Colorado primary election guide: Voters choose candidates for key races on June 25 | VOTER GUIDE 2024 (2024)

Democracy, G.K. Chesterton once wrote, is like blowing one's nose. You might not do it well— but you have to do it yourself.

It's an apt reminder that America's grand experiment in representative democracy is messy.

It is messy by necessity. It's no small task to hold a country of 333 million people together. Other countries do that by religion or royal tradition or even by force.

America does it by this perennial dialogue, in which voters pick a set of ideas as framework for crafting policy.

And that timeframe is short. Americans get to choose every two or four years.

So, yes, that process can bevertiginous. But as the candidates themselves affirm in this voter guide, they might offer different paths but they are all striving for largely similar goals. They all seek crime-free neighborhoods, affordable cost of living, a better education for children.

However messy, the engagement of citizens and candidates is crucial in sustaining this American experiment. Voting in an election is not just any ritual — encapsulated in that act is often the purest expression of a people's ability to choose their own leaders, exactly the kind of freedom denied to so many in other parts of the world.

As a public service, we compiled this guide to help you.

Races to watch

Several races this June will not only shape the contests in the general election in November but also define the ideological makeup and partisan breakdown of both the Colorado General Assembly and Congress next year.

In state House District 4,Rep. Tim Hernández, who was chosen by a vacancy committee in August 2023 to succeed Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, is running against retired appellate judge Cecilia Espenoza.

In state House District 6, Sean Camacho is challenging incumbentRep. Elisabeth Epps. Epps has clashed with her party's leaders, while Camacho has won the endorsem*nt of several legislators, including House Speaker Julie McCluskie.

Both of these districts are safe Democratic seats.

In District 19, the primary race to replace Democratic Sen. Rachel Zenzinger is heating up between candidates Obi Ezeadi, a Westminster City Council member, and Rep. Lindsay Daugherty.

In the 3rd Congressional District, the decision by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert to move to the 4th Congressional District has led to a crowded primary to succeed her among party mates. The prevailing sentiment is her decision made the district safe once more for Republicans. The election in November will confirm that theory. Democrat Adam Frisch, who came within fewer than 600 votes of beating Boebert in 2022, is unopposed for his party’s nomination.

Boebert's decision to jump into the 4th Congressional District scrambled the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, who decided to retire and then, in a surprise move, vacated his seat last March. Six Republicans, including Boebert, are vying for their party's nomination.

Key dates to remember

• June 3: Ballots are mailed to voters

• June 8: Last day formajor political parties to appoint members to the county canvass board

• June 10:First day to begin counting mail ballots. No results can be disclosed until after 7 p.m. on Election Day

• June 17: Last day to submit a voter registration application and get a ballot in the mail

Find the voter guide here

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How we cover the elections

Wevalue objectivity andstrive to ensure that ourelectioncoverageis free from bias.While we encourage staffers toexercisetheirrights to engage inthedemocratic process, theydo notendorseor contribute tocampaignsor candidates.