In a state with an unaffiliated majority but Democratic rule, the big news to emerge from Colorado’s Tuesday primary election was the party’s internal upheaval by upstarts from its left wing — vigorously challenging and in some cases knocking off establishment candidates. 

Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser blew by heavyweight veteran senior U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet to nab the Democratic nomination for governor. It had started as Bennet’s race to lose. And though falling short in the end, hard-left standard-bearer and state Sen. Julie Gonzales, finished strong with 43% of the vote in her bid to unseat junior Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper. In a stunner in Denver, 29-year-old Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros toppled veteran 1st Congressional District Democratic U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette.

It wasn’t unanticipated. In part, that’s because Democrats nationally have been going through the same gyrations, with mainstream liberals falling to Democratic Socialists in high-profile races. And in part, it was because Colorado’s more radical, anti-establishment contenders faced slumbering, do-nothing Democratic officeholders who had lapsed into obscurity.

The upshot is a lurch to the left by the state’s dominant political party — which already had been dragging Colorado in that direction at a breakneck pace. Even Weiser, though not part of his party’s socialist power play, benefited from it by casting himself to the left of Bennet. 

To repeat, this is in a state where Democrats in reality comprise only a quarter of the electorate. That’s roughly the same as Republicans. Yet, Democratic policies — imposed by a legislature they lopsidedly control, and by local governments where Democrats in nonpartisan office hold sway — have been radically changing the state. 

The size of the state government has mushroomed. The scope of its control over the state’s economy — through a growing labyrinth of regulations on business, i.e., Colorado’s job creators — has expanded dramatically. 

Accordingly, the state’s ability to attract business investment — new employers and their jobs — has waned. The inflow of job seekers from other states has slowed to a trickle. Alongside those alarming trends, crime has soared and remains higher than in most other states following years of Democratic policies decriminalizing drugs, reducing penalties on other crimes and shortening sentences for those already behind bars.

But Tuesday’s primary also offered a ray of hope. The state’s Republican Party — long trapped in travails of its own — finally showed signs of getting back on track. 

Notably, Republican state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, whom The Gazette’s editorial board has endorsed, was winning by a slim margin over her two opponents with 88% of Republican primary ballots counted as of press time Tuesday evening. 

If Kirkmeyer holds onto her lead and can claim the party’s nomination to face Democrat Weiser next Nov. 3, she can be a formidable contender. A fiscal hawk, common-sense conservative and advocate for the taxpayer, she would pose a sensible alternative for Colorado’s many unaffiliated voters growing weary of the state’s leftward tilt.

If she is able to emerge as the GOP nominee, it also would represent an important stride for the Republican Party itself. It would signify the party, long sidelined, is back and ready to compete for hearts and minds on the issues that really matter to mainstream Coloradans — like inflation, jobs, taxes and public safety. 

Weiser would have to backpedal from the left to compete for those mainstream hearts and minds; Kirkmeyer could stay right where she is.