Colorado’s ruling Democrats have at least two things going for them right now.

One is that they are not as bad off as Colorado’s Republican Party, which has been in such disarray it’s only a slight exaggeration to say no one’s sure who’s in charge.

The other strength the Colorado Democratic Party can point to with satisfaction is it’s not the state Democratic Party of a lot of other states, where the party took a drubbing Nov. 5.

Colorado Democratic leaders are indeed touting their accomplishment of having held onto the reins of power, resisting last month’s national Republican wave. Both chambers of the Legislature remain firmly under Democratic control. Although the governor’s office and other statewide elected posts weren’t on the 2024 ballot, Democrats also can take solace knowing those offices continue to be occupied by their ilk. As icing on the cake, Republican President-elect Trump himself found no more love overall in our state this year than he has in the past.

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It’s worth perhaps a victory lap — and a sigh of relief — for the state’s Democrats and has become a bragging point in their upcoming race for state party leadership.

“While other states saw Democrats lose majorities, and even their electoral votes go to Donald Trump, Colorado remained a bright spot for Democrats across the nation,” Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib said in a press statement last week announcing he would seek a second term.

But a victory lap could turn into running in circles if leading Democrats here fail to realize the election was a wakeup call for them, too. Our state does not exist in a vacuum, after all.

Murib seemed to say as much in the unusually candid press statement.

“Despite (Colorado Democrats’) success, it’s more important than ever to be honest about the challenges ahead, and to tackle them together,” he said. He was more blunt in an interview with Colorado Politics: ”Let’s be honest about what worked and unafraid to shelve what didn’t.”

His press release enunciates, “The time for hard conversations is now,” frankly acknowledging some deficiencies. “Rural areas continue to be knock-out drag-out fights for us,” the statement notes, and, without naming Trump, it recognizes the GOP’s apparent ability this election year to tap into the meat-and-potatoes priorities and values of Middle America.

“Research suggesting that the majority of Americans currently believe that the Republican Party represents the interests of the working class and the poor, and that the Democratic Party represents the interests of the wealthy, should concern us all,” the press release states.

In other words, Democrats nationally have an image problem — and discerning Colorado Democrats like Murib understand Colorado isn’t immune.

It’s an open secret our state’s Democratic insiders are fed up with their party’s increasingly radical and outspoken fringe and the disproportionate influence it has had on Democrats’ legislative agenda. Yet, so far, party leaders have been timid about reining in their radicals.

The lurch to the left only can leave rank-and-file voters thinking the party is out of touch. That it cares more about battling a global “climate crisis” than about creating well-paying jobs at home; about coddling criminals than about fighting crime; about fostering exotic wildlife than about safeguarding the livestock that’s supposed to feed us all; about sheltering the world’s refugees on taxpayers’ tab — than about providing basic public services to our own citizens.

It’s the image of a party with its head in the clouds rather than its boots on the ground.

Is Murib’s statement a call for the party to rediscover its political center and move back there — where a lot more Coloradans actually live? Let’s hope so.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board