The Buzz

Thursday, July 23, 2026

The Bennet Collapse

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet hugs his supporters after conceeding to Phil Weiser in the Democratic gubernatorial primaries on Tuesday. (Stephen Swofford/The Denver Gazette)

The narrative of Democratic politics since the New York mayoral election of November 2025 has been that of young idealistic voters challenging political establishments, especially urban, and winning. Seattle, Washington, D.C. and L.A. have seen several successful socialism espousing candidates. It just hit the Colorado June 30 primary, and incumbents and establishment politicians are out of office.

Thirty-year incumbent, Congresswoman Diane DeGette, was the most obvious casualty but Senator Michael Bennet was also a victim of the framework now established for Democratic primaries. As a long-time establishment D.C. politician, Bennet and his team planned to overwhelm his opponent, Attorney General Phil Weiser, with name identification, endorsements, and money. All normally critical but now seen as signs of the establishment and status quo.

Polling indicated he was a two-to-one leader for most of the last year and into early 2026. But when the polls showed the race tightening, he and his Super PAC ramped up negative ads and he loaned his campaign $1 million The public polling available and media reports described a close race the last two months. His position collapsed the final two weeks as undecided voters moved to Weiser. Most observers believed Denver was beyond his winning in early June. He lost in Denver two to one (66% to 34%), and the Denver region by 59% on his way to losing statewide by 14 points.

Bennet Election – Signs of Pending Disaster

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Midterm Panic

Trump looks past Canada and Mexico for Gianni Infantino

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the awards ceremony after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

President Trump is in major panic over likely midterm loss of the House and from some risk in the Senate. That panic is in spite of a slight improvement in approval rating and the generic ballot during the last two months, although both remain in the danger zone for a midterm House loss that would shift control.

The Hill website has released its Decision Desk Headquarters report showing that there is a 61% chance the Democrats take the House and a 57% probability the Republicans hold the Senate.

DDHQ Report
	Dem.	Rep.
House	226	209
Senate	50	50

Trump continues to work to increase the Republican advantage with state level reapportionment, various federal initiatives to influence the voting process and use of public relations events (World Cup).

Key factors helping the Democrats:

Trump approval mostly at or below 40%
The generic ballot test about 4 has been 7 on the averages.
The unpopularity of the war in Iran and Trump performance on the economy.

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

The 2026 Primary Turnout About Average

A voter casts their ballot at a drop box in Denver on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in this file photo. (AP Photo/Chet Strange, File)

The 35 percent turnout was predicted by this blog (The 2026 Democratic Primary Turnout) due to comparison with the similar highly-contested 2018 election. And indeed, while there were a few more voters in 2026, overall turnout percentage remained the same.

The late voter turnout has become common in contested elections when the candidates push and pull their votes to the polls. Campaigns with many volunteers and targeting young people especially tend to turn out late (i.e., mail arrives later and Monday and election day dropoffs ramp up). In Democrat primaries, that means the most liberal (2026 socialist) candidates tend to pick up votes as the counting includes later voters.

The general election turnout percentage tends to double from the primary. In 2018, the turnout of active voters in November was 75% of 2.5 million, and of active voters, 65% of 2.5 million of 3.9 registered million. Note: additional people registered between the primary and general election. It is likely the November 2026 turnout will double from the primary. Although there are few strongly contested partisan races expected, there will likely be well-funded ballot issue campaigns.

Monday, July 20, 2026

Midterm Elections: Tsunami or Minor Wave

President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Washington. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)

The average first midterm election loss for the President’s party since 1962 has been 22 House seats. The following chart shows some of the exceptional midterm swings.

Is President Trump heading toward a 40 to 60 seat tsunami, or a more restrained 20 to 30 seat shift with a change in control of the House? Could the Democrats fail to win a majority?

Monday, July 13, 2026

Bennet’s Luck Ran Out

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet gives a concession speech to supporters of his campaign in the Democratic gubernatorial primary during his election night watch party at Schoolyard Beer Garden in Denver on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. Attorney General Phil Weiser defeated Bennet to become the Democratic nominee for governor. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Senator Michael Bennet was a surprise appointment by Governor Bill Ritter to the U.S. Senate in January 2009. His first election has been the only real contest in his Senate career. He won it in 2010 by less than 30,000 votes (against DA Ken Buck). Bennet had two subsequent easy races against weak Republican opponents in 2016 and 2022. He benefited from serving during Trump’s dominance of local party politics. Trump is a pariah and lost the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections in Colorado.

But Bennet’s luck ran out in the 2026 June primary for governor after his risky and mostly unexplained decision to compete for the about-to-be-vacant seat of termed out Governor Jared Polis. He began the quest in early 2025 as the frontrunner due to name identification and access to significant financing but quickly faced tough questions as to why he was challenging a popular Attorney General, Phil Weiser. With his low-key demeanor, questions were quickly raised as to what he had accomplished after seventeen years in Washington, and especially to oppose Donald Trump.

Bennet’s advantage in super PAC money, especially large gifts from high profile non-progressive Democrat Michael Bloomberg, helped alienate progressives and boost Weiser. Bennet, a stalwart member of the Washington and Democratic Party establishment, was in an election where a younger generation of Democratic and unaffiliated voters were entering the electorate and passionate about change and hostile to what they perceived as a status quo establishment.

The last time he lost this dramatically was his failed presidential race and withdrawal after earning less than 1 percent of the vote in New Hampshire in 2020. Bennet still has two years in his Senate term but this loss is a deep political wound. Due to his even temperament and thoughtful, moderate approach, he is more popular in the Washington policy community than Colorado. He has many options as former Colorado officeholders Gary Hart, Tim Wirth, Roy Romer and Hank Brown demonstrated, but it’s not likely to be in elective office.

Friday, July 10, 2026

Dow Up in Spite of Uncertainty

A view of commercial cargo vessels and crude oil tankers are anchored in the Gulf of Oman, off the coast of Muscat, Oman, on June 21, 2026. Photo: Shady Alassar, Anadolu Agency

The momentum for stocks, especially high tech, continues. The mid-year returns are at or near double digits with Dow and S&P up 9 percent and the NAZ ahead 13 points. The Dow, now above 52,000, is at its 18th record high for the year.

AI continues to drive the tech sector and uplift many others tertiary beneficiaries including small caps. Earnings growth has remained high. Consumers seem to be absorbing the inflation and the disruption of the Iran War appears to be dissipated through off-and-on negotiations. In spite of the world economic edginess, many analysts remain reasonably optimistic for the rest of the year.

But the market is likely to remain volatile. Interest rates, the AI surge, its durability and costs, and oil prices are all subject to unpredictable economic and geopolitical factors.

Thursday, July 9, 2026

We Will Not Wait

Melat Kiros joins Colorado Democratic leaders at a post-primary rally in Denver

Melat Kiros, center, joins Colorado Democratic leaders at a post-primary rally in Denver on Thursday. Photo: Alayna Alvarez/Axios

Melat Kiros joined her fellow Democrats in a unity rally immediately after the votes were counted. Her slogan, “We will not wait,” was still echoing through the state’s and the nation’s political establishment.

Denver Democrats often lead the country in breaking new political ground.

Pat Schroeder	1972	"She wins we win"
Federico Pena	1983	"Imagine a great city"
Melat Kiros	2026	"We will not wait"