Colorado Democratic congressional candidates continued their strong overall fundraising performance in the early months of the year, as they look to flip several Republican-held seats in the November election and regain control of the House of Representatives.

But a few of the state’s most closely watched congressional races could still be in for a shakeup, depending on who wins competitive primary elections in June — and how much campaign cash the winners have to spend in the process.

Colorado’s most expensive congressional primary fight in 2026 is in the battleground 8th District, where three Democratic candidates have already spent nearly $3 million combined as they vie for the chance to take on the state’s most vulnerable incumbent, GOP Representative Gabe Evans, according to Federal Election Commission reports. The 8th District spans from Denver’s northern suburbs into parts of southern Weld and Larimer counties.

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State Representative Manny Rutinel of Commerce City continued to widen his financial advantage over former state Representative Shannon Bird of Westminster, raising over $947,000 in the first quarter of 2026 compared to Bird’s $566,000. Evan Munsing, a private equity consultant and first-time candidate, raised $115,239, his quarterly FEC disclosure showed.

With three months to go until Colorado’s June 30 primary election, Rutinel had a total of nearly $1.8 million in cash on hand, with Bird reporting just under $1.1 million and Munsing trailing far behind with $108,480.

The winner of the three-way primary race will begin at a steep financial disadvantage as they take on Evans, a first-term Republican who has aligned himself closely with House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump, despite winning his seat by fewer than 2,500 votes in 2024. Evans has amassed the largest campaign war chest of any Colorado GOP candidate, with more than $3.4 million in cash on hand as he awaits the outcome of the Democratic primary.

In the 5th District, centered on Colorado Springs, Democrat Jessica Killin, an Army veteran and political operative, continues to outraise incumbent GOP Representative Jeff Crank. Killin raised $657,576 in the first quarter and reported more than $1.5 million in cash on hand — but she faces a primary opponent, Joe Reagan, who is running for a second time after losing the 5th District primary two years ago. Reagan has raised just $87,638 while loaning $115,000 to his campaign.

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U.S. Representative Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican representing the 3rd District, enjoys the biggest financial advantage of any of Colorado’s GOP incumbents, having raised a total of over $3 million during the 2026 election cycle, and reporting $1.9 million in cash on hand. The 3rd District spans most of Colorado’s Western Slope along with Pueblo and the San Luis Valley.

Democrat Alex Kelloff, a financial executive running to unseat Hurd, reported another dismal fundraising quarter to begin 2026, raising just $72,734 in outside contributions while loaning his campaign another $120,000. Dwayne Romero, a former state economic development director, announced a late bid for the Democratic nomination in March and quickly outraised Kelloff in the first quarter, collecting $225,652 in contributions and loaning his campaign $280,000.

But Hurd, too, will face a primary challenge in June, after far-right former state Representative Ron Hanks launched a successful last-minute bid to earn a place on the 3rd District ballot through the Republican assembly process. Hurd defeated Hanks in a six-way GOP primary race in the district in 2024, winning 41% of the vote to Hanks’ 29%.

Democratic donors continue to shower the most campaign cash on the Colorado congressional race that analysts say they are the least likely to win: in the heavily Republican 4th District, where U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert won a 12-percentage-point victory in 2024. In the November general election, Boebert will face Eileen Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral and former National Security Council official.

Laubacher has already raised over $8.5 million in the 2026 election cycle, by far the largest haul of any Colorado congressional candidate in either party. Her $3.1 million in cash on hand as of March 31 is more than 14 times larger than Boebert’s reported total of $218,665.

Democratic primaries

Progressive challengers aiming to unseat two of Colorado’s most established Democratic incumbents didn’t do much to erase their substantial financial disadvantage in the first quarter of the year.

U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, who faces a primary challenge from state Senator Julie Gonzales of Denver, raised just under $1.1 million in that period. That’s four times larger than Gonzales’ $261,093 in first-quarter receipts — and after nearly six years of fundraising as a Senate incumbent, Hickenlooper’s cash-on-hand advantage is much greater, with over $4 million in campaign funds available as of March 31, compared to Gonzales’ $114,061.

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Gonzales took the top spot on the primary ballot with a victory at Colorado Democrats’ state assembly in Pueblo last month, which Hickenlooper skipped in favor of qualifying for the ballot through petition signatures.

In the heavily Democratic 1st District, U.S. Representative Diana DeGette of Denver — by far Colorado’s longest-serving member of Congress, having served since 1997 — will face two primary challengers on the June ballot.

Melat Kiros, a Ph.D. student and first-time candidate endorsed by Denver’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter, took the top spot on the ballot with 67% of the vote at the 1st District assembly last month, while DeGette’s 32.8% put her just above the threshold required to qualify for the ballot at all.

DeGette entered the primary campaign with $636,362 in cash on hand, while Kiros reported just $118,255. University of Colorado Regent Wanda James, who petitioned onto the 1st District ballot, trailed behind them with $54,289.