Dark Money Loses as Moderates Fall in Denver Statehouse Primaries

The rain had just stopped over Denver, leaving the pavement slick and reflecting the amber glow of streetlights on 16th Street, but inside the campaign offices, the mood was already heavy with the weight of defeat. State Rep. Sean Camacho, who had worked so hard to carve out a space as a moderate voice in a increasingly liberal legislature, stood before his supporters and delivered a quiet concession. “The voters of HD6 have chosen a new direction, and I respect that decision,” he said in a written statement Wednesday, his voice carrying the fatigue of a campaign that had spent millions but lost the ground game.

It wasn’t just Camacho who fell. In a stinging rebuke to the political establishment, six of the eight Democratic statehouse candidates backed by $2.5 million in dark money lost their primaries on Tuesday night. The money didn’t come from a single well-known donor or a transparent super PAC; it was routed through three nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors: One Main Street Colorado, Fair Economy for Coloradans, and the Colorado Affordability Project. They bet big on a specific strategy — flooding the zone with cash to elevate moderate Democrats over their more liberal opponents in the Denver area — and they lost big.

If you look closely at the ledger, the story becomes clearer. One Main Street Colorado dropped $1.4 million into the fight, Fair Economy for Coloradans contributed $1.05 million, and the Colorado Affordability Project chipped in $85,000. The goal was to shift the balance of power to the left at the Colorado Capitol next year, or at least to check the influence of the progressive wing. Instead, the cash infusion seemed to backfire, or perhaps it just wasn’t enough to overcome the grassroots energy of the liberals.

The biggest loss came in House District 6, where Camacho, a member of the Colorado Opportunity Caucus, was defeated by civil rights attorney Iris Halpern. Camacho had been first elected in 2024 with support from the group, a clear indicator of how quickly fortunes can change in Colorado politics. Of the more than $1 million spent by super PACs in that specific contest, two-thirds went to support Camacho. Yet, Halpern took the seat, suggesting that the money alone couldn’t buy loyalty if the candidate’s brand didn’t resonate with the base.

Andrew Short, who leads One Main Street Colorado, didn’t respond to a request for comment, leaving the group’s strategy unexplained. But Dennis Dougherty, who leads the Colorado AFL-CIO, saw the results as a clear message. In a written statement, he called the results “a warning sign to any politician who thinks their future lies in corporate money rather than the interests of working people across the state.” Labor unions, it turns out, were the biggest spenders working opposite the dark money trio, and they won the day.

There’s a warmth to the idea that money talks, but in this case, it seemed to whisper while the voters shouted. The defeats mark the end of a yearslong effort to push back on liberal influence in the legislature, an effort that had been successful until now. As the sun sets over the Capitol, casting long shadows across the steps where these candidates once campaigned, the question isn’t just who won, but what the loss means for the next cycle. The money is gone, the donors are hidden, and the moderates are looking for a new path.