Denver7 | Your Voice: What Colorado voters are saying ahead of 2026 midterm election

During the final countdown to the 2026 midterm election, a bus full of Democratic candidates on the Colorado ballot traveled almost 2,000 miles during a six-day bus tour where they campaigned in more than two dozen different communities a trip those with the party say was unique in a number of ways.

Its the culmination of a big strategic approach we took this election, and it's based on this notion of when we compete everywhere, we can win anywhere," said Shad Murib, the Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party. Were going into places that we've never been before. We're touching parts of the state where you never see Democrats compete.

Along the way, Denver7 spoke with voters across the state and the political spectrum about what matters in their communities ahead of Election Day, which is Nov. 3.

The tour began in Greeley, which is located in Colorado's competitive 8th Congressional District. While Democrats rallied outside of a coffee shop, college student Lydia Ericson explained the dynamics of Weld County where she was born and raised.

"It definitely feels like the longer you're here, the smaller it gets, if that makes sense," Ericson said about her home, which she described as an agricultural hub.

The senior at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) believes the political climate is too emotionally charged at the moment.

"I wish politics would go back to policy rather than an emotional appeal because I just feel like so many people, they'll just vote for someone because 'Oh they made me feel a certain way,' and it's like, well do you know what their policies are?" Ericson said. "I would say it's definitely very competitive because Greeley has a lot of need right now. We're weak in a lot of areas. Our budget is kind of bad. Like, we just have a lot of things we're trying to improve in this area, and so I think it's hard to choose one candidate because we need stuff from all of them.

While in Fort Morgan, Denver7 met Ashley Buchanan, who lives a few miles away in Brush.

I grew up in Aurora, and so from somebody that grew up in Aurora that now lives in a smaller town, I will say there is definitely a culture difference between the two," said Buchanan. "I prefer, personally, the smaller town just because you are a little bit closer knit to people, and it's a small world. Everybody knows everybody.

An unaffiliated voter, Buchanan did not realize a bus full of Democratic candidates was making a stop in her community.

"I really didn't want to have to put a label on my political views," Buchanan said. "Because sometimes you like some things that a Republican has and some things that a Democrat has. So, I wanted to be able to be fluctuating between the two and not actually put a label on it.

When asked what Buchanan believes the priorities for the people living in the Fort Morgan area are, she pointed to a lack of mental health resources.

Out here in the rural communities, you have those resources, but then you have to go elsewhere for more vigorous therapies, and then also resources for individuals that have disabilities," Buchanan said. "The program I actually work for is Colorado AgrAbility, and we assist farmers and ranchers with disabilities and let them gain back their independence, things like that, to be able to be successful.

In Aurora, the candidates stopped at an affordable housing community called King's Crossing Village.

"We are one of the first families that moved in here me and my four children," said Justin Armstrong. "I would say it's like a base income type community, but very, very, very nice. They have treated us very well. I'm very grateful to be here."

Armstrong said he was born and raised in Aurora, with no plans to leave or move. Still, he acknowledged the high cost of groceries and gas are a struggle for a single parent.

"It's very, very tough to raise four children on a single income, and trying to buy food, it is expensive to keep gas in your car," Armstrong said. Even one child, even being a person with no kids, it's hard. It's hard to find housing, to buy a house. It's very difficult nowadays.

According to Armstrong, he is not affiliated with a political party in Colorado, but this year he intends to vote for Democratic candidates.

"I believe in listening to everybody and giving each party a chance to make their case. In my heart, if you come with the truth and stay with the truth, then that's who I will vote with," said Armstrong.

Above all, Armstrong said he is disappointed with the current state of politics.

Do your campaign speech and leave other people alone, and don't beat on them and don't mess with them when they're trying to make a point, and don't be racist with it," said Armstrong. "Just keep it simple, and keep it fair for one another, because we are still in America and we still are raising kids who one day will be our governors, our senators, our presidents... They need to be taught a certain way on how to do things, and the way we are carrying it as adults we're not doing right by them.

At a stop in Denver, the tour visited the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1, which is the oldest VFW in existence. There, the Adjutant and Quartermaster for the VFW Department of Colorado, Jesse Eastburn, told Denver7 the main reason he is an unaffiliated voter is because he is a veteran.

"I vote for veteran causes and vote for who is going to do the best thing for veterans. I don't necessarily look right or left," said Eastburn. It doesn't feel like we're represented anymore, and I think a lot of veterans feel that way.

Specifically, Eastburn cited frustrations with the Major Richard Star Act being stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives, which would "allow certain military retirees with combat-related disabilities to collect the full amount of both their military retired pay and their veterans disability compensation." In Sept. of this year, the legislation acquired the number of signatures needed to force a vote on the bill when lawmakers return to work.

This last congressional year has been one of the least productive ones, and it starts with all the people that are in power right now not getting anything done or getting anything pushed through," said Eastburn. "It makes you kind of wonder if they're actually doing their job."

