DENVER, CO — In response to last night’s Democratic Primary results, Wynn Howell, State Director for Colorado Working Families Party, has issued the following statement:

“Last night, Colorado voters overwhelmingly rejected the corrupt corporate political machine that has spent millions trying to buy influence in our elections. By doing so, they also rejected corporate Democrats in favor of Working Families Party Democrats who are from the people and will work for the people. These results are the payoff of the Working Families Party’s strategy to recruit, train, and elect more champions to the state legislature and county commissions to break the corporate hold on Democratic leadership in those bodies. These leaders will deliver on the policies voters are demanding, from stronger worker protections to affordable housing to prohibiting fracking in our backyards.

“Across the state, our working families champions won key races – including the defeat of the co-chair of the Opportunity Caucus, the legislative bloc at the center of the One Main Street corporate influence scandal. Despite millions in outside spending, voters made clear they want leaders who will stand with working people, not corporate donors.

“One Main Street and its allies spent this election trying to copy our messages on affordability and supporting working families because they knew that’s what voters want. But voters saw through it. You can’t borrow the language of working families while taking corporate money and doing their business, then expect people to believe you’ll govern for them.

“Like Working Families Party victories in municipal elections last year, we continue to show that organized people can beat organized money. We’ll keep building a bench of working families champions and organizing to make sure Colorado has a government that has working people’s backs.” 

Background: 

• In the nine races where WFP and One Main Street (OMS) went head to head, seven have been called for WFP, one went to OMS, and one currently remains too close to call.
• In House District 6, WFP challenger Iris Halpern won the primary against the incumbent and Opportunity Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Sean Camacho
• In House District 31, WFP challenger Gabriel Cervantes won the primary against OMS incumbent Jacque Phillips
• In House District 33, WFP’s Rep. Kenny Nguyen successfully defeated an OMS challenge from Heidi Henkel
• In House District 41, WFP’s Rep. Jamie Jackson successfully defeated an OMS challenge from Anne Keke
• In Senate District 34, WFP’s Chela Garcia Irlando had a decisive win over OMS’s Andrés Carrera for this open seat.
• In Arapahoe County, WFP champions Jessica Campbell and Leslie Summey, successfully fended off challenges from OMS candidates to win their primaries for re-election to County Commission. 

Wynn Howell (they/them) is the Colorado State Director of the Working Families Party, which holds economic and worker justice amongst its core values. Howell is a leader in the labor and LGBTQ+ movements and has spent over 25 years working as a union, community and political organizer.