Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser defeated U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press, in a race that tested voter frustration with the party’s establishment figures. With about 78% of the vote counted, Weiser led Bennet 55%-45%, the AP reported.
Weiser, who trailed Bennet in name identification and campaign spending, focused his campaign on casting Bennet as a Washington insider. The attorney general criticized Bennet’s votes to confirm some of President Donald Trump’s nominees and his support for increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as his backing from wealthy donors, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Bennet is not up for re-election until 2028 and can remain in his Senate seat despite losing the gubernatorial primary.
In the state’s other marquee Democratic contest, Sen. John Hickenlooper fought off a primary challenge from state Sen. Julie Gonzales. With 80% of the vote counted, Hickenlooper led Gonzales 57%-43%, according to the AP. Gonzales, a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America, campaigned to Hickenlooper’s left. Hickenlooper, a former governor and Denver mayor, held a substantial fundraising advantage, raising $7.7 million during the election cycle compared to Gonzales’s $869,000, according to federal filings cited by the Journal.
Progressive candidate state Rep. Manny Rutinel won the Democratic primary for Colorado’s Eighth Congressional District, the state’s most competitive House seat. He defeated former state Rep. Shannon Bird, who had the backing of congressional centrists. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the seat a tossup. Rutinel will face Republican Rep. Gabe Evans in November. The district is considered one of Democrats’ best pickup opportunities nationwide as the party is favored to retake the House.
Colorado’s elections served as a barometer for whether progressive candidates appeal to voters outside coastal metropolitan areas, following a wave of left-wing primary victories in New York last week. In that state, candidates endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani toppled Democratic House incumbents or won crowded races. Earlier this month, progressive Graham Platner won the Democratic Senate primary in Maine.
Hickenlooper’s easy victory provided a counterpoint for centrists, who saw one of their own win a Senate primary. The race had been seen as closer than expected in its final stretch.
Hickenlooper will face Republican state Sen. Mark Baisley, who ran unopposed, in November. Colorado, once a battleground state, has shifted left in recent years, and Hickenlooper is favored to win the general election, according to the Journal.