Six of the eight Democratic statehouse candidates that were backed by $2.5 million spent by dark money groups this year lost their primaries Tuesday night against their more liberal opponents.
The defeats will shift the balance of power to the left at the Colorado Capitol next year and mark a stinging rebuke of a yearslong — and until now often successful — effort to push back on liberal influence in the legislature.
The money was spent by three nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors: One Main Street Colorado ($1.4 million), Fair Economy for Coloradans ($1.05 million) and the Colorado Affordability Project ($85,000). It was routed to a list of state super PACs into Democratic legislative primaries across the state, but mostly in the Denver area, that supported more moderate Democrats in their primaries against more liberal opponents.
Andrew Short, who leads One Main Street Colorado, didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
In a written statement, Dennis Dougherty, who leads the Colorado AFL-CIO, said the results were “a warning sign to any politician who thinks their political future lies in corporate money rather than the interests of working people across the state.” Labor unions were the biggest spender on the other side of One Main Street Colorado, Fair Economy for Coloradans and the Colorado Affordability Project.
The biggest loss for the dark money trio happened in House District 6 in Denver, where state Rep. Sean Camacho lost to civil rights attorney Iris Halpern.
Camacho is the House chair of the Colorado Opportunity Caucus, which is made up of more moderate Democrats in the legislature. The caucus, a nonprofit that doesn’t disclose its donors, has received funding from One Main Street Colorado and includes many lawmakers One Main Street Colorado has helped get elected.
Camacho was first elected to the legislature in 2024 thanks to One Main Street Colorado’s support.
“The voters of HD6 have chosen a new direction, and I respect that decision,” Camacho said in a written statement Wednesday.
Of the more than $1 million spent by super PACs in the contest, two-thirds went to support Camacho. Denver Progressives United, funded by Fair Economy for Coloradans, accounted for 60% of the total spending in the contest.
Another big loss for the dark money group happened in Senate District 34 in Denver, where Chela Garcia Irlando, a nonprofit leader, defeated Andrés Carrera, a policy strategist, in the Democratic party.
Lawmakers debate a bill in the Senate at the Colorado Capitol in Denver on May 12, 2026. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)
That contest drew the most super PAC cash among legislative races, at $1.4 million. Nearly 60% of that went to support Carrera, much of it from groups funded by One Main Street, Fair Economy for Coloradans and the Colorado Affordability Project.
Garcia Irlando’s campaign sent a mailer to voters in Senate District 34 with a picture of Short, calling him a corporate puppeteer.
The other Democratic statehouse primaries where One Main Street Colorado, Fair Economy for Coloradans and the Colorado Affordability Project spent money through state super PACs and lost:
Aurora Public School board member Anne Keke lost her bid to unseat state Rep. Jamie Jackson, D-Aurora, in House District 41.
State Rep. Kenny Van Nguyen fended off a challenge from Broomfield City Councilwoman Heidi Henkel in House District 33, the third most expensive statehouse primary, drawing $718,000 in super PAC cash.
Consuelo Redhorse, president of the Summit School District Board of Education, was set to defeat attorney Chris Floyd in House District 13 in Colorado’s central mountains.
State Rep. Jacque Phillips of Thornton lost to liberal organizer Gabriel Cervantes. Phillips is an Opportunity Caucus member who was elected to the legislature in 2024 with the help of One Main Street Colorado spending.
State Rep. Jacque Phillips, D-Thornton, speaks before a bill signing in the governor’s office at the Colorado Capitol in Denver on May 5, 2025. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)
The two Democratic statehouse primaries where state super PACs funded by the dark money trio spent and won were House District 42 in Aurora, where Sarah Woodson, who works in the cannabis industry, unseated state Rep. Mandy Lindsay, and House District 19, where Jillaire McMillan, a local parent-teacher association organizer, beat two rivals.
While One Main Street doesn’t disclose its donors, The Colorado Sun has been able to glean information on where some of its money comes from through tax filings. The nonprofit reported $2.8 million in revenue in 2024. Coloradans for Progress, a political nonprofit, gave One Main Street $1 million that year.
In 2024, Coloradans for Progress received $2.2 million from Chevron and $1.13 million from Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development, a nonprofit oil and gas trade organization.
Coloradans for Progress also reported giving money to the conservative political nonprofit Colorado Dawn ($50,000) and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association ($400,000) in 2024.
The Colorado Affordability Project was created Dec. 23 and is registered to a UPS Store in downtown Denver. Fair Economy for Coloradans is the youngest of the nonprofits. It was created Jan. 30 and formed by Scott Martinez, a Democratic campaign finance attorney.
As 510(c)(4) nonprofits, One Main Street Colorado, Fair Economy for Coloradans and the Colorado Affordability Project do not have to disclose their donors.
On the other side of the contests, the biggest spender was Colorado Labor Action, a state super PAC funded by unions through membership dues. That group raised about $1.2 million to spend on Democratic statehouse primaries — and won in every one they spent in.
Colorado Labor Action backed Halpern, Garcia Irlando, Nguyen and Jackson.
The one area where the super PACs funded by One Main Street Colorado, Fair Economy for Coloradans and the Colorado Affordability Project had success Tuesday was in county commission races.
They won two of the three county commission contests they spent in, helping community organizer Karen DeAguero beat Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design Professor Tyler Quick in Adams County and helping child welfare specialist Leslie Summey unseat Commissioner Maya Wheeler in Ararapahoe County.
The PACs came up short in trying to unseat Arapahoe County Commissioner Jessica Campbell, who faced Cherry Creek School District Board Member Angela Garland in the primary.
Type of Story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
