Money talks, and in Washington it practically filibusters. Colorado Newsline laid out how the early cash race is shaping up in Colorado’s 2026 Democratic primaries, and it is the usual story: incumbents with the megaphone, challengers with the tip jar.
This round, it is U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper sitting on a big fundraising edge over state Sen. Julie Gonzales in the Senate primary, and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette starting ahead of a field of challengers in the 1st District.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Hickenlooper raised more than $5.4 million last year and started the year with more than $3.8 million cash on hand.
- Gonzales announced Dec. 8 and raised $178,843 by the year-end FEC deadline, leaving Hickenlooper with about a 20-to-1 cash advantage.
- Candidates can qualify for the ballot via petition signatures (at least 1,500 valid signatures from each congressional district) or by convention support (30% of delegates) at the March 28 state convention in Pueblo.
- In CO-01, DeGette reported $713,394 in receipts last year and began 2026 with $535,212 cash on hand, while challengers reported smaller totals.
- Colorado’s primary elections are set for June 30.
My Bottom Line
Take it from a guy who had a brain fart and ran for Congress: in these federal races, it’s all about the money. Not results. Not qualifications. Not character. Just cash, consultants, and a whole lot of perfectly legal back-scratching.
Let’s not pretend this is some grand moral referendum when the scoreboard is dollars and the rulebook was written by people who think normal jobs are a myth. If it worked, they wouldn’t need a mandate. In this case, the mandate is fundraising.
I didn’t mind Hick as a Gov. I would have preferred a more conservative alternative, but compared to the current occupant, he was fairly pragmatic. But as a senator he has simply been old, stodgy, and a reliable vote for the left, and apparently that is worth fat stacks.
Translated: Washington rewards loyalty to the machine, not service to the folks paying the bills.
If politics is downstream from culture, D.C. is downstream from the donor list.
So here’s the fix I’m old-fashioned enough to keep pushing: judge candidates by what they’ve done, what they’ll stop doing, and who’s going to pay for their promises. Demand debates, demand specifics, track votes, and stop letting glossy mailers and “grassroots” press releases substitute for actual accountability. Reality doesn’t take petitions, and it sure as hell doesn’t take checkbooks.
Source: Colorado Newsline
