Colorado |
| State political party revenue |
This page focuses on the Democratic primaries that will take place in Colorado on June 30, 2026.
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election.
Colorado utilizes a semi-closed primary system. According to Section 1-7-201 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, "An eligible unaffiliated elector, including a preregistrant who is eligible under section 1-2-101 (2)(c), is entitled to vote in the primary election of a major political party without affiliating with that political party."[1][2]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Federal elections
U.S. Senate
A Democratic Party primary takes place on June 30, 2026, in Colorado to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the state's general election on November 3, 2026.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Colorado
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 30, 2026.
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
U.S. House
District 1
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
- Diana DeGette (Incumbent)
- Carter Hanson
- Wanda James
- Melat Kiros
- Olivia Miller
- Santiago Palomino
- Tiffany Rodgers
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection surveyDistrict 2
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
- Joe Neguse (Incumbent)
- Cinque Mason
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection surveyDistrict 3
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
District 4
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection surveyDistrict 5
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
District 6
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
- Jason Crow (Incumbent)
- Dylan Shelby
District 7
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
- Brittany Pettersen (Incumbent)
District 8
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection surveyState elections
State Senate
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2026
Colorado State Senate elections, 2026 |
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| Office | Democratic |
 Republican |
Other |
| District 1 |
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Byron Pelton (i) |
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| District 3 |
Aaron Gutierrez Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 4 | |||
| District 5 | |||
| District 7 |
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Janice Rich (i) |
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| District 8 |
Dylan Roberts (i) |
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| District 9 |
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| District 11 |
Thomas Exum Sr. (i) |
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| District 15 |
Janice Marchman (i) |
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| District 20 |
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| District 22 |
Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 24 |
Kyle Mullica (i) |
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| District 25 |
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| District 27 | |||
| District 30 |
John Carson (i) |
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| District 32 |
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| District 34 |
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| District 35 |
Rodney Pelton (i) |
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House of Representatives
State executive offices
Eleven state executive offices are up for election in Colorado in 2026:
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Treasurer
State Board of Education (3 seats)
State Board of Regents (3 seats)
Governor of Colorado
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection surveyLieutenant Governor of Colorado
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Attorney General of Colorado
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Colorado Secretary of State
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection surveyColorado Treasurer
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
University of Colorado Board of Regents
District 2
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
District 6
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
District 7
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Colorado State Board of Education
Colorado's 1st Congressional District
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Colorado's 3rd Congressional District
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Colorado's 7th Congressional District
Democratic primary candidatesNote: The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Colorado
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Context of the 2026 elections
Colorado Party Control: 1992-2025
Thirteen years of Democratic trifectas • Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
State party overview
Democratic Party of Colorado
- See also: Democratic Party of Colorado
State political party revenue
State political parties typically deposit revenue in separate state and federal accounts in order to comply with state and federal campaign finance laws.
The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following map displays total state political party revenue per capita for the Democratic state party affiliates.
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Four of 64 Colorado counties—6 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
| Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Trump margin of victory in 2016 | Obama margin of victory in 2012 | Obama margin of victory in 2008 | ||||
| Conejos County, Colorado | 3.56% | 9.22% | 12.93% | ||||
| Huerfano County, Colorado | 6.61% | 8.27% | 11.23% | ||||
| Las Animas County, Colorado | 15.60% | 2.65% | 7.04% | ||||
| Pueblo County, Colorado | 0.50% | 13.99% | 14.97% | ||||
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Colorado with 48.2 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 43.3 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Colorado voted Republican 63.3 percent of the time and Democratic 36.7 percent of the time. Colorado voted Republican in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, but voted Democratic in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 elections.
