DENVER — The future of the Democratic Party is on display in Colorado. The state’s House candidate selection for the 2026 election features members of the Democratic Socialist Party of America and others whose platforms could be mistaken for Republicans because they run in districts considered safe for Republicans.
Most of the state’s eight legislative seats are solidly Democratic or Republican, and safe seats often attract candidates from both ends of the political spectrum. Candidates aligned with democratic socialist ideals have won primaries around the country this year, including Colorado’s Melat Quiroz, but some traditionalists in the Democratic Party are worried that a shift to the left could hurt their chances of winning enough seats to win a majority in the House, Senate, or both in November.
Colorado is a state with a diverse electorate, and although it has become more Democratic in recent decades, it remains strongly conservative and liberal.
Mr. Quiros, a 29-year-old lawyer, was one of the first Democratic Socialist candidates to make national headlines in June when he defeated longtime Congresswoman Diana DeGette for the Democratic nomination in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District.
The Democratic Socialists of America’s platform, which includes the liberation of Palestine, universal health care, and the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is well to the left of the center of the current American political system.
“The kind of anti-incumbent energy that was felt across the country helped us a lot,” Quiroz said in an interview with CNBC at a coffee shop in Denver’s Hale neighborhood about his first win. “All we were doing was getting volunteers together and meeting voters where they were.”
She added, “The fight that we have is with the system itself and with campaign finance laws, and I think that gave people more hope and something to hang on to instead of finding a reason to be upset about this incumbent who has actually done a lot of great things for us and our district.”
DeGette’s office did not respond to requests for an interview. She has represented Colorado in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1997.
With President Donald Trump’s popularity at historic lows, Democrats hope to win the House and even the Senate.
Far-left candidates could pose a risk to that effort on the theory that a smaller number of voters intend to vote for them. At the same time, the Tea Party revolt within the Republican Party that began in 2010, with the success of many right-wing candidates, shows that there is a path for people on one side of the political spectrum to win high office.
A CNBC National Economic Survey released in July found that more voters were more likely to support a Democratic Socialist candidate than a Make America Great Again supporter or a Trump-backed candidate.
And candidates affiliated with DSA are making great strides across the country. Mr. Quiros is expected to win the general election in a district with many Democrats. The bigger test is Michigan, where far-left candidate Abdul El-Sayed defeated a more moderate candidate to win the Democratic Senate nomination and will now have to face voters across the state.
But nationally, Democrats are nervous. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and party leaders in both houses of Congress have typically supported more moderate candidates, including Mr. El-Sayed’s main rival. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he does not support DSA’s agenda, but noted that all members of the party will be part of the caucus if elected.
Rahm Emanuel, a former congressman from Illinois, chief of staff to President Barack Obama and mayor of Chicago, has frequently criticized far-left candidates, saying they won’t help flip seats from Republicans to Democrats.
Back in Colorado, at a coffee shop in Highlands Ranch, 20 miles south of Quiros, another — very different — Democratic candidate gave an interview to CNBC.
The 4th Congressional District seat is comprised of much of Colorado’s Eastern Plains and some of the Denver suburbs. Republicans outnumber Democrats about 2 to 1, but about half of voters are independents. The district is held by Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Trump ally and high-profile defector who moved from the 3rd District to the safer 4th District after narrowly winning in 2022.
Eileen Laubacher, a former rear admiral with five children, is working to change that after winning the Democratic nomination for the district.
“My background with 34 years of military service puts me in a different category for many people,” Laubacher said in an interview. “They can’t doubt my patriotism and love for my country. I talk about the family I raised here. I talk about my faith.”
Laubacher said he initially had no intention of running for office when he retired from the Navy and returned home, but that circumstances have changed.
“I just looked at all the institutions and organizations that were just tearing my life apart,” she said. “And in that moment, I felt like I had to do something for my country. … Your job is to represent the people in your district. Your job is not to be internet famous or rich or powerful, it’s to serve. We felt like we needed more of that.”
Laubacher faces a tough battle for the seat, which the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates as “solid” for the Republican Party, but as of June 30, Laubacher had $3.6 million in cash, compared to Boebert’s $247,000, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Boebert’s office did not respond to requests for an interview.
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who is leaving office in January after eight years in office, said Colorado’s unique dynamics could help Democratic candidates this year.
Polis told CNBC from his office at the Colorado State Capitol that the political environment is a reaction to what’s happening within the Republican Party as well as the Democratic Party. “We’re not a state that supports tariffs and taxes and socialism like what Donald Trump is trying to put in place at the national level. We have limited government, we have freedom, we’re one of the first states to legalize marijuana, we’re one of the first states to legalize psilocybin. That’s right in our political culture.”
“Republicans are like Mitt Romney. He’s a businessman and he created value,” Polis said of the 2012 presidential candidate. “They’re doing well here, but people like Donald Trump who only want government-owned businesses are not going to do well here.”
