Independent candidates will test just how anti-party Colorado voters are this election

It appears Colorado will have a three-way race for governor.

Former Republican Congressman Greg Lopez, who is running for governor as an independent, says the Secretary of State's Office has certified him for the ballot.

Last Friday, Doctor Shimon Blau also qualified as an independent in the 1st Congressional District, which encompasses Denver.

While independent candidates are underdogs in most races, CBS Colorado analysts Mike Dino, a Democrat, and Dick Wadhams, a Republican, say don't count them out.

For years, Coloradans have been moving away from the two major parties and registering as unaffiliated.

This year, with the rise in democratic socialist candidates on the left and MAGA candidates on the right, unaffiliated voters are giving independent candidates serious consideration.

"The so-called major parties are no longer major when it comes to elections. They're minor parties," said Lopez.

As the only independent candidate running for governor, Lopez says he represents the largest voting bloc in the state; 51% of Coloradans are unaffiliated and they're the reason he made the ballot.

He needed 8,000 signatures. He says the Secretary of State's Office certified nearly 12,000 and 44% of them came from unaffiliated voters.

"I'm not going to listen to political bosses. I'm not going to listen to the special interest groups. I'm going to listen to the people," Lopez said.

Polls show people in Colorado -- and across the country -- are fed-up with both major parties. But Dino and Wadhams say that doesn't mean they won't vote for them. They say it's still an uphill climb for independents.

"I always think of the movie 'Dumb and Dumber' where one of the most famous lines is 'You're saying I got a chance?' And it's not a big chance," Dino said.

Independents often lack the big money that comes with big party backing. But Dino and Wadhams say Lopez could still siphon off a significant number of votes from Republican Victor Marx, a confessed killer who says he performs exorcisms by phone.

"I'm very intrigued by Greg Lopez right now," said Wadhams. "I think there's a whole reservoir of Republicans who are very concerned about where the Republican party is generally, and now that we've nominated what I think is a fraudulent candidate in Victor Marx, It think they're looking for a safe harbor."

Wadhams and Dino say the same is true in Congressional District 1 where Blau says she's running to prevent Democratic socialist Melat Kiros from winning.

While Blau plans to caucus as a Democrat, Wadhams says, he may pick up Republican votes, too.

"I think a lot of thinking Republicans will say 'Wait a minute, this Republican has no chance to win this race. We can help keep a Democratic socialist out of Congress if we vote for the doctor.'"

This election, perhaps more than any other to-date, will test just how strong the anti-party sentiment is.

"It's coming. It's coming," said Lopez. "People want independent candidates. They no longer want to hear about the Ds or the Rs."

And he says he's focused on the issues unaffiliated voters care about most, including housing, education, crime, and water.

"I'm not here to play politics. I'm here for people. And I'm going to put people over politics," Boyd said.

Dino and Wadhams say it's only a matter of time before Colorado has open -- or jungle -- primaries, where all candidates, regardless of party, are on one ballot and the top two vote getters advance to the general election. They say, within the next decade, independent candidates will be winning races up and down the ballot in Colorado.