Presidential results by legislative district
The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Colorado. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[3][4]
| In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 37 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 27.3 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 40 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 24.8 points. Clinton won four districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections. |
| In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 28 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 21.2 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 25 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 25.8 points. Trump won one district controlled by a Democrat heading into the 2018 elections. |
| 2016 presidential results by state House district | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Obama | Romney | 2012 Margin | Clinton | Trump | 2016 Margin | Party Control |
| 1 | 63.79% | 34.04% | D+29.8 | 59.82% | 32.28% | D+27.5 | D |
| 2 | 72.48% | 24.78% | D+47.7 | 75.22% | 16.32% | D+58.9 | D |
| 3 | 52.36% | 45.33% | D+7 | 53.90% | 37.16% | D+16.7 | D |
| 4 | 79.17% | 18.39% | D+60.8 | 76.84% | 15.60% | D+61.2 | D |
| 5 | 76.41% | 21.06% | D+55.3 | 74.82% | 16.97% | D+57.9 | D |
| 6 | 66.55% | 31.98% | D+34.6 | 70.34% | 23.22% | D+47.1 | D |
| 7 | 82.54% | 16.11% | D+66.4 | 79.82% | 14.64% | D+65.2 | D |
| 8 | 84.00% | 13.75% | D+70.2 | 83.59% | 9.56% | D+74 | D |
| 9 | 63.82% | 33.80% | D+30 | 64.82% | 26.84% | D+38 | D |
| 10 | 79.29% | 17.98% | D+61.3 | 80.62% | 12.47% | D+68.2 | D |
| 11 | 58.66% | 38.84% | D+19.8 | 58.25% | 33.00% | D+25.3 | D |
| 12 | 65.33% | 32.47% | D+32.9 | 66.50% | 25.52% | D+41 | D |
| 13 | 68.88% | 28.33% | D+40.5 | 66.61% | 25.99% | D+40.6 | D |
| 14 | 29.31% | 68.47% | R+39.2 | 28.41% | 61.02% | R+32.6 | R |
| 15 | 35.17% | 62.29% | R+27.1 | 30.23% | 59.27% | R+29 | R |
| 16 | 38.44% | 58.69% | R+20.3 | 33.98% | 55.52% | R+21.5 | R |
| 17 | 58.28% | 38.66% | D+19.6 | 46.07% | 43.39% | D+2.7 | D |
| 18 | 55.69% | 41.03% | D+14.7 | 50.76% | 39.01% | D+11.8 | D |
| 19 | 23.20% | 74.75% | R+51.5 | 21.00% | 70.64% | R+49.6 | R |
| 20 | 36.90% | 61.07% | R+24.2 | 36.13% | 54.67% | R+18.5 | R |
| 21 | 44.76% | 52.44% | R+7.7 | 33.08% | 56.35% | R+23.3 | R |
| 22 | 43.22% | 54.92% | R+11.7 | 41.43% | 49.83% | R+8.4 | R |
| 23 | 56.59% | 40.48% | D+16.1 | 53.37% | 37.35% | D+16 | D |
| 24 | 56.97% | 40.27% | D+16.7 | 54.87% | 35.95% | D+18.9 | D |
| 25 | 45.68% | 52.27% | R+6.6 | 46.55% | 44.77% | D+1.8 | R |
| 26 | 56.52% | 41.35% | D+15.2 | 55.34% | 36.27% | D+19.1 | D |
| 27 | 47.59% | 50.20% | R+2.6 | 45.58% | 45.51% | D+0.1 | R |
| 28 | 56.14% | 41.40% | D+14.7 | 52.88% | 38.13% | D+14.7 | D |
