Updated at 2:52 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026
Rayna Kingston announced Jan. 5 that she is pulling out of the race for House District 5 in the Colorado legislature.
Kingston, a local social-media influencer and activist, was one of four candidates vying in the Democratic primary for the district representing central Denver.
“This decision was so hard. We were raising the money, we had the volunteers, and the momentum was there. But in the process of running, I became more and more unconvinced that my impact would be better inside the system than outside the system,” Kingston said in a video published to social media. “Through my meetings with so many politicians, it became really clear to me that our system is really broken, even here in Colorado.”
Three other candidates are running in the primary: Justine Sandoval, Trevor Jones and Thaddeus Clayton. They hope to replace Democratic state Rep. Alex Valdez, who is term-limited.
Kingston said she plans to continue community work through her organizations, the Denver Activists Women's Group and Hi Neighbor.
“Right now my real power is in community organization and grassroots activism,” Kingston said in the video, which was published to one of her TikTok accounts. “So while I'm really sad to be stepping away from this race, I also am very excited to see the impact I continue to make.”
In an interview with Denverite, Kingston said that she learned a lot during her run. She added that she plans to stay involved in local politics and work towards making it more accessible for everyone.
“A lot of people have asked if I’ll run again, and to that I say never say never,” she told Denverite.
Kingston, 29, lives in Sunnyside. She has grown a following on TikTok and Instagram, where she goes by Rayna King. She has been a self-employed influencer since 2022, according to her LinkedIn profile.
“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 told Denverite in November. “And so I was like, that's what I feel called to do.”
Kingston reported raising about $13,000, while Sandoval has reported raising about $14,000.
She runs one group, Hi Neighbor, that hosts events like Halloween parties around Denver. 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 President Donald Trump won the 2024 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. The group sprang from an Instagram post in which Kingston asked if other women were feeling similarly upset or hopeless by Trump’s election, and how they should react.
“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.
“I'm locked in and ready to continue to show up,” Kingston said in her campaign-ending video. “Can't get rid of me yet, this isn't the end. Just another beginning.”
The primary is in June. The winner will move on to the general election in November.
