Rayna Kingston is running for the Democratic nomination for House District 5 in the 2026 primaries.
House District 5 covers central Denver. The seat is currently held by Democratic state Rep. Alex Valdez, who is term-limited.
Kingston and two other candidates have announced their campaigns for the seat. Denverite plans to profile candidates in this and other local statehouse races. Kingston is currently running against Justine Sandoval and Thaddues Clayton.
Who is Rayna Kingston?
Kingston, 29, lives in Sunnyside. Kingston is a self-described local and community activist. She has grown a following on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where she goes by Rayna King. According to her LinkedIn profile, she’s been a self-employed influencer since 2022.
“I think that we should get local community leaders back in office, people who actually know their neighbors and are known in the community for making positive change even outside of politics,” Kingston said. “And so I was like, that's what I feel called to do.”
She’s from Littleton and double majored in political science and environmental studies at Denison University in Ohio.
She said her No. 1 priority is getting people to care about local politics first. She said she wants to use her platform to get people to focus on local issues that directly affect them.
“I think sometimes we're so focused on the federal government, but we need to start knowing our representatives and we need to start having some accountability there,” Kingston said. “And I really just want to get people to care again.”
She pointed to air quality, affordability and supporting local businesses as her main concerns.
What’s her experience?
Kingston runs two community groups.
She runs one group, Hi Neighbor, that hosts events like Halloween parties, in different Denver communities each month. She said the goal is to get people out and to meet their neighbors.
“My whole MO is to make Denver less lonely.” Kingston said.
She also started the Denver Activist Women’s Group (DAWG) after the 2024 presidential election. She said she posted an Instagram story, asking other women if she was feeling the same way she did and if they wanted to do something about it.
“I truly thought maybe 30 people would respond and instead 500 did. And then from that it just kept growing bigger and bigger,” Kingston said. “We're over 3,000 women strong right now.”
According to Kingston, DAWG regularly hosts meetings with local nonprofits.
On TikTok, King describes herself as “Denver’s event plug,” focusing much of her content on things to do around Denver, as well as her advocacy work.
Kingston’s take on the state and national Democratic party
Kingston is running for the Democratic nomination, but she doesn’t consider herself part of the establishment Democratic Party. She is a self-proclaimed progressive.
But she believes Democrats need to get their best communicators back in office. She said the left is lagging behind the Republican Party in developing a coordinated social media and mass media strategy.
“We need to get people who can reach the people where they are, who already have the trust of the people and stop putting in these institutional Democrats who are just going to be more of the same,” Kingston said. “We need to throw out the playbook and invite new people into the circle that haven't been there before because we're not going to win.”
As for the state party, Kingston thinks a push for progressive politics would help the party. She pointed to progressive Democrats like Zohran Mamdani, New York City's mayor-elect, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Those people weren't institutional Dems and are progressives. And I really think we have to push more for progressive politics,” Kingston said. “I don't really think middle-of-the-road Democrats are going to get us anywhere.”
Her campaign
Kingston has been using social media to promote her campaign. She’s been posting on TikTok and Instagram, where she recently announced that she was running.
She also has a campaign website.
