Denver Democrats Crush Dark Money in Statehouse Primaries

The money was there.

It was just going to the wrong people.

In Denver’s Senate District 34, more than $1 million in state super PAC spending flowed into a single race. The goal was clear: use dark money from nonprofits and business interests to defeat a liberal and install a more moderate voice in the state legislature.

Chela Garcia Irlando didn’t just win. She crushed the narrative.

Garcia Irlando, a nonprofit leader, defeated policy strategist Andrés Carrera with about 68% of the vote as of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night. The Associated AP called the race at 8:12 p.m., and the margin held. The big money didn’t just fail; it got swept aside by the state’s largest labor unions and liberal groups who backed Garcia Irlando.

This wasn’t an anomaly. It was a pattern.

Across Denver, the political establishment’s bet on moderation lost. In House District 5, campaign consultant Justine Sandoval beat Marine veteran and policy strategist Sterling Simms with 76% of the vote. The race was called at 8 p.m. Sandoval will replace term-limited state Rep. Alex Valdez.

The question for locals watching the broader picture is whether this is a temporary blip or a shift in how Colorado Democrats organize. The data suggests the latter. State super PACs funded by dark money spent millions trying to help more moderate candidates beat their more liberal challengers in Colorado’s Democratic statehouse primaries but were mostly coming up short Tuesday.

On the Republican side, the dynamic was reversed. More mainstream Republicans had a big night against legislative candidates who are further to the right. But for the Democrats, who hold virtually guaranteed control of the legislature, the direction of the state Capitol is being decided by who wins these primaries.

Take House District 6. It was too close to call.

Civil rights attorney Iris Halpern led incumbent state Rep. Sean Camacho by a razor-thin margin. Halpern had 51% of the vote to Camacho’s 49% at 10 p.m. The pair were separated by about 363 votes. Nearly $1 million was spent in this race alone. Halpern was backed by some of the state’s largest unions, while Camacho got help from groups with unclear funding sources and motives.

The spending war didn’t buy votes. The unions did.

In House District 9, healthcare policy expert Monica VanBuskirk easily beat community organizer [Name missing in source, referring to "community organi" cut off] in a race that didn’t require a recount.

The result is a legislature that looks more unified ideologically than the spending war suggested. The business interests poured in the cash, hoping to buy a centrist agenda. Instead, they got a liberal majority that’s ready to govern.

As the dust settles on Tuesday’s primary, the immediate takeaway is simple: dark money didn’t buy the Senate seat it targeted. It lost. And in a state where the general election is often a formality for Democrats, primary results are the only thing that matters.

"This race became a battle for the soul of the Colorado Senate," one observer noted, and the voters agreed. The big money is still there, waiting for the next cycle. But for now, the liberals are in charge.