I arrived home on election night just in time to catch the 10 p.m. news. Flipping to Channel 9 and Kyle Clark, I found him engaged in conversation with a reporter at the Melat Kiros primary victory celebration. The pair expressed surprise at the energetic chants of “Melat!, Melat!” The on-site reporter found the enthusiasm and youthfulness of her ebullient supporters reminding him of a mosh pit. “Have you ever seen anything like this?” he asked and Clark replied, “No, never.” Well, I have. In 1983, a crowd chanting “Peña!, Peña!, Peña!,” included a 26-year-old attorney named Diana DeGette. I didn’t know her that evening but would meet her the following year when she managed Mike Johnson’s campaign for the House District 6 legislative seat for east Denver. They lost to a Republican in November after a tough primary win over Marty Flahive.

Two years later, Diana, who earned a reputation for her work with the ACLU, preparing legal defenses in capital punishment cases, chose to run herself and served a decade in the Colorado legislature, then another three decades in Congress. Her abrupt departure carries many parallels with Peña’s dark-horse dispatch of Mayor Bill McNichols, dislodging his 14-year reign at City Hall. Federico entered the campaign with 3% name recognition and a general opinion he had no real chance of success. The same could be said for Kiros. Yet, in both cases, voters decided otherwise. In neither instance did voters hugely resent either incumbent. McNichols, then 74, had proven a competent Mayor, with the sole exception of deficient snow removal following the 1982 Christmas blizzard, while DeGette was providing workmanlike service as she reached 69. The Yuppies of 1983 no longer wished to be residents of a “Cowtown”, and were readily captivated by Peña’s slogan “Imagine a Great City.”

Both, however, had simply reached their “sell by dates.” I met Melat Kiros at a policy forum with north Denver Democrats last winter. I didn’t walk away with the impression I had when first meeting Jimmy Carter, convinced he would become president. Melat didn’t seem on her way to Washington, although there was a charm which left me wondering if she just might have “the right stuff.” She didn’t win simply because she called herself a socialist, nor would this have mattered to most 21st-century Denver voters. As the economist and political observer Anand Giridharadas points out, “Socialism only sets off alarms for Baby Boomers, who lived through the Cold War red scares. Anyone younger, and especially Generation Z, thinks ‘free buses, Medicare for all and affordable college tuition’ sounds like a pretty sound program.” Melat Kiros can join “The Squad” if she wants so long as she follows through on her promise to flip over the tables and break some crockery.

Looking at the governor’s contest, I’ve expected Attorney General Phil Weiser to win for many months. He had assets that didn’t translate onto financial reports. A peripatetic Attorney General who crisscrossed the state for eight years, he has become a virtual homeboy with local police, prosecutors and the aggrieved in every Colorado county. Having attended a half-dozen Democratic assemblies, as well as the state convention, it was evident Phil was the favorite among active Democrats. Bennet would need to persuade a large turnout among unaffiliated voters to stem this tide. He failed to attempt that. Democrats, by and large, like both men but determined they would rather Michael return to Washington and finish the job he signed up for. As it has become apparent Democrats may grab a majority in the Senate, his seniority becomes even more important.

Political consultants may need to reconsider their reliance on negative ads. The crowd at Weiser’s victory party expressed heated animosity toward the unrelentingly ugly campaign run by the Bennet camp. As one pundit observed to me, “First, it was Weiser filing too many lawsuits and wasting money. ‘Colorado can’t sue its way to prosperity.’ Then, it was whining that Phil hadn’t joined enough lawsuits, ignoring the fact that Trump had been in office two years before he was even elected AG. So, which was it — too many or too few? I could smell their desperation.”

Manny Rutinel In the 8th Congressional District race probably would agree. In a blue state, Democrats may want to consider adopting a “good conduct code” governing intramural contests. Say whatever you want about Republicans without objection, but tone it down so primary losers, even if grudgingly, can still support the winners. Jena Griswold seems to understand this principle. On Wednesday morning, the first political email in my mailbox was Jena, slapping around her Republican opponent, Mike Allen, as an abortion extremist, and asking for my support. During the campaign her three opponents flogged Griswold for having little court room experience, while she said what was needed in an AG is a policy leader — not to mention probably being the best on-the-ground campaigner in the entire Democratic stable.

The Hickenlooper vs. Gonzales race proved once again it helps immensely when candidates are likable. Hick, who has been one of the luckiest politicians in living memory, blessed with repeatedly weak opponents, drew a crowd to Steuben’s that “looked like Colorado.” Doyen Elbra Wedgeworth and a contingent of African Americans were paired with Ken Salazar and a Hispanic table where the small talk leapt back and forth from English to Spanish. Ken, former attorney general, former senator and recent ambassador to México, shared a story of approaching John before either of them were running for office. He was working to prop up the agriculture economy of the San Luis Valley and asked John whether the expanding Colorado brewpubs could help by purchasing grain from farms in the valley. Hick was quick to help and Ken hasn’t forgotten. Doggone it, people like him even if he acts a little goofy at times.

The Texan, Julie Gonzales, by contrast, is a frequently unpleasant, even nasty presence. Known at the Capitol as Julie “I Went To Princeton” Gonzales, she was disliked by many of her Democratic colleagues and detested by most of the lobbyists. A belligerent demeanor catches up with any politician. This was a good year to be running from the left in a Democratic primary. Progressives even swept away as capable a legislator as Sean Camacho, a moderate who lost his east Denver seat. It was also a tough year to be an incumbent. At least four legislators lost to challengers across both parties when, in normal times, this almost never occurs. The retired U.S. Navy Admiral Eileen Laubacher, who will face off against U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in November, stands a real chance if she can persuade a slice of eastern plains Republicans Rep. Boebert’s erratic performance is just another part of the problem in D.C.

Finally, as I submit this column, the Republican candidate for governor appears likely to be Victor Marx. Although he is leading state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer narrowly, former Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams lamented recently nominating him would amount to a suicide pact. When Colorado Republicans have overdosed on MAGA zealots previously, the results have proven dismal. Marx will surely make life difficult for other down-ballot Republican candidates. It may be time to dispatch a box of NARCAN doses to Dick.

Miller Hudson is a public affairs consultant and a former Colorado legislator.