Don't Blame Young Coloradans for Socialism. Give Them Their Future Back.

By Buddy Jericho

I recently returned from traveling across Colorado’s Western Slope with gubernatorial candidate

Victor Marx and his lieutenant governor running mate, George Markert. Along the way, I spent

time talking with families, ranchers, small-business owners, workers and young people. The data

suggest that feeling is widespread.

A recent statewide survey of registered Colorado voters found that roughly one in ten now

identifies politically as socialist. Another Colorado poll found that 80% of voters believe the

American Dream is harder to attain today than it was a generation ago. A Colorado Health

Foundation survey found that 76% of Coloradans worry about whether they will be able to afford

to continue living in this state.

Those numbers deserve more than a partisan reaction.

It is easy to look at the growing appeal of socialist ideas, particularly among younger Americans,

and dismiss it as entitlement or a lack of understanding of free enterprise.

That explanation is too simple.

Consider a 27-year-old teacher, deputy sheriff, mechanic or nurse in Colorado. That person may

be working full time, paying rent, buying groceries, carrying insurance and trying to save for the

future.

Then rent rises. Groceries cost more. Insurance costs more. A starter home that once seemed

attainable begins to feel distant.

Eventually, a reasonable question emerges:

What exactly am I working toward?

That question matters.

The danger is not that young Coloradans suddenly stopped believing in America. It is that too

many may no longer believe America’s promises are available to them.

That does not make socialism the answer. But it helps explain why arguments for a

fundamentally different economic system can find an audience.

Colorado has become a difficult place for many working families to build a life. Housing costs

have climbed sharply. Everyday expenses continue to strain household budgets. Starting a family

can feel financially daunting. For younger Coloradans, milestones that previous generations

considered ordinary increasingly can feel out of reach.

There is also a question of public trust.

Consider the I-70 Floyd Hill project.

In 2018, Colorado voters rejected Proposition 110, a statewide tax increase whose proposed

transportation project list included substantial funding for Floyd Hill improvements.

The need for safer infrastructure was real. But voters rejected that particular funding approach.

Three years later, the legislature adopted a transportation package relying in part on new and

expanded fees, and Gov. Jared Polis signed it at Floyd Hill. The project subsequently moved

forward through a combination of state and federal funding.

Voters never cast a direct ballot on whether Floyd Hill itself should be improved, and that

distinction matters. But so does the broader question of whether people believe government

respects the message they send at the ballot box.

When citizens believe government simply finds another mechanism after voters reject one

approach, confidence can erode.

Public safety adds another dimension.

Colorado recorded meaningful declines in violent crime and property crime in 2025. Those

improvements should be acknowledged, and law enforcement deserves credit for progress.

At the same time, Coloradans spent years dealing with concerns involving vehicle theft, fentanyl,

homelessness, disorder and neighborhood safety. Those experiences do not disappear

immediately when statewide statistics begin improving.

This combination of economic pressure, public-safety concerns and declining trust helps explain

why Victor Marx frequently talks about three priorities:

Affordability. Safety. Accountability.

Those three words do not explain every challenge facing Colorado. They are a framework for

understanding many of the concerns we hear across the state.

Affordability asks whether working families can still build a life here.

Safety asks whether people feel secure in the communities they call home.

Accountability asks whether citizens believe their government listens to them and uses public

resources responsibly.

The growing appeal of socialism should not become an excuse to insult younger Coloradans.

It should prompt a more serious question about why confidence has been lost.

Young people do not need to be told everything is fine when their experience tells them

otherwise. They need reason to believe that work still leads somewhere.

They need to believe homeownership remains possible, raising a family in Colorado remains

realistic, and effort, responsibility and persistence can still produce a better life.

If we want young Coloradans to believe in the American Dream, we cannot simply tell them it

still exists.

We have to build a state where hard work can still lead to a home, a family, security and a future

they can call their own.