CO-08 House winner?

Colorado, once a reliable Republican state, has leaned decidedly Democratic in recent cycles, and 2026 looks similar. Gov. Phil Weiser and Sen. John Hickenlooper are favored for easy wins over underfunded Republican opponents Victor Marx and Mark Baisley, with some GOP figures, including former Rep. Ken Buck, crossing over to back Weiser. The closest races are in the U.S. House: Democrat Manny Rutinel is seen as favored over Republican incumbent Gabe Evans in District 8, while Republican incumbent Jeff Crank is expected to hold District 5 against well-funded Democrat Jessica Killin despite backlash over the Space Command relocation. Analysts attribute the overall Democratic advantage to anti-Trump sentiment and weak Republican statewide recruitment.

A Denver District Court judge heard about 10 hours of testimony in a lawsuit challenging signature gathering for Amendment 87, a Colorado ballot initiative that would replace the state's flat income tax with a six-tier system, raising rates on income over $500,000 while cutting them below $100,000. Voter Michael Hancock argues that 69 paid circulators were not properly registered for this specific initiative and that their signatures should be invalidated, which could knock the measure off the ballot. Defendants, including the Secretary of State's Office and Amendment 87 organizers, countered that most circulators completed required training and registration, and that registration errors are not grounds for disqualification. A ruling is expected by Wednesday.

Arizona's 2026 governor's race pits Democratic incumbent Katie Hobbs against Republican Rep. Andy Biggs, with Green Party candidate Risa Lombardo and No Labels candidate Teri Ann Hourihan also on the ballot. Hobbs, who defeated Kari Lake in 2022, is emphasizing tax cuts, medical debt relief, and a tougher stance on immigration, while distancing herself from some national Democratic positions. Biggs, a longtime Trump ally and former House Freedom Caucus chair who backed efforts to block certification of the 2020 election results, has Trump's endorsement and support from Turning Point Action. Both campaigns are trading attack ads over child-sex-abuse legislation records.

Republicans hold a voter registration edge, but low turnout and Trump's sagging approval ratings could favor Democrats, echoing 2018's "Blue Wave." For the first time, each candidate has a running mate for a newly created lieutenant governor post: Biggs chose state Sen. Sine Kerr, while Hobbs picked former Republican Mesa Mayor John Giles, now an independent, to court centrist voters.

Colorado's U.S. Senate contest pits Democratic incumbent John Hickenlooper, seeking a second term after a career as Denver mayor and governor, against Republican state Sen. Mark Baisley of Woodland Park. Baisley campaigns on fiscal restraint, government accountability, property tax reform and expanding first-time homebuyer access, drawing on his aerospace engineering background and work on tech and defense issues in the legislature. Hickenlooper points to his record capping insulin costs, expanding Medicare drug price negotiation, and opposing Trump administration policies on public lands, tariffs, and healthcare cuts, while emphasizing water and healthcare expertise from his time as governor.

Colorado has trended Democratic in recent federal elections, though Republicans have won statewide Senate races before — Cory Gardner held the seat until Hickenlooper unseated him in 2020. With Democrats and Republicans nearly even in active voter registration and unaffiliated voters forming the largest bloc, the race is being watched as a test of whether Republicans can flip a statewide seat amid broader national political headwinds.

Colorado Democrats closed out a six-day, 25-stop statewide bus tour by framing the midterms as a referendum on Donald Trump, betting that voter frustration with his administration will boost turnout. Sen. John Hickenlooper blamed Trump's tariffs, the Iran conflict and health care cuts for a "cost of living catastrophe," while attorney general nominee Jena Griswold pledged to sue to protect voting rights and immigrant communities. Candidates also cited Trump's moves against Colorado, including relocating U.S. Space Command, denying disaster aid and vetoing a water project. Republicans, hampered by infighting, countered that Democrats themselves are to blame for high living costs. Democrats are defending statewide offices and congressional seats while eyeing veto-proof legislative majorities.

