Six of the eight Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives who received $2.5 million in backing from dark money groups this year lost their primaries Tuesday night to their more liberal opponents.
The defeats will shift the balance of power at the Colorado Capitol next year to the left and represent a sharp rebuke to years of – and so far often successful – efforts to roll back liberal influence in the Legislature.
The money was spent by three nonprofits that do not 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 distributed to a list of state super PACs that participated in Democratic legislative primaries across the state, but particularly in the Denver area, where it supported more moderate Democrats in their primaries against more liberal opponents.
Andrew Short, who runs One Main Street Colorado, did not 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 believes their political future lies with corporate money rather than the interests of working people across the state.” Unions were the largest donors to One Main Street Colorado, Fair Economy for Coloradans and the Colorado Affordability Project.
The biggest loss for the dark money trio came in House District 6 in Denver, where Rep. Sean Camacho lost to civil rights attorney Iris Halpern.
Camacho is chairman of the Colorado Opportunity Caucus in the House of Representatives, which is made up of more moderate Democrats in the Legislature. The caucus, a nonprofit that does not disclose its donors, was funded by One Main Street Colorado and includes many lawmakers. One Main Street Colorado helped with the election.
Camacho was first elected to the Legislature in 2024 with the support of One Main Street Colorado.
“HD6 voters have chosen a new direction, and I respect that decision,” Camacho said in a written statement Wednesday.
Of the more than $1 million that super PACs spent in the contest, two-thirds went to support Camacho. Denver Progressives United, which supported Camacho and was funded by Fair Economy for Coloradans, accounted for 60% of the contest’s total expenses.
Another big loss for the dark money group came in Denver’s Senate District 34, where Chela Garcia Elena, a nonprofit executive, defeated Andrés Carrera, a political strategist in the Democratic Party.
That contest raised the most super PAC money of any legislative race, at $1.4 million. Nearly 60% of that went to Carrera, much of it from groups funded by One Main Street, Fair Economy for Coloradans and the Colorado Affordability Project.
Garcia Irelando’s campaign sent a mailer to voters in Senate District 34 with a picture of Short and called him a corporate puppeteer.
The other Democratic House 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 Rep. Jamie Jackson, D-Aurora, in House District 41.
- State Rep. Kenny Van Nguyen fended off a challenge from Broomfield Councilwoman Heidi Henkel in House District 33, the state’s third-most expensive primary, and pulled in $718,000 in super PAC cash.
- Consuelo Redhorse, president of the Summit School District Board of Education, was expected to defeat attorney Chris Floyd in House District 13 in Colorado’s central mountains.
- Rep. Jacque Phillips of Thornton lost to Liberal organizer Gabriel Cervantes. Phillips is a member of the Opportunity Caucus and was elected to the Legislature in 2024 using One Main Street Colorado spending.
The two Democratic House primaries where state super PACs funded by the dark money trio emerged 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, defeated two rivals.
While One Main Street does not disclose its donors, The Colorado Sun was able to obtain information through tax returns about where some of its money comes from. The nonprofit reported 2024 revenue of $2.8 million. Coloradans for Progress, a political nonprofit, donated $1 million to One Main Street this 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 donating 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 launched on December 23 and is registered at a UPS store in downtown Denver. Fair Economy for Coloradans is the newest of the nonprofit organizations. It was founded on Jan. 30 and founded by Scott Martinez, a Democratic campaign finance lawyer.
As 501(c)(4) nonprofits, One Main Street Colorado, Fair Economy for Coloradans, and the Colorado Affordability Project are not required to disclose their donors.
On the other side of the contest, the largest donor was Colorado Labor Action, a state super PAC funded by unions through membership fees. This group raised about $1.2 million to spend on the Democratic House primary — and won every primary in which they spent.
Colorado Labor Action endorsed Halpern, Garcia Irelando, Nguyen and Jackson.
Super PACs funded by One Main Street Colorado, Fair Economy for Coloradans and the Colorado Affordability Project also struggled in Tuesday’s county commission elections.
They won one of the three county commission contests they entered Wednesday, helping community organizer Karen DeAguero beat Professor Tyler Quick of Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Adams County.
The groups failed in their attempt to help child welfare specialist Maya Wheeler oust Commissioner Leslie Sumey in Arapahoe County. (Summey won by a wide margin on Wednesday.)
The PACs also failed in an attempt to unseat Arapahoe County Commissioner Jessica Campbell, who was running against Cherry Creek School District board member Angela Garland in the primary.
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Corrections:
This story was updated at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, to reflect that Arapahoe County Commissioner Leslie Sumey has fended off a primary challenge from child welfare specialist Maya Wheeler.
Story Type: News
Based on facts either directly observed and verified by the reporter or reported and verified by knowledgeable sources.
https://coloradosun.com/2026/07/01/one-main-street-colorado-defeats-colorado-statehouse-primaries/
