Colorado voters head to the polls Tuesday

Colorado holds primaries Tuesday that feature a Democratic Socialist, competition for Latino voters and concern in rural areas by voters who feel left out.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Primary elections in Colorado today could yield some clues about voter preferences nationwide.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Yeah. Some national themes are emerging in races for governor and the Senate and the House. There's a democratic socialist candidate, competition for Latino votes and rural voters worried they're being left out.

MARTIN: Bente Birkeland with Colorado Public Radio is following all this, and she's with us now. Bente, good morning. Thanks for joining us.

BENTE BIRKELAND, BYLINE: Thanks so much for having me.

MARTIN: So these are primaries, which means, you know, parties are sorting out their candidates for the fall. So let's start with Congress. What are the key races there?

BIRKELAND: In Denver, Democrat Diana DeGette has held this congressional seat for three decades, and she's facing two challengers. Melat Kiros is a 29-year-old first-time candidate and a democratic socialist. We will see if they can continue their momentum after wins in New York primaries. The other candidate is Wanda James, a University of Colorado regent. The winner in this race is the overwhelming favorite in November. This is a deep blue Denver district.

MARTIN: Can you say more about this race? Are the challengers to DeGette drawing, like, a generational contrast? Is that part of their campaign?

BIRKELAND: Yes. It is part of the campaign. I think we hear from a lot of voters dissatisfaction with what's happening at the national level, and the push for fresh faces and younger candidates is playing into the race.

MARTIN: There's also a race in what's considered a toss-up district that has a Republican, Gabe Evans, incumbent now. Can you tell us about that?

BIRKELAND: Yes. Evans doesn't have a Republican challenger, but two Democrats are vying to oppose him - former state lawmaker Shannon Bird - she bills herself as a bridge builder in this purple district - and current state lawmaker Manny Rutinel. He's leaning into his history as the child of an immigrant and, in this heavily Latino district, says Bird hasn't done enough to oppose ICE.

MARTIN: You've also been reporting on rural voters who've been affected a lot by tariffs and energy prices. Presumably, that could impact some of these races. What are you hearing?

BIRKELAND: We heard dissatisfaction with Washington. Caleb Measner is 27. He works in construction. He voted for President Trump twice but doesn't support the direction of the country and how expensive things are.

CALEB MEASNER: Seems like we have kind of a ruling class that doesn't have to follow any of the rules anymore, and we just all kind of face the brunt of it. And I just don't think that's any way we're supposed to live. That's not the values our country was created on.

BIRKELAND: Another voter, John Iannone, is from Colorado's Eastern Plains. He's a data center engineer and farmer and an unaffiliated voter.

JOHN IANNONE: I'm furious that we're in Iran in another war when they promised we weren't going to be in a war. The tariffs cost me a fortune. I was really upset about that.

BIRKELAND: He said he reluctantly voted for Trump in the last election but is not happy with how his second term is going.

MARTIN: OK, but Trump isn't on the ballot. So did you get the impression from these voters that they were going to take Trump's performance into account when making their decision about the congressional representative?

BIRKELAND: Certainly in some of the races, especially the Democratic primaries, Trump is front and center in all the ads, and a lot of the messaging is around how much candidates have or will push back against the Trump administration.

MARTIN: And finally, Democratic Governor Jared Polis, he's term-limited. So who's looking to replace him?

BIRKELAND: In the Republican primary, there are two state lawmakers - Scott Bottoms, who's also a pastor, and Barbara Kirkmeyer. And there's a political outsider, Victor Marx. He served in the Marine Corps and says he's a high-risk humanitarian who's rescued people overseas, but opponents say he's lying. As a blue state, the stakes are especially high on the Democratic side. In that race, there's a well-known name, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. And while they have similar policy positions, both are trying to run on pushing back against the Trump administration.

MARTIN: That's Colorado Public Radio's Bente Birkeland in Denver. Bente, thank you.

BIRKELAND: Thanks so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.