With Colorado’s primary election just weeks away, voters will be seeing plenty of new names on their ballots when they’re sent out next week. There will be some old names, too; several incumbents are running opposed, but six lawmakers — one senator and five representatives — are being challenged in their respective party’s primary.

Senate District 9

Senate District 9, which encompasses parts of Palmer Lake and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, is currently represented by Republican Lynda Zamora Wilson, who was selected by a vacancy committee last July to replace former Sen. Paul Lundeen.

In addition to her military service, Zamora Wilson served as a senior economic advisor at the Pentagon and taught mathematics and economics at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

During her first legislative session, Zamora Wilson sponsored eight bills on topics including surveillance technology, voter registration, and the Second Amendment. None of those bills passed.

Zamora Wilson is endorsed by State Reps. Ken DeGraaf and Scott Bottoms.

Zamora Wilson faces fellow Air Force veteran and former State Representative Terri Carver in the June 30 Republican primary for her district. Carver, who served in the House from 2016 to 2022, previously served as a Judge Advocate General in the Air Force.

During her time as a lawmaker, Carver sponsored legislation on issues like human trafficking, data privacy, and assistance for veterans. Her Senate campaign has been endorsed by elected officials, including Lundeen, El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal, El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen, and Colorado Springs Reps. Ava Flanell, Rebecca Keltie, and Mary Bradfield.

House District 6

Democrat Sean Camacho was elected to represent east Denver’s House District 6 in 2024, defeating incumbent Elisabeth Epps in the primary by more than 20 percentage points. Camacho, an Air Force veteran and attorney, has sponsored over two dozen bills in his two sessions as a lawmaker, including measures on artificial intelligence chatbots, elder scams, and an attempt to challenge the constitutionality of the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, which was ultimately unsuccessful.

Camacho endorsements include Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, House and Senate Democratic leadership and more than 30 current and former state lawmakers.

Camacho’s opponent in the primary is attorney Iris Halpern, who previously worked for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Denver and as an organizer for the Service Employees International Union.

According to Halpern’s website, she has worked on a number of bills passed by the legislature, including measures on immigration, discrimination in schools, library book bans, and workplace harassment.

Recently, a complaint was filed against Halpern by Bethany Morris, who had served as a delegate for Camacho at the Denver Democrats’ Assembly last March. The complaint, which alleged Halpern had engaged in illegal lobbying at the Capitol, was ultimately dismissed after the Secretary of State’s Office found no evidence that Halpern’s testimony could be considered lobbying.

Halpern has been endorsed by elected officials, including Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, Rep. Kenny Nguyen, D-Broomfield, Rep. Lorena Garcia, D-Adams County, and Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs.

House District 17

Rep. Regina English, D-Colorado Springs, has represented eastern Colorado Springs’ House District 17 since the 2023 legislative session. English, who formerly served as treasurer and vice president of the Harrison School District 2 Board, is also the founder of a leadership nonprofit and life coaching organization.

English has focused primarily on education, the criminal justice system and social justice issues during her time as a lawmaker, successfully passing measures on Black history education, law enforcement use of force, and competency in the criminal justice system.

English has received endorsements from U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, Secretary of State Jena Griswold, House Majority Leader Monica Duran, and Senate President James Coleman, among others.

English is challenged by Chauncy Johnson, a 25-year-old former legislative aide.

According to his website, Johnson’s top legislative priorities include housing, transit expansion, and the environment. Johnson has been endorsed by Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs, Rep. Lorena Garcia, D-Adams County, Rep. Kenny Nguyen, D-Broomfield, and Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Kimberly Gold, among others.

House District 31

Democrat Jacque Phillips of Thornton has served as the representative for House District 31 since 2024, when she defeated her Republican opponent by over 10 percentage points. In 2018, she was defeated by Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton, who now serves in the Senate, in the Democratic primary.

Phillips previously served on the Thornton City Council and currently works as an attorney. During her time in the legislature, she has sponsored bills on issues like special education, housing access, and establishing the state mushroom, a bill she worked on with local students.

Phillips is endorsed by Senate President James Coleman, House Speaker Julie McCluskie, House Majority Leader Monica Duran, and more than 20 other current and former state lawmakers.

Phillips’ opponent in the primary is Gabriel Cervantes, a Thornton native and co-founder of a nonprofit.

According to his website, Cervantes’ policy ideas include banning corporate ownership of single-family homes, expanding local and state tax incentives for seniors, and creating a legal pathway to prosecute federal immigration agents at the state level.

Cervantes is endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, Rep. Steven Woodrow, D-Denver, Rep. Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins, and a number of other state and local elected officials.

House District 33

Democrat Kenny Nguyen of Broomfield was selected via vacancy committee to replace now-Sen. William Lindstedt at the beginning of the 2026 legislative session, when Lindstedt moved to the Senate to replace the late Sen. Faith Winter, D-Broomfield.

Nguyen, a former Broomfield City Councilman, is the first Vietnamese-American to serve in the Colorado General Assembly. He previously worked as an executive assistant to Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera and served in the AmeriCorps.

During his first legislative session, Nguyen sponsored legislation requiring health clinics at public colleges and universities to provide abortion medication, establishing new language requirements for ballot titles, and establishing legislative leave job protection for lawmakers, the latter of which failed to pass.

Nguyen is endorsed by Primavera, Jefferson County Treasurer Jerry DiTullio, and nearly 50 current and former elected officials.

Heidi Henkel, Nguyen’s colleague on the Broomfield City Council, whom he defeated in the vacancy election, is also running on the Democratic ticket for HD 33.

Henkel, who owns a tutoring business and works in communications, was first elected to the City Council in 2019. She also serves as the executive director of the Broomfield Resettlement Task Force, which relocates refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan in Broomfield.

Henkel has also served on the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the Broomfield Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Early Childhood Council, among others.

Henkel is endorsed by Sen. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton, Rep. Jacque Phillips, D-Thornton, Rep. Sean Camacho, D-Denver, Rep. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder, and a number of other state and local elected officials.

House District 42

Democrat Rep. Mandy Lindsay has served Aurora’s House District 42 since 2022, when she was selected by a vacancy to replace Dominique Jackson, who left to take a position with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Lindsay had been serving as Jackson’s legislative aide.

Throughout her time in the legislature, Lindsay has sponsored legislation on topics including health care, housing, education, transportation, and public safety. She currently serves as co-chair of the House Democratic Caucus and was recently accused of misusing caucus funds to pay for personal expenses. The investigation is ongoing, but Lindsay said the incidents were an accident and she has paid the money back.

Lindsay is endorsed by Sen. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, Rep. Chad Clifford, D-Greenwood Village, House Speaker Pro Tempore Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins, Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, and a number of other state and local elected officials.

Lindsay faces Sarah Woodson, who works in cannabis policy. Woodson, who grew up in Aurora, currently serves as the vice chair of the Aurora Business Advisory Board and is a member of the state’s task force for Drunk and Impaired Driving.

According to her website, Woodson’s top legislative priorities include mental health, education, justice-involved youth, and affordability. She has been endorsed by Brenda Allen, former vice chancellor of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, former Littleton Police Chief Glenn Davis, and organizations including Colorado Ceasefire and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.