The generational war among Democrats continues, with Sen. John Hickenlooper winning, Sen. Michael Bennet losing, and socialist Melato Quiroz leading Rep. Diana DeGette.
Mandani-backed candidate wins New York primary
Candidates supported by New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani have won three Democratic congressional primaries.
The June 30 Colorado primary continued the Democratic Party’s generational and ideological tug-of-war amid a national surge of anti-establishment sentiment that is emboldening young, progressive candidates.
In the congressional race for the district that covers Denver, longtime congresswoman Diana DeGette, 68, was angry with Melat Quiros, 29, a political newcomer who identifies as a democratic socialist. And in a key swing Congressional district, progressive state Rep. Manny Lutinel defeated his moderate opponent to win the Democratic nomination.
But statewide, Sen. John Hickenlooper, 74, blocked a challenge from state Sen. Julie Gonzalez, 43, who ran from the left of the incumbent and argued it was time for a new voice in Washington.
Opinion polls show Democrats as the favorites to take back Congress heading into November, but the party is currently embroiled in a heated debate over its ideological direction.
New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s candidates won overwhelmingly in several heavily liberal districts in the June 23 Democratic Congressional primary, while centrist candidates have recently won statewide elections, including the 2025 gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, and some veteran party officials are rejecting the socialist revolt.
In Colorado, Sen. Michael Bennet suffered an upset in the gubernatorial primary at the hands of state Attorney General Phil Weiser. Like many Democratic primaries in 2026, this campaign was less about sharp policy disagreements and more about who could more effectively oppose the Trump administration’s staunchly conservative policy goals and aggressive actions.
Here are key takeaways from the Colorado primary.
Quiros upsets longtime Democratic congresswoman in Deep Blue district
Progressives aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America continued their national winning streak in the midterm elections, picking up another veteran lawmaker in a deep blue area.
DeGette was first elected in 1996, the year before Quiros was born, and former Vice President Kamala Harris won the district by 56 percentage points in 2024.
The congressman highlighted his relationship on Capitol Hill and his opposition to Trump. She was among a group of House Democrats who sat out in protest of President Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address.
But it wasn’t enough to quell Quiroz’s resistance. Mr. Quiros campaigned on concerns often raised by young, progressive Democrats, including the rise of artificial intelligence and Israel’s alleged war crimes in Gaza. Quiros first gained online notoriety in November 2023 when he was fired from his New York law firm after writing a letter harshly criticizing Israel.
The result is sure to intensify the debate within the Democratic Party that has been brewing since Mamdani’s victory in New York City. The Democratic Socialists have been able to pull off upsets in major cities like Washington, D.C. and Seattle, as well as liberal-leaning Congressional districts, but they have drawn criticism from some in the party’s centrist wing who say far-left candidates and their policies are anathema in battleground states and districts.
For example, a Pew Research Center survey released in January found that 32% of Democratic voters prefer leaders who call themselves democratic socialists, while 11% dislike the term.
Weiser defeats Bennett in gubernatorial election on anti-Trump platform
For much of 2025, the frustration among rank-and-file Democrats was that leaders in Washington were not doing enough to resist the bulldozing policies of the reinstated Trump administration.
That likely gave Weiser the edge over Bennett in what started out as an uphill battle largely due to name recognition.
A 2025 poll showed Bennett, who is in his third term in the Senate, leading the primary by 31 points. However, Weiser closed the fundraising gap, raising a record $6.5 million to the $4.8 million raised by Bennett.
Mr. Weiser has focused his campaign on countering Mr. Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in the state. Anti-Trump sentiment was further fueled by incumbent Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ decision to reduce the nine-year prison sentence of former county clerk Tina Peters, who was convicted of accessing secure voting system data. Trump had demanded Peters’ release and threatened to withhold federal funds from Colorado if his demands were not met.
Peters, a Republican, is trying to debunk Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Mr. Polis was criticized by the Colorado Democratic Party in May for his decision to release Mr. Peters from prison.
Both Mr. Weiser and Mr. Bennett criticized Mr. Polis’ decision, and Mr. Bennett promised Mr. Polis, if he won the election, that he would hold the Senate seat until he was sworn into office rather than filling the vacancy.
But Mr. Weiser stood out among primary voters, noting that he had sued the president 66 times. He also criticized Bennett, a known bipartisan moderate, for supporting some of the president’s policies, including voting to confirm at least eight of Trump’s cabinet nominees.
Hickenlooper overcomes gradual challenge to aging Democratic Party
If centrists were looking for a sign that their Democrats could withstand the blue wave, it was in Colorado’s Senate race, which was a generational referendum.
Incumbent Sen. John Hickenlooper (74), former Colorado governor and Denver mayor, won a decisive victory over state Sen. Julie Gonzalez (43).
Gonzalez ran on a staunchly left-leaning platform, supporting Medicare for All, raising the minimum wage and cracking down on junk fees. She said young voices are needed on Capitol Hill, a theme for many Democratic primaries in 2026.
Hickenlooper will face Republican Mark Bazley, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, but experts note that the state has trended toward Democrats over the past decade and see little chance of a Republican flipping the Senate seat this fall.
Contributor: Terry Collins
