RELEASE: Colorado Democrats, Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie, Statewide Organizers Unveil “A Stronger Colorado,” Embracing Digital, Relational Organizing and Revitalized Communications

DENVER – The Colorado Democratic Party officially launched its new campaign, A Stronger Colorado, today, a bold effort to rebuild and redesign how the Party engages voters, develops messaging, and organizes statewide year-round ahead of a critical 2026 midterm election. The campaign kicked off with the launch of A Stronger Colorado, a cutting-edge political organizing program built with Reach aimed at empowering Coloradans to lead political conversations in their own networks.

A Stronger Colorado is the first statewide program of its kind in the country, merging digital innovation and traditional organizing with a renewed focus on messaging clarity and Party-building from the ground up.

It will address the Party’s messaging and communications challenges with a fresh approach to building a clear and concise platform and modernize its organizing for the first time since 2008 with a first-of-its-kind digital infrastructure built around relational organizing.

Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie joined CDP Chair Shad Murib, party leaders, and volunteers for the virtual launch, praising the initiative as “exactly the kind of forward-thinking organizing we need to meet this moment.”

“Democrats in the Colorado General Assembly have made real progress in our great state by listening to our communities and delivering on what matters most: affordable housing, better schools, and a stronger economy," said Julie McCluskie, Colorado House Speaker.

"A Stronger Colorado builds on our work by giving people the tools to organize year-round, speak with clarity about our values, and lead from every corner of the state. This is how we grow our movement and keep delivering for working families."

Chair Murib lauded it as a movement that meets the moment that Americans are demanding of Democrats, a Party at a crossroads.

 “The Colorado Democratic Party is again taking a leadership role in innovating both our message and our ground game – we take our recent success as a challenge and are ready to meet the moment and invest in the next generation of leaders,” said Shad Murib, Colorado Democratic Party Chair.

“This program flips traditional organizing on its head. Now, instead of asking people to come to us, we’re showing up in their group chats, dive bars, yoga studios, and pickup basketball games to shrink the distance between our Party and our voters in ways only technology allows. This campaign empowers everyone who wants to get involved to do so right away, and helps them meet their neighbors where they are and, more importantly, where they scroll with messaging that works.”

The program equips volunteers with tools, training, and a digital content library to reach their own friends, families, coworkers, and communities — creating a year-round relational organizing structure across the state.

The program will rebuild the Party’s organizing base by recruiting and training thousands of new Precinct Organizers throughout Colorado. We will equip our organizers with cutting edge technology new tactics that makes the world their personal field office.

This builds on the success of the Party’s Colorado County Comeback initiative, which proved that county parties and local organizers best know how to win elections in their own backyards if they have the resources to compete.

Speaker McCluskie and Chair Murib were joined by:

• Justin Wills, AFSCME Legislative and Political Advocate

• Teal Lehto, La Plata County Democratic Party Chair

• Alex Sellers, Eagle County Democrats First Vice Chair and Eagle County Young Dems Co-Chair

• Nina Waters, Summit County Commissioner 

All of them spoke to the need and urgency of the Colorado Democratic Party’s efforts to modernize the way it reaches its most dedicated volunteers and recruits new people across the state from all walks of life, building a party that continues to listen, evolve and out-organize Republicans.

“We organize workers every day, and the key to every successful campaign, whether in a union hall or on the ballot, is trust,”  said Justin Wills, AFSCME Legislative and Political Advocate. 

“A Stronger Colorado puts time-tested organizing tools in the hands of everyday people and raises working folks into the decision-making process. This isn’t just about winning elections, it’s about giving communities the power to shape the solutions they’ve always known we need, and the platform to act on them year-round.”

“In rural counties like mine, we don’t have full-time staff or big budgets, but we have strong community ties. A Stronger Colorado gives us the tools to turn those connections into real political power, and it finally puts rural voices at the center of the organizing strategy," said Teal Lehto, La Plata County Democratic Party Chair.

"It’s also giving us the digital skills and confidence to lead, connect, and organize better than ever before.”

“Here in the mountains of the Western Slope, we’re always looking to turn over new stones and find better ways to organize,” said Alex Sellers, Eagle County Young Democrats Co-Chair.

“The Eagle County Young Democrats have a strong, committed core, and we’re beyond excited to start using Reach to help bridge the gap between passion and action. We’re confident this tool will make it easier than ever for young people to plug in, volunteer, and move our work forward.

“In local government, trust is everything. You earn it by showing up, listening to residents, solving problems, and being accessible," said Nina Waters, Summit County Commissioner.

"A Stronger Colorado brings that same approach to reinvigorating our Party: no gatekeepers, just real people leading with values, organizing with new tools, and uniting communities across every part of the state—rural or urban. This is how we build a party that can reflect and serve its people.”

Watch and download a recording of the press conference, both video and audio, here.