| 29 | 55.15% | 41.90% | D+13.3 | 49.23% | 40.65% | D+8.6 | D |
| 30 | 58.12% | 39.53% | D+18.6 | 50.98% | 40.69% | D+10.3 | D |
| 31 | 57.57% | 39.68% | D+17.9 | 49.47% | 41.26% | D+8.2 | D |
| 32 | 68.41% | 28.79% | D+39.6 | 59.50% | 32.00% | D+27.5 | D |
| 33 | 54.04% | 43.63% | D+10.4 | 54.79% | 35.90% | D+18.9 | D |
| 34 | 58.24% | 38.92% | D+19.3 | 50.21% | 40.46% | D+9.8 | D |
| 35 | 56.93% | 40.57% | D+16.4 | 53.11% | 37.98% | D+15.1 | D |
| 36 | 58.93% | 39.04% | D+19.9 | 53.58% | 37.59% | D+16 | D |
| 37 | 46.74% | 51.56% | R+4.8 | 48.68% | 42.60% | D+6.1 | R |
| 38 | 45.32% | 52.68% | R+7.4 | 46.96% | 43.84% | D+3.1 | R |
| 39 | 33.46% | 64.72% | R+31.3 | 31.36% | 61.02% | R+29.7 | R |
| 40 | 57.39% | 40.16% | D+17.2 | 53.06% | 37.39% | D+15.7 | D |
| 41 | 62.83% | 34.95% | D+27.9 | 60.91% | 31.42% | D+29.5 | D |
| 42 | 72.27% | 25.31% | D+47 | 66.99% | 25.31% | D+41.7 | D |
| 43 | 40.49% | 58.15% | R+17.7 | 42.44% | 48.85% | R+6.4 | R |
| 44 | 37.59% | 60.64% | R+23 | 37.16% | 53.68% | R+16.5 | R |
| 45 | 32.91% | 65.51% | R+32.6 | 32.80% | 58.30% | R+25.5 | R |
| 46 | 55.76% | 42.01% | D+13.8 | 45.78% | 46.05% | R+0.3 | D |
| 47 | 47.31% | 50.40% | R+3.1 | 37.98% | 54.19% | R+16.2 | R |
| 48 | 37.53% | 60.27% | R+22.7 | 30.35% | 61.19% | R+30.8 | R |
| 49 | 41.56% | 56.12% | R+14.6 | 36.54% | 54.81% | R+18.3 | R |
| 50 | 55.50% | 41.23% | D+14.3 | 45.81% | 43.71% | D+2.1 | D |
| 51 | 43.13% | 54.07% | R+10.9 | 36.83% | 53.48% | R+16.7 | R |
| 52 | 57.53% | 39.81% | D+17.7 | 55.70% | 34.08% | D+21.6 | D |
| 53 | 61.38% | 35.23% | D+26.1 | 59.03% | 29.59% | D+29.4 | D |
| 54 | 28.39% | 69.43% | R+41 | 22.69% | 70.10% | R+47.4 | R |
| 55 | 36.10% | 61.61% | R+25.5 | 32.32% | 59.26% | R+26.9 | R |
| 56 | 40.95% | 56.94% | R+16 | 36.37% | 55.99% | R+19.6 | R |
| 57 | 38.90% | 58.78% | R+19.9 | 34.52% | 58.25% | R+23.7 | R |
| 58 | 36.91% | 60.52% | R+23.6 | 31.94% | 61.10% | R+29.2 | R |
| 59 | 50.62% | 46.33% | D+4.3 | 47.02% | 43.47% | D+3.5 | D |
| 60 | 39.26% | 57.98% | R+18.7 | 31.71% | 60.43% | R+28.7 | R |
| 61 | 55.13% | 42.35% | D+12.8 | 52.90% | 39.28% | D+13.6 | D |
| 62 | 58.86% | 38.59% | D+20.3 | 47.77% | 43.64% | D+4.1 | D |
| 63 | 40.61% | 56.65% | R+16 | 33.06% | 58.29% | R+25.2 | R |
| 64 | 31.01% | 66.64% | R+35.6 | 22.78% | 70.74% | R+48 | R |
| 65 | 29.29% | 68.33% | R+39 | 20.30% | 74.27% | R+54 | R |
| Total | 51.49% | 46.13% | D+5.4 | 48.16% | 43.25% | D+4.9 | - |
| Source: Daily Kos | |||||||
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ LexisNexis, "Colorado Revised Statutes § 1-7-201," accessed October 20, 2025
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Primary Elections FAQs," accessed October 20, 2025
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
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