Who’s on the primary ballot and what did it take for them to get there

About this episode

The episode discusses the candidates on Colorado's primary ballot and the process they underwent to secure their positions.

Primary ballots will land in Coloradans’ mailbox in a few weeks, and now, voters know which candidates will be on them. Many got there by winning over party activists at the recent Democratic and Republican state assemblies in Pueblo. These were high-stakes gatherings in a high-stakes election year, as hopefuls lined up for all of Colorado’s top offices: U.S senator, governor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer. CPR’s Bente Birkeland , The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul and CPR’s Caitlyn Kim break down which candidates rallied enough delegate support, what kinds of competitions it sets up for the primary in June, and what this method of selecting candidates means in the big picture. Catch up on our latest coverage: CPR News/KRCC: Gubernatorial candidates Scott Bottoms, Victor Marx win slots on GOP primary ballot at state assembly CPR News: Democrats gather in Pueblo to select candidates for primary ballot CPR News: Kirkmeyer, Marx, Bennet file petitions to get on ballot for gubernatorial primaries The Colorado Sun: Colorado’s unaffiliated voters say they’re intentionally not joining a political party. Here’s why. The Colorado Sun: Republicans who want to opt out of…

People in this episode

Host: Bente Birkeland

Guests: Jesse Paul, Caitlyn Kim

Topics covered

• primary ballot
• Colorado elections
• candidate selection
• political parties
• state assemblies

Keywords

• primary ballot
• Colorado elections
• Democratic assembly
• Republican assembly
• candidate support

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Colorado Public Radio, The Colorado Sun

Places: Colorado

More episodes of Purplish

• ICE tactics have some Colorado Dems itching to respond. That’s easier said than done · May 1, 2026 · 33 min
• Should Colorado lawmakers get a raise? It’s a politically thorny topic · April 24, 2026 · 27 min
• 11 questions lawmakers hope could help prevent domestic violence killings · April 10, 2026 · 27 min
• Who should have the power to pump up the volume at Colorado’s venues · April 3, 2026 · 32 min
• Colorado’s budget woes and the ballooning costs of Medicaid · March 27, 2026 · 33 min
• Colorado’s prisons have a crowding problem · March 20, 2026 · 29 min