Colorado's U.S. Senate race has sharpened into a proxy fight over President Trump's military campaign against Iran, with Republican state Sen. Baisley and Democratic incumbent John Hickenlooper clashing in their only televised debate on 9News. Baisley defended the strikes as overdue given decades of Iranian-backed attacks on Americans, acknowledging rising gas prices but arguing the cost is worth standing up to "bullies." He stopped short of backing ground troops in Iran.

Hickenlooper called the war reckless, pushing instead for negotiations to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions while conceding past administrations, including Obama's and Biden's, hadn't pressed hard enough. He left room for limited strikes if Iran blocked inspectors but opposed regime change. He has made war opposition central to his campaign, backing a war-powers resolution and featuring the issue in his first general election ad. The two also split over Trump's easing of sanctions on Russian diesel, which Hickenlooper called a political betrayal. Hickenlooper remains the favored candidate heading into the midterms.

Candidates for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District seat responded to a Denver Post questionnaire covering affordability, public lands, oversight of the Trump administration, energy leasing, and immigration. Democratic challenger (Romero Group CEO and Army veteran) emphasized repealing tariffs, expanding tax credits, protecting water and public lands, and banning congressional stock trading. Incumbent Rep. Jeff Hurd pointed to his record on extending health insurance premium tax credits, opposing broad tariffs, pushing for stock divestment rules, and securing release of Shoshone Water Rights funding, while backing expanded energy development on federal lands with environmental safeguards. Third-party candidate Cory Robertson called for ending federal money printing, releasing federal land to states, and dissolving ICE, among other libertarian-leaning positions. A fourth candidate, Clifton Brown, did not respond to the questionnaire.

The race highlights contrasts on tariffs, immigration enforcement, and energy leasing on public lands ahead of the midterms, with affordability and trust in Congress emerging as shared themes across candidates.

Douglas County, Colorado voters will weigh in on Nov. 3 on whether to expand the Board of County Commissioners from three to five members and how those commissioners should be elected. A citizen-backed initiative, Ballot Question 200, asks whether to add two seats, which would bring the county in line with other populous Colorado counties like Arapahoe, Weld, El Paso and Adams. Question 201 asks how the expanded board should be chosen, either entirely by district or through a mix of district and at-large seats.

Complicating matters, the sitting Republican commissioners added cost-estimate language to Question 200 and introduced a competing Question 1A asking if all five commissioners should be elected at-large. Legal challenges to these additions failed. If 1A and 201 both pass, their conflicting election methods could trigger a court dispute. Supporters argue a growing population of 400,000 needs broader representation; opponents cite added costs, estimated between $500,000 and $1.3 million annually. If approved, five commissioners would first be elected in 2028.

Ahead of Colorado's Nov. 3 election, the coalition Just Vote Colorado has recruited about 800 nonpartisan volunteers to staff polling locations, alongside an attorney-run election-protection hotline and faith leaders deployed to ease tensions. Organizers say the effort responds to heightened anxiety driven by President Trump's attacks on election integrity. Training covers spotting ICE activity and de-escalating confrontations, following an incident in Salida where activists reportedly linked to the Proud Boys harassed voters dropping off ballots. The Justice Department also plans to send federal monitors to Adams County. State officials, including Secretary of State Jena Griswold, say Colorado's elections remain secure and are proceeding normally.

Colorado Republicans head into the 2026 election cycle with a statewide slate widely criticized as among the weakest in party history, with gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx at the center of multiple controversies. Marx was fined $57,000 for exceeding legal campaign donation limits, has faced scrutiny over fabricated claims about rescuing trafficking victims, and was found to have used manipulated and AI-altered imagery in campaign materials. Video also surfaced of Marx describing past incidents of violence toward his wife and son.

Marx is not alone: election deniers Mark Baisley and James Wiley are running for U.S. Senate and secretary of state respectively, wealthy independent Bob Chew has self-funded a long-shot Senate bid, and perennial candidate Greg Lopez is making a third gubernatorial attempt, this time as an independent. Critics attribute the party's decline to campaign finance changes, the rise of direct digital fundraising bypassing party vetting, and increasing ideological polarization that has narrowed the primary electorate. The weakened GOP field raises questions about competitive balance in Colorado's statewide races against well-established Democratic contenders.