U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg rallied Democratic voters at the Boulder Theater on Wednesday. Colorado Democrats are confident they are days away from keeping their grip on power and turning the state a deeper shade of blue than ever.
On stage at the Boulder Theater, the state’s top Democratic leaders rallied the party faithful in a series of speeches that doubled as a line of succession for the state’s highest offices. Outgoing Attorney General Phil Weiser was introduced by Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who was in turn introduced by Jefferson County Clerk Amanda Gonzalez, the candidate hoping to succeed Gris, the candidate hoping to succeed Griswold as the state’s top elections official. All three, along with Democratic treasurer candidate Jeff Bridges, are favored to win their races on Election Day, Nov. 3.
Democrats in the state Legislature are eyeing a two-thirds supermajority in both houses. And Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib said a once-unthinkable 8-0 split of the state’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives is in the party’s grasp.
“Every single Republican-held congressional district (in Colorado) is on the priority list to flip,” Murib said to cheers at the rally. “We are the only state in the country that gets to say that, and it’s because of what you all have done. That means we can win the majority in the House right here in Colorado.”
“We have the opportunity to put this country on a better path forward – to not only do that, but to hold Donald Trump accountable, and then go on to win the White House in 2028,” Murib added.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, widely considered a likely contender for Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination, headlined the rally, hosted by Rep. Joe Neguse, whose 2nd Congressional District includes Boulder.
“We can have better leadership in this country,” Buttigieg said. “We can have nice things in the United States of America, and Colorado has some great candidates showing us what that leadership looks like.”
Neguse and Buttigieg made stops earlier in the day in Thornton, where former state legislator Manny Rutinel is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Gabe Evans in one of the country’s top House battlegrounds, and in Douglas County, where Democrat Eileen Laubacher hopes to pull off an upset over Rep. Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s most heavily Republican district.
“You deserve better than the likes of Gabe Evans and Lauren Boebert and (5th District Rep.) Jeff Crank, and whoever this guy is they found to run against Phil Weiser,” Buttigieg told the crowd, referring to Republican governor candidate Victor Marx. “You deserve better, and you’re going to get better.”
Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a candidate for attorney general, and Jefferson County Clerk Amanda Gonzalez, a candidate for secretary of state, appeared on stage at the Boulder Theater on Wednesday to rally Democratic voters ahead of the midterm elections.
Boulder residents Nancy Portnoy and Joel Silverman left Wednesday’s rally feeling energized.
