
Democrats painted a wide portrait of victories on Election Day. From governor races to city council contests, a winning message resonated.

Signaling a burgeoning youth movement in local Democratic politics, 23-year-old Crystal Murillo won a seat on the traditionally conservative Aurora, Colorado, city council on Tuesday. In the process, she ousted a Republican incumbent and fervent Donald Trump supporter.

Running on a progressive slate with two other campaign newcomers, Murillo is helping to change the face of Colorado politics by having elected officials more accurately reflect the state’s increasingly diverse and youthful population.

Along with Murillos, Nicole Johnston and Allison Hiltz also secured victories in the Aurora race. All three women are graduates of Emerge Colorado, which is part of a nationwide organization that trains Democratic women on how to launch successful political campaigns. Since it was founded in 2002, the group has trained more than 2,500 women across the country.


Aurora is part of the third largest metropolitan region in Colorado. Although the community has become increasingly diverse in recent years, the city council remains overwhelmingly white, Republican, and old.

“The average age among council members is roughly 64 years old, according to voter registration records,” the Aurora Sentinel reported. “The median age in the city is about 37 years old, according to data compiled by Aurora officials.”

Murillo defeated Republican incumbent Sally Mounier by approximately 400 votes. Murillo supports giving Aurora the title of a sanctuary city, Mournier did not.

Last year, Mounier said she had donated twice to the Trump campaign and pledged her continued support after a video surfaced of Trump bragging about having sexually assaulted women.

“I’m 100 percent behind him,” Mounier told a local reporter. “I wish the mainstream media would be a little bit more journalistic and fair rather than beating him on the top of the head.”

Murillo’s family moved to the United States two decades ago from Mexico. She became the first member of her family to graduate high school, and then college, earning a bachelors degree from the University of Denver. She was inspired to run after Trump's win last November, saying his electoral victory was the "catalyst" for her decision to get involved in politics.

“But the more I looked at my own city and my own community, the more I realized that there was a legitimate reason for me to run in Aurora," she said. "Our city council is made up entirely of older, white council members... the community here isn’t reflected."

Her win was part of a larger Democratic mosaic of victories that unfolded Tuesday across the country, as women in particular, and newcomers in general, secured victory after victory and sent a message to Donald Trump's Republican Party.