Colorado Democratic Party says it has dominated the Front Range. Now officials are setting their sights on the Western Slope.

In an effort to elect more Democrats to county-level positions, the Colorado Democratic Party has selected several party chapters on the Western Slope that they will assist in the November elections. 

“I believe the next frontier of Colorado politics is local,” said Shad Murib, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party. “There are races across the state over the past couple of election cycles that we lost by just a couple hundred votes for county commissioner, county clerk, district attorney. These are incredibly important races.” 

Murib, who is the first chair of the state party from the Western Slope in decades, said he wants to focus more of the party’s resources on the region now that the Front Range has elected so many Democrats. 

Democrats control both the state House and Senate and the governorship. Both U.S. senators from Colorado are Democrats and five of the eight seats for the U.S. House of Representatives are held by Democrats. However, only a third of the state’s county commissioner seats are held by Democrats, Murib said.

The state party chose 12 counties for its grants and 10 of them are on the Western Slope. The counties are: Routt, Grand, Garfield, Mesa, Park, Chaffee, Alamosa, Huerfano, Ouray, Pueblo, Douglas and El Paso. 

The party allowed only county chapters with Democrats running for county commissioner to apply and asked them to detail their plans for winning the races in the online application. The counties selected each received $3,000 grants, with a requirement to use at least 15% of the funds on media and digital advertising. 

In Routt County, Democrats Angelica Salinas and Tim Redmond are running against Republicans Brent Romick and Tracy Lawton, respectively. Redmond is running to retain his commissioner seat.

In Grand County, Democrat Meara McQuain is up against Republican Ed Raegner and Democrat Shanna Ganne is running against Republican Merrit Linke, who currently holds the position.  

“Every penny spent will bring name and face recognition to our Democratic candidates,” said John Riedel, chair of the Grand County Democrats, according to a news release from the party. “This money comes at the beginning of the campaign season when we can use it most effectively.” 

Garfield County Democrat Caitlin Carey will take on Republican Perry Will, who is leaving his position as a state senator to run for the role. Democrat Steven Arauza is running against the incumbent, Republican Mike Samson.

The counties will receive an “onboarding packet” and weekly calls with the party, according to information posted on the state party’s website. The goal is to help each county develop “long-term infrastructure.”

“This project will prioritize targeted $3,000 investments into counties and candidates, comprehensive campaign planning, rigorous training, and robust staff support for dynamic campaigns led by both incumbents and challengers,” according to the party website. 

Elliott Wenzler is the Western Slope politics reporter for The Aspen Times and its sister publications in Glenwood Springs, Vail, Steamboat Springs, Summit County, and Grand County.