Colorado’s most competitive congressional district sits north of Denver but poor approval ratings for Republicans and high gas prices have Democrats turning their attention west.
Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, which hasn’t elected a Democrat since 2008, spans not just Western Colorado but across the southern half of the state from Durango to Pueblo and Trinidad. Army veteran and Pitkin County businessman Dwayne Romero thinks he can win it.
“We deserve somebody who’s going to fight for us,” Romero told a group of supporters in Palisade on Thursday. “I see all of you here and I can recognize full well that you are already positive fighters. Positive fighters in the context of, we do well for others.”
Romero has campaigned as much on posture as policy, leaning on his pledge to fight for the district’s constituents and criticizing incumbent Republican Jeff Hurd for not being enough of a bulwark against federal overreach.
“We’ve got great leaders on the ballot. We’ve got great opportunities to provide positive leadership and we need to be positive warriors,” Romero told the group getting ready to canvas neighborhoods near Palisade.
Mesa County is a stronghold for Republicans in the 3rd Congressional District. In 2024, when Hurd won his first election, Mesa County favored the Republican candidate by more than 18,000 votes. But Democrats are looking to trim that margin as part of their bid to flip the district, which includes 27 counties.
Mallory Martin, a Democrat vying for the state legislature in a heavily Republican district, has been campaigning in the area for months now and says Democrats are encouraged by the response they’ve gotten.
“People are hopeful. We’re having high turnouts. We’re really excited about the number of people, both unaffiliated and Democrats that are getting out and voting. And it’s been a really exciting time these last few days,” said Martin, who faces Republican Jason Bias for House District 54.
Martin said the race she’s most interested in, beyond her own, is Romero’s bid to unseat Hurd. So far, Republicans in Mesa County have turned in twice as many ballots as Democrats, according to data released Thursday by the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. But the largest voting bloc is unaffiliated voters. Martin said Hurd’s reluctance to hold public events rankled many in the county, including herself.
“Jeff Hurd wouldn’t come out and talk to us, hasn’t been out to talk to us, has not held any forum that wasn’t strictly controlled by their office,” Martin said.
Hurd has held events, including in Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction, where he spoke with constituents. But Democrats say that came only when campaign season began.
Romero has pledged to do more public events if elected. As he’s criss-crossed the district, he said he regularly hears from Coloradans worried about the future their children will inherit. That includes the $40 trillion national debt, which has grown by nearly $4 trillion since Donald Trump began his second term.
“We have 40 trillion reasons to do our best for the next generation and then their kids as well,” Romero told his supporters.
Speaking with CPR News, Romero said the debt topic, long an issue associated with Republicans, is showing up frequently at his events.
“I think it’s kind of a blast of hot air in the face when you think about that number and our inability to get a plan in place to solve that,” Romero said. “So that’s probably the biggest issue and it’s frankly the most material if you think about the arc of our success going forward as a nation.”
For his part, Hurd said the national debt remains a priority. He points to a bill he introduced in Congress earlier this year to require Congress to vote on every element of the budget each year.
In the closing weeks of the campaign, national Democrats have taken interest in the race. The campaign arm for House Democrats released a poll showing Romero with a slight lead on Hurd. Polling has been less reliable in the past decade and the poll in question was produced by the Democrats. But, after it was released, a national super PAC dropped $2.1 million into the race.
Hurd, who has also received super PAC support to the tune of millions of dollars, said the outside spending on the race is less important than candidate quality.
“I faced a very, very well-funded opponent last time,” Hurd said, referring to his race against Adam Frisch. “So outside dollars is not anything new to me. At the end of the day, I’m running on my record, being an effective legislator who represents this district well, who gets results and who’s independent.”
Copyright 2026 CPR News