DENVER — The speculation continues to grow as to the real reason Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan announced his retirement on Wednesday.

Was it to spend more time with his kids? Was he tired with the job as speaker? Did he fear a Democratic wave in November?

While Ryan is denying it has anything to do with Democrats, some are reading it as the beginning of a wave.

“It is the clearest sign that we’ve seen that the Democrats are going to win,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., told Politico, “I’ve been saying, ‘I don’t quite see the wave, but I’m starting to feel the mist.’ Now I’m starting to see the wave.”

If there is in fact a wave, in Colorado the Republican trying to avoid getting drenched is Congressman Mike Coffman.

His district was won by Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and currently the demographics favor Democrats.

According to officials, there are 157,000 unaffiliated voters registered in the district, 145,000 registered Democrats and 138,000 registered Republicans.

But Coffman has perceived as vulnerable before — most recently in 2016 — yet he still won. In fact, Coffman won by more than 34,000 votes in 2016.

“I ran the state treasurer campaign against him in 1998. We got killed largely because he goes out and talks to Democrats and he’s a likable individual,” political analyst Andy Boian said.

“But I still think he is going to face an uphill battle. The House may actually flip; it’s not a total fallacy that Democrats could take over the House this time.”

“This is the same thing that Mike’s detractors say every time,” Coffman campaign manager Tyler Sandberg said. “Every event spells his doom. If it’s a cloudy day, it means Mike is going to lose. If there’s war in the Middle East, it means Mike is going to lose.

“The truth is Mike wins because his voters value his independence and his unparalleled work ethic.”