‘I’ll settle for not crazy’: Denver business leaders brace for socialist shift after big win for DSA

Affordability was a top concern for voters who helped launch democratic socialist candidate Melat Kiros to victory in Denver's Democratic primary in June, defeating 15-term incumbent Diana DeGette.

But as democratic socialists gain momentum in Colorado, business owners are grappling with how their progressive policies may collide with the actual costs of running a business in Denver.

"With DSA specifically, I think that too many times, the rhetoric sounds great until it meets the economic realities," J.J.

Ament, president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, told Fox News Digital.

"And by the way, the basic laws of economics, they still apply even at altitude." Ament runs the oldest and largest chamber of commerce in Colorado, representing the business community.

The chamber is nonpartisan and has members from both sides of the political spectrum, he said.

While the chamber does not endorse individual candidates, Ament noted that it does participate at the member level to promote pragmatic, pro-business candidates, and promote free enterprise and free-market policies.

COLORADO'S SOCIALIST SURGE SHAKES UP THE DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT "I tell people sort of as a joke, but not really, that I want pro-business.

I'll settle for not crazy," he said.

Colorado, according to Ament, has changed significantly over the past decade or more as the state has come under single-party Democratic control, shifting from one of the top 10 states for business to a place where increasing regulations and higher taxes have made it more difficult to operate a business.

"Those risks could be created whether it's single-party control by Republicans or single-party controlled by Democrats," Ament said.

"The reality is where everybody thinks the same, very little thinking actually occurs.

And so the trend has been to more regulation, higher fees and taxes, the cost of doing business." He added that as the city has grown and housing has not kept up, affordability has become a crucial issue, driving up the costs of running a business.

GROCERY BOSS WARNS MAMDANI'S CITY-RUN STORES PIT GOVERNMENT AGAINST 'ITS OWN CITIZENS' As DSA-backed candidates took seats on the Denver City Council in 2023, the chamber warned that Colorado was becoming "increasingly hostile to business." Kiros' platform calls for a number of policies affecting the economy, including raising corporate taxes and the federal minimum wage.