PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — Political parties in Colorado are finalizing which candidates will make the ballot for the June primary and both major parties have brought their state assemblies to Pueblo this year.
Colorado Democrats held their statewide assembly March 28 at Pueblo Memorial Hall. On Saturday, Colorado Republicans will meet at Colorado State University Pueblo.
“I mean, for both of them to be here in Pueblo, it means Pueblo is the battleground for the state of Colorado, and I think the way Pueblo goes is the way the rest of the state is going to go,” said Michelle Gray, the chair of the Colorado Republican Party.
Pueblo County has received attention in the past for being considered a “swing county” in Colorado. In 2016, Donald Trump won the county by 390 votes. It was the first time a Republican Presidential candidate had won in Pueblo since 1972.
Pueblo County Democratic Party chair, Nick Voss says Pueblo is seeing demographic shifts with more people moving in to the area.
"I think a lot of people are looking at Pueblo as it's still trying to figure out who it is in this modern world, and so there's just a lot of attention here in what it means to support working class everyday Americans because there's so many of us right here in our local community," said Voss.
Gray said she sees voters turning over to the Republican Party.
"I believe Pueblo is actually a very conservative town, and they are more about policy than they are about party. And I think in Pueblo, they're realizing that they're in more alignment to the Republican platform than they are to the Democrat platform," said Gray.
In 2020, Joe Biden won by 1,520 votes, and in 2024 Trump won by 4,360 votes.
In 2018, when county offices were on the ballot, five of the seven races had no Republican challenger, the democratic candidates ran unopposed. In 2022, every county race, with the exception of county surveyor were challenged by Republican candidates.
Republicans won a county commissioner seat, and the District Attorney went to a Republican. Jeff Chostner, a Democrat, did not seek reelection after holding the office for 12 years.
Both party leaders say they’re seeing an increase in participation, whether that’s more people stepping up to run or more people showing up to participate in the caucus process.
Colorado’s primary election is June 30.
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