Anti-establishment candidates win big in Colorado primary elections: Three takeaways

Published July 1, 2026 9:52am ET | Updated July 1, 2026 9:53am ET



Anti-establishment momentum was clear in Colorado on Tuesday night, as primary election results rolling in indicate voters are leaning against the old guard. 

Voters generally favored more progressive-leaning candidates down the ballot, including in the 8th Congressional District, where state Rep. Manny Rutinel, who has drawn comparisons to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, defeated former state Rep. Shannon Bird in the Democratic primary. That wasn’t the case everywhere, as evidenced in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District, where Army veteran Jessica Killin won her Democratic primary after signing onto a document affirming centrist principles and rebuking the socialist agenda. 

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