Budget cuts to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) have disappointed Eastburn as well.

There's tons of veterans that are missing in action that are still missing in action, and DPAA was one of those organizations that was funded bipartisanly and has always been a priority," Eastburn said.

Eastburn also questioned the reasoning behind the war with Iran.

Why are we there? Are we really there for the interest of preserving the safety of America, or are we there to deal with the paycheck of the war machine?" Eastburn asked. To quote Smedley Butler, war is a racket and always has been.

When the bus went west along I-70, Denver7 met with Emily Tracy in Frisco, who has homes in both Breckenridge and Caon City. Tracy is a former Caon City Councilmember.

In some ways, Breckenridge and Summit County are different because they're tourist locations, so they have special challenges having an economy that is so based on tourism," said Tracy. If you get a good snow year for skiing, that's great. If you don't, then you struggle a little bit.

Water, or the lack thereof, was one of first concerns Tracy raised. In early Oct., Lake Dillon was at 64% capacity.

"If we don't have a good snow year this year, and we don't have a good snowpack, I'm not sure what next summer will look like," Tracy said.

Still, Tracy said many of the issues facing the community are seen across the state.

It's affordability, it's housing, it's access to good-paying jobs, so people can support themselves and their families. It's the cost of fuel, the cost of groceries. It's all of the same things that people face everywhere," Tracy said. Whether people are serving at the state level or local level, it's important for them to understand what people face every day and to understand that they, because they have the power of their office, that they have the ability to help improve the affordability of things.

A registered Democrat, Tracy said she is concerned about federal politics but has more confidence when it comes to Colorado lawmakers.

"I'm hopeful, but I'm also concerned that we have a long way to go to kind of turn things around," said Tracy. "I think we have a very strong group of Democrats running for the statewide offices, so I'm really pleased about that.

Rachel Schwindt was ready for the bus of Democratic candidates to arrive in Edwards, and brought her dog Eddie to the park where the tour stopped for speeches.

"I've been up here for about six years from Denver. It's a lovely community," Schwindt said about life in Edwards. "I'm a fly fishing guide, so that's primarily my job up here.

As a fly fishing guide, Schwindt noticed significantly lower water levels this last season.

"It was a really difficult year, tourism-wise and fishing-wise in general. Normally, it's fabulous income," said Schwindt. "As a Colorado resident for 39 years, I've never seen rivers this low... Both in fishing and obviously our ski industry, water is everything. Mother Nature is the boss, and water is everything up here. So without water, we don't have tourism.

Schwindt is a registered Democrat and said she is excited for a change in the governor's office.

I'm excited for Phil Weiser. I think he's going to do a great job. I wasn't super pleased with the end of Governor Polis' run here, but yeah, very excited. Hopeful," said Schwindt.

With the Colorado River sparkling in the background, the bus of candidates next stopped in Glenwood Springs.

At the park nearby, Denver7 met Bryan Stoltzfus who moved to Glenwood Springs 27 years ago.

When I first got here, it was a lot smaller, so it's growing pretty fast. That part I don't like, but I can't be selfish," said Stoltzfus.

As echoed in Frisco and Edwards, Stoltzfus brought up the impact of a dry year on his community.

The ranches, the farmland, is slowly disappearing. It's sad and scary," said Stoltzfus. All the wildfires we've had. Last summer was really bad. I mean, there was a fire within two miles of the house. And they'd get a fire out, and then another one would start, and just constant.

Stoltzfus said he is a Republican voter due to societal issues, specifically mentioning his opinions on youth sports and anti-abortion views. In addition, he cited his religion as a reason for voting with the Republican Party.

"I'm a Christian, so I have strong beliefs that way," said Stoltzfus. My dad was a pastor, and that's how I grew up, and that's how I'll be the rest of my life.

The tension between the two parties is too high, according to Stoltzfus.

"It's hard because I also have my own business. I do construction, and I can't talk about this to anybody because I lose work," said Stoltzfus. "People are so angry at Republicans... I just wish the two parties could stop fighting with each other. The hatred between the two parties is scary. It really is.

Also on the Western Slope, Michelle Small owns Little Homestead Creations and sells her homemade goods at places like the farmers market in Delta. That's where a handful of candidates flocked around her booth and bought things like jams and sweets.

I live in Delta. It's a small community. It's really friendly. People are really nice. I've never run into a grouchy, cranky person yet," said Small with a smile.

Small said it feels as though the Western Slope is sometimes forgotten by the rest of the state.

Its not thought about a lot because the higher population is over on the other side, and that's where all the ideas tend to go to," said Small. The agriculture, the huge cattle business over here. I think people don't realize how much goes over there as far as putting into the economy, how much it affects the whole state.

Small is a registered Republican and defined herself as a Christian conservative.

