Colorado's Democratic Party chair says 'blue wave' description oversimplifies election results

As political analysts continue to study what theyre calling a blue wave this election cycle, Shad Murib, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, thinks it wasnt just a wave but more so a repudiation.

I think that it's oversimplified by calling it a blue wave. I think that people have seen their cost-of-living increase. They haven't seen a raise in many years, and they've watched the wealthy corporations get richer and richer as their life has gotten harder and harder. And the Democratic Party proposed a vision of this country where you can earn a great paycheck, where you can send your kids to a great school, where you can protect your outdoor spaces, where you can save money on groceries and you know, cut the cost of living, Murib said.

Murib said he thinks this election voters rejected Republican policies.

I think it was more about the damage that the Republican Party has done to Coloradans over the past couple of years, in contrast with the vision that the Democratic Party is proposing, and so the blue wave, whether it existed or not, is merely an opportunity for the hard work to matter. And I'm so grateful we had a great election night last Tuesday, Murib said,

Colorado Democrats are on track to flip three republican held congressional seats, giving Democrats seven congressional representatives and leaving republicans with one.

Our ethos has been when we compete everywhere, we can win anywhere, and so we're really focused on, of course, winning these statewide races. And this is the first time that every single Republican-held congressional seat was on not just the state party's map, but the national party's map. And so we were excited to win three of those four contests. But really, what excites me is that we changed so many positions of power at the local level, Murib said.

Murib cited Democratic victories in Eagle County and Grand County as party successes.

I mean, across the state, we saw places that, you know, Democrats don't usually show up in rural and red areas welcome new Democratic leadership. And so, I wasn't surprised because there's people like Meg Furlow in Douglas County who've been working for years and years to make sure that we flip Douglas County blue. There's people like John Jarrell in El Paso County who have been pulling together our big diverse coalition to make sure that we flip a county commissioner seat down there as well, Murib said.

With the 2026 election campaigns complete, Murib said democrats must now deliver for Coloradans.

We run our campaigns like we're 10 points behind, and I think that we have to legislate and govern as if we have a lot to prove, Murib said. Winning big on Tuesday means that you get an opportunity to go and deliver big. It's not political capital to save up. We have to go spend it on behalf of the people who send us to power.

Murib said the work ahead will include Republicans.

You can't win by the margins that we just won by. You can't beat Lauren Boebert without attracting Republicans to Eileen Laubacher's campaign and her vision. You can't win supermajorities in many of these seats that we won, where Democrats again had no business competing in, but we've been investing in and recruiting great candidates and supporting great candidates in without Republican votes, Murib said.

Murib continued, We've been going out and talking to Republicans and unaffiliateds who lean right and saying, 'We understand you might have enjoyed supporting the Republican Party in the past. What about our vision? And so I'm expecting those Republican leaders in the state house and state senate to realize that they lost their own voters in this election, and that it's time for them to come to the table with ideas.

As national Democratic Party leaders and newly elected members gather in Denver this week for a large conference on the direction of the party, Murib was asked if he thinks its a sign that Denver may be the host city for the 2028 Democratic National Convention.

"I'm an eternal optimist, so yes, Murib said.