Progressives sailed through Colorado’s primary elections in late June, including a once-in-a-generation upset for a Democratic Socialist who ousted a longtime incumbent in Denver in a race that grabbed national headlines. There was an upset of a different kind in the Democratic race for governor with a U.S. Senator losing to the state’s Attorney General, while the GOP race was too close to call on primary night. In a big election year, with all of the top statewide elected offices up for grabs, and control of Congress on the line, there is a lot to dissect about what this primary means for the November midterms and the future of Colorado politics.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland, The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul and CPR’s Caitlyn Kim discuss what the shakeups illustrate about the state of politics in Colorado.
Catch up on our latest primary election coverage:
- CPR News: Is the GOP governor’s primary headed to a recount?
- CPR News: What is the DSA and who is Melat Kiros?
- CPR News: What just happened to Diana DeGette?
- The Colorado Sun: Why Melat Kiros was able to tap into the anti-establishment wave and Julie Gonzales was not
- The Colorado Sun: Phil Weiser overcomes big spending, name ID to beat Michael Bennet in Colorado’s Democratic primary for governor
Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. Story editing from Nicole Vap. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. Additional reporting for this episode from Sandy Battulga, Ishan Thakore, John Daley, Allison Sherry, Kiara DeMare, Ben Markus, Molly Cruse and many others in the CPR newsroom. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.
