Graciela “Chela” Garcia Irlando is running for the Democratic nomination for Colorado’s 34th Senate District in the 2026 primaries.
SD34 covers downtown Denver, spanning about 26 square miles and home to about 166,000 people, according to the U.S. Census.
Also running in the state Senate primary are Michael Guzman and Andres Carrera.
The district is currently represented by state Sen. Julie Gonzales, who has held the seat since 2019 and is term-limited. Gonzales announced in December her bid to challenge U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, also a Democrat.
Who is Chela Garcia Irlando?
Garcia Irlando, 33, is a mom and an executive at an environmental nonprofit. She comes from multiple generations of Coloradans.
Her grandfather was repatriated to Mexico in the 1930s. Her grandmother came to the U.S. as a housekeeper, and her father didn’t attend high school, but put himself through community college and eventually medical school.
“I'm just really proud of my roots, and it has given me a deep sense of accountability, not only to my community, but to the next generation,” she said in an interview.
She and her husband are raising two kids in the Barnum neighborhood, where they pay $40,000 in yearly childcare expenses. That’s a focus of her campaign.
“My husband and I are raising our kids here and we're doing everything, but we still feel squeezed from every direction. We budget carefully. I drive a 13-year-old car and we still feel the strain every single month,” she said. “And I really believe a dignified life should be within reach where families aren't pushed out of their neighborhoods, where wages cover the bills and everyone has access to health care, food and an education without lifelong debt.”
She added that she’s tired of families being told that what they’re going through is normal.
Garcia Irlando said her top priority is affordability in all aspects.
“Wages aren’t keeping up with reality,” she said.
What’s her experience?
Garcia Irlando is the executive director of the Next 100 Coalition, a national environmental nonprofit.
Previously, she was the executive director of the Colorado Democratic Latino Caucus, where she served Latino state legislators at the state's Capitol during the pandemic. During her time in that role, she organized and helped launch the first Colorado Latino policy agenda.
She also established the Colorado chapter of Latino Outdoors and was a founding leader of Brown Girls Climb, a national nonprofit that aims to bring all women, especially women of color, into the world of rock climbing. In 2018, she ran the campaign of Denver Councilmember Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez.
Garcia Irlando says her work in politics began with her mother, who used to run campaigns.
“I was always stuffing envelopes, writing postcards after school, leading phone banking and canvassing teams when I was a teenager,” she said. “I've been knocking doors for voter registration and ballot initiatives in this district since 2006.”
She has the endorsement of Sen. Gonzales and others.
She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in international affairs and Chicano studies, as well as a master’s degree from CU in environmental studies.
Her take on the state and national Democratic Party
She said that Democratic candidates and leaders need to show up and deliver results for everyday people.
“I know people are angry and frustrated — because they're working harder and harder and falling further and further behind. That anger is justified,” she said.
She said she treats the Democratic Party as a mechanism for change and as a tool to improve people’s lives.
“The people leading the Democratic Party at the national and state level are accountable to us. The party itself is malleable, and that is why we need progressive champions at all levels of civic engagement within the party and municipal government and the state legislature to begin building the bench of what we want to see our party look like in our next chapter,” she said.
Where to find more information
Her campaign website can be found here. She can also be found on Instagram and Facebook.
