Since their total takeover of state government in 2018, Colorado Democrats have ridden high on the anti-Trump hog while driving the state into decline.

Gov. Jared Polis and his massive legislative majorities are increasingly influenced by self-proclaimed Democratic Socialists. Colorado’s budget has exploded, creating a structural deficit they refuse to responsibly deal with. Their only answers are to undermine TABOR, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, and to cut Medicaid.

Crime, homelessness and drug abuse have been encouraged by feel-good, irresponsible laws that coddle criminals and puts them back on the streets. With the exception of charter schools, public school enrollment is declining as parents seek more control over their kids’ education through home schooling and private schools.

Meanwhile, every Democratic statewide, congressional and state legislative campaign since 2018 has been little more than a declaration that “We hate Donald Trump!” and tying every Republican candidate to Trump.

But recent polling indicates that a frustrated electorate is seeing through this vapid Democratic agenda.

Magellan Strategies, a respected Republican national polling firm which is based in Colorado, released a poll last week showing the Democratic Party and Democratic elected officials are suffering a significant decline in public support.

Their big three statewide elected officials — Gov. Jared Polis, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet — are all underwater with voters.

Their approval/disapproval ratings are 41-52 for Polis, 37-49 for Hickenlooper, and 38-44 for Bennet. Bennet is running for governor after serving 16 years in the Senate, and Hickenlooper is running for reelection after previously serving as mayor of Denver and governor over the past 22 years.

Both parties are held in low regard by voters with 30% favorable and 68% unfavorable.

But the most damning numbers for Democrats were when voters were asked if Colorado was on the right track or wrong track. Only 40% said the state was on the right track while a clear majority, 53%, said the state was on the wrong track. After total Democratic control of state government since 2018, Democrats own this verdict.

To be sure, President Donald Trump remains unpopular in Colorado since he was elected in 2016. Trump’s approval is 41% and his disapproval is 59%. Interestingly, his approval rating is as good or better than Polis, Hickenlooper and Bennet although his disapproval is much higher.

Does this mean Colorado Republicans are destined to win some big victories in 2026? Far from it. But it does suggest strong Republican candidates who have substantive agendas to deal with the state budget, education, crime, roads and health care can be very competitive which has not been the case since 2018.

Republicans who continue to spout stolen election conspiracy theories, who call for the pardoning and release of convicted and imprisoned Tina Peters, or who want to eliminate mail ballots will not be credible candidates.

But even strong candidates with real agendas will be undermined if the Colorado Republican Party continues to assault the right of unaffiliated voters — who account for half of the Colorado electorate — to vote in party primaries.

The 500-member Colorado Republican State Central Committee will vote this weekend on whether to cancel the 2026 Republican primary election, which would steal the votes of more than 2 million unaffiliated voters and more than 900,000 Republicans from voting in a primary.

Republican candidates at every level would be solely nominated by a few thousand Republican activists through the caucus-assembly process. Colorado Democrats will cheerfully welcome those 2 million unaffiliated voters to vote in their primary election.

While it is doubtful that the state central committee vote could reach the required 75% to cancel the primary, even a simple majority would be an embarrassing message to unaffiliated voters to get lost.

Meanwhile, Colorado Republicans are still committed to another act of self-destruction. Despite the fact the state party is more than $200,000 in debt due to the previous chair, the state party is planning on spending money it does not have on a federal lawsuit to try to overturn Proposition 108, which was passed by voters in 2016. Prop 108 allows unaffiliated voters to vote in one of the two major party primaries.

Perhaps the state party missed the most recent affiliation figures. As of Sept. 1, unaffiliated voters were at 2,039,156 or 49.6%; Democrats were at 1,035,480 or 25.2%; and Republicans were at 935,280 or 22.8%. Since January, unaffiliated voters have increased by 71,000 while Democrats decreased by 10,000 and Republicans decreased by 8,000.

Opportunities for Republicans are tantalizingly close in the 2026 election due to Democratic mismanagement and ideological extremism. But alienating and excluding 2 million unaffiliated voters is a sure loser.

Dick Wadhams is a former Colorado Republican state chairman who managed campaigns for U.S. Sens. Hank Brown and Wayne Allard, and Gov. Bill Owens. He was campaign manager for U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota in 2004 when Thune unseated Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle.