SONDERMANN SPECIAL | Colorado politicos to watch
Columnist Eric Sondermann took a look at the respective benches in both the Republican and Democratic parties and consulted leading consultants and operatives to determine a number of up-and-comers in each party.
This week, you’ll find two columns, one assessing the rocky road ahead for Republicans and another showing how the cup runneth over for Democrats. (Mobile users, use this link)
Colorado needs a sane, viable opposition party | SONDERMANN
By Eric Sondermann
by-eric-sondermann@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 days ago
If you are upset with the increasing regulatory burden in Colorado, the exodus of too many large employers, accelerating property taxes, the condition of the roads, and all of the funding for transit schemes with low demand, of course, you...
Colorado Politics Calendar May 11-17
Rachael Wright, Special to Colorado Politics
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances,...
NRA carves out early success story battling 1981 Colorado gun legislation | A LOOK BACK
Rachael Wright, Special to Colorado Politics
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
Forty-Five Years Ago This Week: After House Bill 81-1542, which would have mandated detention for juveniles carrying concealed weapons, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Paul Powers, R-Denver, said he had received 45 letters per day denouncing the legislation. And...
It’s almost Sine Die and it can’t come soon enough | Capitol M | Week of May 9, 2026
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
The lighter side of the state Capitol, usually. At first, May the Fourth might have been a bit of a disappointment. Usually, there’s a lot of Star Wars foolishness on this particular day, but early on, it was low-key. The...
TABOR showdown: Senate moves bill forward, Advance Colorado prepares for legal action
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 13 hours ago
Despite objections from legislative staff and Republican opposition, Senate Democrats on Friday moved forward with a proposal to reroute $306 million in taxpayer refunds. Already, critics are preparing to sue over the proposal that seeks to take $300 million in Taxpayer’s...
Colorado governor signs $47 billion budget in which ‘nobody won’
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 13 hours ago
Gov. Jared Polis on Friday officially signed a $46.87 billion spending plan for the Colorado state government in the next fiscal year. His signature is the culmination of months of work by legislators, who resorted to cuts, transfers and other...
Latest Pinnacol proposal shifts sponsors, cuts state benefits and triggers union standoff
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 17 hours ago
Colorado’s long‑running bid to let Pinnacol Assurance break away from state control is suddenly in jeopardy, as a newly revised bill — stripped of the payouts and structural changes once central to the deal — has triggered fresh tensions among...
Denver could be back in DNC spotlight 20 years later
Deborah Grigsby
deborah.smith@denvergazette.com
Updated 18 hours ago
It’s been nearly two decades since Denver shared the spotlight as host to the 2008 Democratic National Convention — and a lot has happened in the city since then. But not major party conventions. In fact, before 2008, Denver hadn’t...
Bill permitting lawsuits against ICE agents reaches Gov. Jared Polis’ desk
Marissa Ventrelli
marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 13 hours ago
Colorado lawmakers advanced two high‑profile measures Thursday — one seeks to reshape how the state manages its strained prison population and another allows Coloradans to sue federal immigration agents for alleged constitutional violations. The state policymakers sent both bills to...
Mike Lindell’s lawyer sanctioned again over flawed case citations
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 19 hours ago
A federal judge financially sanctioned a lawyer for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for a second time on Thursday for including a “materially incorrect citation” in a case filing. U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang imposed a $5,000 fine on...
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Colorado's troubled partnership with California COVID-19 testing firm
Colorado paid more than $89.2 million to a coronavirus testing provider run by an ambitious 25-year-old entrepreneurial college dropout in California. But state officials abruptly severed ties with the company after federal regulators warned that those officials allowed improper use of the test in nursing homes with some of the highest death rates in the […]
SONDERMANN | The Democratic bench: stifled abundance
Editor’s note: Columnist Eric Sondermann analyzes the slate of Colorado’s up and comers. To see his view of the Republican bench, click here. Eric Sondermann Given the predicament facing Colorado Democrats versus the one their Republican opponents find themselves mired in, of course you would prefer the Democratic hand. However, that is a macro observation. […]