The Great Colorado Road Trip: voters share how they view the midterms
· 36 min
Episode The Great Colorado Road Trip: voters share how they view the midterms
Purplish hit the road for a 1,600-mile-plus trip around the state, from Lamar to Greeley and Grand Junction, to rural areas and city centers. Voters shared what they’re worried about and what’s motivating them to head to the polls this November with especially high stakes because control of Congress hangs in the balance.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland and Caitlyn Kim hear from voters in the most competitive, or arguably competitive in some cases, congressional districts in the state. They also discuss the Republican and Democratic candidates vying for those votes, and where there’s the greatest chance of a potential upset.
Catch up on our latest coverage:
• Can a Democrat flip the state’s reddest seat? Eileen Laubacher is trying • Rep. Jeff Crank’s resolution condemning socialism passes House • Beef tariffs are on pause for 90 days. How will that affect Colorado agriculture? • Can independent candidates gain traction? Maybe not, but it’s not stopping them from trying • Colorado Rep. Manny Rutinel resigns to focus on Congressional race • Republican Congressman Jeff Hurd tries to distance himself from Trump in eyes of voters
Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. Story editing from Nicole Vap. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this audio misstated Republican congressional votes on Argentine imported beef. That has been updated.
Links in the notes 11
- https://www.cpr.org/author/bente-birkeland/
- https://www.cpr.org/author/caitlyn-kim/
- https://www.cpr.org/2026/09/03/democrat-eileen-laubacher-4th-congressional-district-race/
- https://www.cpr.org/2026/09/01/jeff-crank-anti-socialism-resolution-passes/
- https://www.cpr.org/2026/08/26/beef-tariffs-90-day-pause-colorado-agriculture-ranchers/
- https://www.cpr.org/2026/08/26/independent-third-party-candidates-election/
- https://www.cpr.org/2026/09/07/rutinel-resigns-focus-congressional-race/
- https://www.cpr.org/2026/09/01/jeff-hurd-2026-election-trump/
- https://www.cpr.org/author/stephanie-wolf/
- https://www.cpr.org/author/shane-rumsey/
- https://www.cpr.org/author/nicole-vap/
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