Colorado Politics

 Can deliberation save democracy? | Vince Bzdek

In September 2019, 523 Americans traveled to Dallas for an experiment called “America in One Room.” The gathering was designed to test a theory: Could representative citizens deliberate productively even in an era of intense polarization? The event took place...

 Redistricting scheme would give Colorado Democrats seven House members, split El Paso County | Bob Loevy

A proposed redistricting plan, which could give Colorado seven Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives and only one Republican, would split El Paso County into two parts and thereby weaken the county’s influence in Congress. El Paso County,...

 Colorado Democrats, Republicans fight over ballot fiscal information

Republicans and Democrats clashed anew over legislation that would require identifying which programs would see a funding reduction if a ballot measure passed, with the former saying it’s yet another way for the government to control the campaign narrative and...

 Democrat Dwayne Romero jumps in primary to challenge Republican Jeff Hurd in Colorado’s 3rd CD

The Democrat who has been running for nearly a year to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District got some company in the primary this week. Dwayne Romero, a Snowmass Village business owner and decorated Army...

 Colorado’s congressional redistricting proposal could flip three Republican House seats | ANALYSIS

A Democrat-backed proposal to redraw Colorado’s congressional map for the 2028 election could flip three Republican districts. The proposal, introduced by a group called Coloradans for a Level Playing Field, is yet another development in a national redistricting debate after...

 Judge declines to block potential Boebert challenger from going through assembly process in Colorado’s 4th CD 

Congressional candidate Eileen Laubacher, one of the Democrats seeking to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, can participate in the party’s caucuses and assemblies pending a court hearing later this month, a Denver judge ruled Tuesday in response to a...

 Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ignites fierce debate after raising clemency questions in Tina Peters case

Gov. Jared Polis ignited a political firestorm Tuesday night after weighing in on the prison sentences of two former Colorado officials — a Democrat and a Republican — convicted of attempting to influence a public servant. The comments quickly fueled...

 Bills on ballot access, dual office ban move swiftly through Colorado legislature

With an eye on the 2026 election cycle and mounting tensions with the Trump administration, Colorado lawmakers are fast-tracking a pair of election bills they say will protect the state’s mail ballot system and tighten rules for elected officials. The...

 Colorado GOP chair Brita Horn loses ‘no-confidence’ vote, vows to refocus on ‘mending that divide’

The Colorado Republican Party’s state central committee approved a resolution expressing “no confidence” in state chair Brita Horn in a landslide late Monday night near the end of an online meeting marked by rancor and confusion. Almost 80% of the...

 Primary rival sues to prevent Democrat Eileen Laubacher from going through assembly in Colorado’s 4th CD

Democratic congressional candidate Trish Calvarese on Monday asked a judge to prevent one of her primary rivals, Eileen Laubacher, from participating in the caucus and assembly process to seek the nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s...

 Colorado Senate swears in Adrienne Benavidez after district vacancy win

Sen. Adrienne Benavidez, a Democrat from Adams County, was sworn in Monday to the Colorado Senate, just four days after winning a vacancy election in District 21. She was sworn in by Colorado Court of Appeals Justice Lino S. Lipinsky...

 Democrat Michael Bennet turns in petitions for Colorado’s gubernatorial primary, plans to skip caucuses

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democratic candidate for governor, submitted nominating petitions for Colorado’s June primary ballot on Friday, his campaign and the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said. Bennet plans to rely on his petitions to get on the...

 Former House member picked to fill Senate vacancy in Colorado

A vacancy committee on Thursday night chose a former House legislator to replace former Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, who resigned on Feb. 13 to become the director of the David and Laura Merage Foundation for Combating Antisemitism. Adrienne Benavidez —...

 Colorado delegation’s plus-one picks convey messages at Donald Trump’s State of the Union | TRAIL MIX

It’s become a tradition for members of Congress to deliver messages of their own at the State of the Union address, though this year none of the Colorado lawmakers shouted at the president during the speech, nor did the delegation...

 Colorado Democrat John Hickenlooper becomes first statewide candidate to submit nominating petitions

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper on Thursday became the first statewide candidate to submit petition signatures for Colorado’s June Democratic primary, according to his campaign and the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. Seeking reelection to a second term, Hickenlooper is facing...

 Colorado lawmakers react along partisan lines to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address

President Donald Trump could have been describing two different countries in Tuesday’s State of the Union address — one entering a “Golden Age” and the other enduring daily stress under a “lawless” regime — at least as far as the...

