Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser won the state’s Democratic primary for governor on June 30, 2026, defeating U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and securing the Democratic nomination for the November general election. With 56.88% of the vote to Bennet’s 43.12%, Weiser claimed victory in a race that upended early expectations, according to the Colorado Public Radio and The Colorado Sun.
Weiser’s win came despite significant disadvantages. When Bennet entered the governor’s race in April 2025, he held a commanding 31-point lead over Weiser in internal polling, and he enjoyed backing from three of Colorado’s four Democratic members of Congress, Denver’s mayor, and state legislative leaders. The Associated Press called the race for Weiser at 7:55 p.m. on election night, when he was leading by 10 percentage points. Bennet called Weiser to concede roughly 10 minutes after the projection.
Bennet’s campaign faced what observers described as a failure to launch. The senator struggled to spend time campaigning in Colorado due to his responsibilities in Washington, and voters never felt he’d adequately answered why he wanted to leave the Senate to become governor, according to The Colorado Sun. A voter asked Bennet two weeks before the primary, “I’m curious to know what prompted you to decide to run for governor when we needed you in the Senate?” That question dogged his campaign through election day.
Weiser, by contrast, stayed on message and demonstrated a willingness to travel across the state for campaign events. He entered the race months before Bennet and refused to back down, attacking the senator for voting to confirm several Trump administration appointees while simultaneously arguing that Bennet’s Senate seniority was too valuable to lose. Weiser also benefited from anti-incumbent and anti-establishment sentiment among Democratic voters, a trend seen across the nation in 2026.
In terms of direct fundraising, Weiser raised about $6.8 million to Bennet’s roughly $5 million, not including a $1 million loan Bennet made to his campaign in the home stretch. Despite spending advantages from the super PAC Rocky Mountain Way, which raised and spent about $11 million—including over $5.1 million from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg—Bennet could not overcome Weiser’s momentum. The super PAC supporting Weiser, Fighting for Colorado, raised and spent about $1.4 million.
Weiser’s support in the Denver metro area and along the I-70 corridor from Eagle County west to the Utah border propelled his victory. At his election night watch party in Denver, Weiser told supporters: “This movement is what democracy looks like. You all sent a very clear message. The future of Colorado will not be decided by out-of-state billionaires, by corporations or special interests.”
Given Colorado’s Democratic lean—the state has not elected a Republican to statewide office since 2016, and the last GOP gubernatorial candidate lost by nearly 20 percentage points in 2022—Weiser is heavily favored to win the general election in November. He will face the winner of the Republican primary, which was a three-way race among State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer, political newcomer Victor Marx, and Scott Bottoms. Weiser will replace term-limited Democratic Governor Jared Polis.
Bennet appeared to become the first sitting U.S. senator to lose a gubernatorial primary since 2010, when Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison lost to incumbent Texas Governor Rick Perry. Bennet has two and a half years remaining in his Senate term, and it remains unclear whether he plans to seek reelection in 2028. Democratic Senator John Hickenlooper said Tuesday night that he would work to convince Bennet to reinvest himself in the Senate after the dust settled.
Sources
- Colorado Public Radio — Primary results showing Weiser’s 56.88% to Bennet’s 43.12% victory, Weiser’s statement about the race outcome, and context on Colorado’s Democratic lean and favorability
- The Colorado Sun — Detailed analysis of Weiser’s victory, Bennet’s campaign struggles, fundraising figures ($6.8 million for Weiser, $5 million for Bennet, $11 million for Rocky Mountain Way super PAC), voter perspectives, and historical context on sitting senators losing gubernatorial primaries
