Denver is Colorado's progressive powerhouse, new data shows

State of play: Of the 159,000 Denver voters who cast ballots in the Democratic primary, 35% chose a trifecta of left-leaning candidates: Julie Gonzales for U.S. Senate, Phil Weiser for governor and Melat Kiros for the 1st Congressional District.

• The progressive voting coalition is twice the size of the Democratic vote (17%) that backed establishment candidates: Michael Bennet for governor, John Hickenlooper for U.S. Senate and Diana DeGette for the 1st District.

Between the lines: The progressive vote went further down ballot, too — 16% of Democratic voters chose Gonzales, Weiser, Kiros and two other progressive candidates, David Seligman for attorney general and Amanda Gonzalez for secretary of state.

• Other combinations were less common.

The big picture: Denver accounted for 12% of the total primary election vote, which helped propel Weiser, Kiros and Gonzalez to wins.

• Even in the U.S. Senate contest, Gonzales lost by a mere 5.6 percentage points against Hickenlooper, among the state's best-known politicians.

The intrigue: The Democratic Socialists of America also saw its influence grow. Excluding the governor's race, where the party didn't pick a favorite, 19% of voters followed its recommendations, Jones told us.

What we're watching: The next test of Denver's progressive political nature will come in the 2027 city elections, where Mayor Mike Johnston faces re-election.