She spent months rallying the cannabis industry around one big idea: that Washington needed someone who had actually built a cannabis business from the ground up. On primary night in Denver, voters answered. Wanda James, the first Black woman in America to legally own a cannabis dispensary, finished a distant third in Colorado’s most-watched primary, ending a bold push to put the marijuana industry’s own voice directly in Congress.
How Primary Night Played Out in Denver
Colorado’s Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District was held on June 30, 2026, and the results were striking on multiple levels. Democratic socialist Melat Kiros won convincingly with 51.3% of the vote, unseating 15-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, who received 41.7%. James finished far behind with just 7%.
- Melat Kiros: 51.3% of the vote
- Diana DeGette (15-term incumbent): 41.7% of the vote
- Wanda James (cannabis operator, CU Regent): 7% of the vote
Kiros, a 29-year-old attorney and Ph.D. student who had never held elected office, is now poised to become the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress. The district covers most of metropolitan Denver and leans heavily Democratic, making her path to a November win a strong one. For James, primary night carried a different weight. In an email blast to supporters, she wrote that what they built together “was never just about one election.” She said her grassroots campaign proved that a community funded by real people can compete against decades of institutional power. She will continue serving as a University of Colorado regent, a role she has held since 2023 and a position she will hold through 2029.
The Money Gap That Proved Too Wide
Despite making direct and repeated appeals to the national cannabis industry to fund her campaign, James could not close the financial distance between herself and her opponents.
| Candidate | Funds Raised | Funds Spent |
|---|---|---|
| Wanda James | $291,448 | $265,718 |
| Melat Kiros | $660,193 | N/A |
| Diana DeGette | $1,400,000 | N/A |
James raised less than one-fifth of what the 15-term incumbent brought in, a gap that no amount of grassroots energy could fully close. James qualified for the ballot through petition signatures. Kiros had earned the top ballot slot by winning 67% of the delegate vote at the Denver party assembly. James also managed to win notable endorsements, including backing from former U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, and former state House Speaker Terrance Carroll. But endorsements could not offset a nearly five-to-one fundraising disadvantage against the incumbent. Cannabis industry supporters did rally around her, with industry veterans contributing to her campaign. One supporter said James was someone who “does not step away from a fight,” calling her exactly the type of voice the sector needed in Washington. The money, however, did not follow at the scale the campaign needed.
Full Legalization Was Always the Core of Her Campaign
While housing costs, education, and healthcare were also on her platform, cannabis legalization was the beating heart of everything Wanda James stood for in this race.
“Full-on legalization is the only real answer. It’s the one thing that fixes all the problems: 280E, SAFE banking, landlord gouging, and access to capital.”
— Wanda James, during her congressional campaign
When the Department of Justice moved to reclassify state-legal medical cannabis to Schedule III in April 2026, James acknowledged it as a step forward. But she was precise about its limits. She argued rescheduling does not fix the punishing Section 280E tax provision that bars cannabis businesses from deducting normal operating expenses. It does not solve the SAFE banking problem that leaves cannabis companies locked out of basic financial services. It does not end the access-to-capital drought that strangles operators daily. Having spent over 15 years running dispensaries, grow facilities, and an edibles company, James understood these problems in ways that most politicians simply do not. She pledged that on her very first day in Congress, she would introduce a bill to fully remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act. She hired Neal Levine, a longtime cannabis reform movement veteran and former Marijuana Policy Project leader, as her campaign manager to make that promise real. Her view was direct and uncompromising. “When closed-door sessions happen, even well-meaning politicians who support us often don’t know how to pivot around the nuances of cannabis policy,” she said. “I do. I have lived it.”
What This Loss Means for Cannabis and Washington
The result forces a hard question the industry has circled for years: Can cannabis money and cannabis passion actually win American elections? James was as qualified as any candidate could realistically be. She was the first Black woman in the United States to legally own a cannabis dispensary. She was the first Black woman elected to the CU Board of Regents in more than four decades. She is a US Navy veteran who served from 1986 to 1991. She was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Cannabis. No other congressional candidate in the country could match that combination of lived experience and political track record. And yet, the vote total was unambiguous. With only 7% at the polls, the industry’s financial and moral support simply did not convert enough regular Democratic primary voters. The uncomfortable truth is that cannabis remains one of many issues for most voters, even in a city like Denver where recreational marijuana has been normalized for years. As federal rescheduling hearings continue and critical decisions around 280E, SAFE banking, and full descheduling move forward, the cannabis industry still has no operator-level voice sitting in Congress. Kiros, who won on a broadly progressive platform, may prove sympathetic to cannabis reform. But being sympathetic and being an industry insider are two very different things. The distinction matters enormously when the details of legislation get written in committee rooms most voters never see. Wanda James ran a campaign that consistently punched above its weight. She proved that a grassroots effort built on real people and real experience can challenge decades of institutional power and demand to be heard. For the cannabis industry, her loss is a sobering reminder that fighting for a cause and winning an election require very different kinds of energy, strategy, and resources. She will keep her CU regent seat, and those who know her well have little doubt she will keep fighting. But the seat in Denver that could have changed everything goes to someone else, and the industry’s dream of having one of its own at the table in Washington will have to wait at least another election cycle. Share your thoughts on what this means for the future of cannabis policy in the comments below.