 Colorado group files 6 ballot measures to counter redistricting proposals backed by Democrats

A half-dozen congressional redistricting ballot measures were filed Friday by a Colorado advocacy group in response to proposals filed last week from a group seeking to flip three Republican-held U.S. House seats in two years. “The gist of it is...

 Trump pulls endorsement from Jeff Hurd over tariffs, backs Colorado Republican’s primary challenger

President Donald Trump on Saturday rescinded his endorsement of U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd and threw his support behind the Colorado Republican’s primary challenger, Hope Scheppelman, citing the first-term incumbent’s “lack of support” for the administration’s tariff policy. The move comes...

 At least 6 candidates vying to replace former Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet

Sometime in the next 24 days, a vacancy committee for Senate District 21 will hold an election to choose a successor to former Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City. Michaelson Jenet resigned on Feb. 13 to take a job as...

 In a meeting Colorado GOP chair Brita Horn calls ‘illegal,’ Republicans vote to demand her resignation

Roughly half the membership of the Colorado Republican Party’s state central committee on Saturday voted overwhelmingly to approve a resolution expressing “no confidence” in state GOP Chairman Brita Horn’s leadership and calling for her immediate resignation in an online meeting...

 Democrats Michael Bennet, Phil Weiser make their cases to be Colorado’s next governor ahead of primary

Nearly eight months before ballots will be counted in Colorado’s race for the its open gubernatorial seat, voters are lining up behind two of the state’s leading Democrats, who are facing off in a primary that will likely determine which...

 Colorado GOP officers set competing meetings to hold ‘no-confidence’ votes on state chair Brita Horn

Once again, members of the Colorado Republican Party’s central committee have scheduled separate, competing meetings to consider whether the state GOP’s governing body supports its chair, but this time neither meeting will be held under a bridge. State GOP Chair...

 Colorado Democratic candidate submitted 1,600 signatures — only 29 were valid

When he turned in some 1,600 signatures last month, Eric Nelson said it demonstrated “strong grassroots support from voters” across the district and a “growing momentum” for his “inclusive, community-centered leadership.” On Thursday, the Secretary of State rejected Nelson’s petition...

 U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet: ‘It’s right to suspend’ wolf program in Colorado

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who is running for governor, told a newspaper this month that he favors suspending Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program. “I think it’s right to suspend it for now and to try to see whether there’s any way...

 Hickenlooper endorsed by Planned Parenthood Action, environmental group in Colorado’s U.S. Senate race

A pair of progressive national groups that advocate for abortion rights and fighting climate change have endorsed U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper’s bid for reelection, with both calling the Colorado Democrat a proven fighter for their causes. Planned Parenthood Action Fund...

 Colorado title board OKs language of ballot measure to privatize Pinnacol Assurance

The state’s title board on Wednesday unanimously voted to approve the wording of a ballot measure that would allow Pinnacol Assurance, the state’s workers’ compensation insurance provider of last resort, to privatize. Behind ballot measure No. 218 is Colorado Succeeds,...

 National redistricting fight reaches Colorado with ballot measures targeting GOP-held congressional districts

A Democratic-aligned group backed by the House Majority PAC filed four versions of a 2026 ballot measure Tuesday that would temporarily suspend Colorado’s independent congressional redistricting commission and redraw the state’s map in an effort to flip three Republican-held U.S....

 Ballot measure seeks to enshrine ‘right to know’ government affairs in Colorado Constitution

A ballot measure filed Friday would enshrine people’s “fundamental right to know” the affairs of governments, thereby overturning a 2024 law that, critics said, now allows lawmakers to shield their activities from the public. Supported by by groups that aren’t...

 Democrat Shannon Bird qualifies by petition for primary ballot in Colorado’s toss-up 8th CD

Former state Rep. Shannon Bird has qualified for the Democratic primary ballot in Colorado’s hotly contested 8th Congressional District by submitting a sufficient number of petition signatures, state election officials said this week. The winner of the Democrats’ June 30...

 ‘There will be costs,’ warns Jason Crow after failed indictments for ‘illegal orders’ video | TRAIL MIX

U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, the Aurora Democrat who represents Colorado’s 6th Congressional District, signaled this week that he’s considering pursuing legal action against members of the Trump administration after a federal grand jury in Washington declined to indict Crow and...