It’s a familiar theme in American politics: One party inevitably claims a mandate for its agenda after voters hand it successive victories. Then, the party goes too far – and faces a backlash.

That hasn’t happened yet to Colorado’s increasingly dominant Democrats, but it could. That possibility is underscored in an insightful report last week by our news affiliate, Colorado Politics, on what’s next for Democrats as the 2023 Legislature prepares to convene Jan. 9.

Colorado Politics talked to a broad range of pols and political insiders. A key takeaway, especially from top Democrats in the know, is that their party’s rising fortunes could fizzle in an instant if they overreach. Moving Colorado even further to the left – with more policies that hamstring employers, smother key economic sectors such as energy, and grow government – could backfire.

Another takeaway, ironically enough, is Colorado’s Democratic governor could wind up saving the Legislature’s emboldened Democratic majority from its excesses. In so doing, he would be saving Colorado, too.

The worst-kept secret at the state Capitol is Jared Polis’ aspiration to higher office. Given a choice between accommodating his party’s hard-left fringe in the Legislature and plotting a more moderate course for his future, Polis’ choice would seem clear.

Though bearing the indelible label of “Boulder liberal,” Polis isn’t served by a radical image. His runaway reelection in November came courtesy of Colorado’s largest de facto political party – unaffiliated voters. They occupy the political middle ground and account for nearly half of voters in the state, dwarfing No. 2 Democrats as well as the No. 3 GOP.

All of which could restrain the party’s left from its worst instincts. Even a Democrat like Adrian Felix – president of Young Denver Democrats, secretary of Denver Democrats and a progressive stalwart – agreed. He summed it up frankly for Colorado Politics:

“The problem (progressive Democrats) are going to run into is that they have a governor who seems far more concerned about his presidential aspirations than he does with helping their constituents. I know all of these legislators have great ideas, but it’s really about what the governor is going to allow. At this point in his career, he’s just going to be prioritizing his own future.”

Alongside all that, Colorado’s many swing voters can be fickle – arguably, another saving grace of the state’s electorate. It’s self-correcting.

“When I got here in 2006, we were a red state that was quickly empurpling, and anyone who thinks the pendulum can’t swing just as hard and just as fast in the other direction needs to pay closer attention to history,” veteran liberal activist and Democratic strategist Ian Silverii said to Colorado Politics.

“Colorado voters could very well reconsider how much power they want in the hands of one party.”

Longtime Democratic pollster Floyd Ciruli sees it that way, too.

“(Democrats) won a great victory here, but it was a surprise. While it’s a welcome surprise for them, I think they recognized that it wasn’t because the Democratic brand was completely adopted by everyone. Rather, there was a sense that the Republicans collapsed,” Ciruli told Colorado Politics.

“There’s going to be a sense, particularly among the leadership, that they were pulled in by this wave and they could be pulled out by a new wave.”

Even in a state as blue as Colorado now is, legislative Democrats – and the rest of the party’s political luminaries – would be wise to keep that wisdom top of mind.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board