I don't always vote strictly down the party line either. I do what what my heart and my head tells me is the right thing to do," Small said. The Western Slope tends to be more red than blue.

Just a bit south of Delta in Montrose, the bus tour stopped at another farmers market where Mikayla Skidmore, a private chef, sells baked goods, pasta, soup mixes, and pantry staples.

When asked what issues matter to her community, Skidmore told a personal story of her two-year-old's journey with pediatric care.

He got really sick last year, and we couldn't find care for him anywhere. We ended up being flown to Denver Children's Hospital Colorado, and he's been on immuno infusions for the last year," Skidmore said. Anytime we have an emergency, you know, we're driving an hour and a half away to get him care that he needs... How do you expect a community to build and kind of rally around families if there's no care for their children?

An unaffiliated voter, Skidmore said she knows her community leans more Republican.

"I think it's better to see both sides and not just follow one side blindly because that's who you register with," said Skidmore.

With the San Juan Mountains creating a dramatic backdrop, the bus tour stopped in Telluride where Joe DiStefano has lived for four decades.

40 years ago, it was almost still a ghost town in a way," said DiStefano. It was all ski bums, and they didn't necessarily have to work full time to stay here, so you could ski every day, and then in the summer do whatever else you wanted to do. Its almost impossible to be a ski bum anymore. Can't do it.

Affordable housing was the first concern DiStefano said when asked about what the priorities are for the community.

"Making enough money, especially if you want to raise a family even if you have a high-paying job, it's a stretch because housing is the biggest issue," said DiStefano. There's a fair amount of affordable housing units that come up every year. But even those are getting hard to buy. Every year we lose people. Every year, you know, friends or people that... yeah, they just move on.

DiStefano told Denver7 he is a registered Democrat.

I don't think that Democrats really are strong enough overall, countrywide, to really push through the proper things that deal with climate change and housing," said DiStefano.

Just north of the Four Corner borders, the Ute Mountain Casino Hotel is a tribal gaming facility that is a property of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The candidates stopped at the casino and spoke directly with members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council.

We see so many times where our membership and our tribe is overlooked on on various topics, but when we're given a seat at that table, we will take that seat," said Alston Turtle. It means a lot that they're reaching out to work with us, and that's what we want to work with as many individuals, organizations that we can find to work with the Ute Mountain Ute tribe. Because we are worthy too, just like every other community out there, we are worthy of it.

There's always room for improvement. You know, improvement of more communication, more meetings, more consultation all of it is really welcomed by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe," said Marilynn House. "Were important too, you know, because we, as leaders, we fight for our membership in every aspect of their lives their education, their housing, their safety.

The two pointed to housing as a huge priority for their community, in addition to health and crime prevention.

"We do see a shortfall of housing here, and we know how competitive it is out there for these type of grants," said Turtle. We have health hardship here, and definitely how we try to help our membership overcome those issues. They say Indian country is number one in in disparity issues, and I really do see that as we see an influx in in diabetes here.

Another issue that our community deals with is the lack of law enforcement," said House. We do have crime that happens on our reservation, and just from lack of law enforcement, we can't get those [victims] proper justice.

The bus tour also visited the Southern Ute Tribal Council in Ignacio on the trip. The candidates spoke with the council members, and listened to their thoughts as well.

Especially for people in Washington D.C. or at the federal level, I think it's important to do what you're doing right now, which is reaching out to your different communities, especially the rural communities, because I think it's important for you to understand," said Linda Baker, a member of the Southern Ute Tribal Council. "I will say, it's almost another land, you know, and I don't know how much you really hear or understand.

Baker thanked the candidates for spending time with the council and taking on the responsibility of representing their community.

In Alamosa, the bus tour was greeted by a group of Democrats from the area, but Denver7 met with a server at a restaurant just around the block named Stu Nicholson.

Everyone kind of knows each other. We all kind of get along as best we can," Nicholson said about Alamosa. I feel this community is largely ignored. Most people don't even know about it. Everyone knows about the Front Range, and everyone knows about the mountain towns like Aspen, where everyone goes to vacation. This place, people don't even know it exists.

Once again, the water shortage was a concern expressed by Nicholson.

"The river is very low. Farmers are struggling to get water. That's probably the biggest issue I hear about from everybody is the worry about the weather and the water," said Nicholson.

In addition, Nicholson said there are mixed feelings about the size of the community growing.

"Some people want it, some people dont," said Nicholson. "Its based on tourism because of the Sand Dunes, and other people don't want this to become a tourist spot. So, that's a bit of a debate I've heard about just since being here.

An unaffiliated voter, Denver7 asked Nicholson why he agreed to an interview.

"While most of my political power lies in my vote, I believe in trying to do what we can to influence things as best we can," said Nicholson. "Being able to speak my voice to where other people can hear me is going to have a larger impact than just me voting.