Editorial vagaries being what they are around the holidays, there is a chance you will be reading this on Christmas Day. If that is the case, stop. Otherwise, you will most likely be reading this on Boxing Day, which for most of you is not really a thing. In any case, herewith a few observations on Colorado’s political climate at the change of the year:

The most important political event of 2024 was, of course, the election (again) of Donald J. Trump as president. All politics is local, we are constantly reminded, but Washington D.C. is fiercely jealous of its influence. The presumed policies of a second Trump administration are already having a local effect, as demonstrated by the over-reaction of some local officials to the incoming administrations promise to enforce immigration law.

It is inescapable, given the rearrangements in American national governance during the past century, for a change in federal government to have an oversized effect on local concerns. These will likely be at least somewhat mixed. The re-ignition of regulatory reform and revitalization of a competent national energy policy will benefit the economy of the entire country, including Colorado whether it wants to benefit or not. The relocation of the Bureau of Land Management to Grand Junction, if it can be pulled off, would also be a generally major benefit, both to Grand Junction and the lands the bureau manages. Conversely, Trump’s tariff plan, of which the most economically aggressive liberal Democrat of yesteryear could dare only dream of, will have, er, less certain benefits.

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Defense policy could bear its own outsized effect on the state, beyond a pointless political jousting match concerning the U.S. Space Command. If Trump follows through on his “peace through strength” platform, he will need to focus intently on the “strength” aspect — meaning serious reinvestment in the military. It will be interesting to see how this squares with Elon Musk’s government efficiency agenda, but one hopes his priorities are in order. Colorado is home to several bases and several important elements of the U.S. Army, Air Force and Space Force, and will be effected either way.

Speaking of defense, it is refreshing to report Congressman-elect Jeff Crank (how pleasing that phrase is to hear) has been assigned to the House Armed Services Committee. For a freshman representative to receive such a powerful assignment is a rare honor, but in this instance also rather a no-brainer — Crank served as U.S. Rep. Joel Hefley’s Armed Services staffer, so he knows the job, and at any rate there are five bases in his district. In any case, for this reason and so many others, Crank will be a tremendous asset to Colorado in Congress.

What’s more, he will be joined by two equally able and competent freshman companions in the majority, Congressmen-elect Gabe Evans and Jeff Hurd. Hurd is posted, quite appropriately, to the Committee on Natural Resources, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Evans, in another legislative coup for the state, has landed a spot on the influential Energy and Commerce Committee, another rare honor for a freshman. This powerhouse trio promises to offer an influential, diligent and effective voice for the state in D.C.

Closer to home, Trump’s election will likely exert unique gravitational pulls at the state Capitol. The Democrats have retained their grip on the building, albeit with a somewhat smaller majority in the House, but will nevertheless be swayed by something of a reactive impulse. The primary elections moderated the Democratic caucus to a certain extent, but there is an inherent motivation to shield the state from what they view as harmful policies emanating from the Trump administration, an impulse which could exert an otherwise latent leftward force. This could reveal itself in any number of ways, but an early one may be an ideological battle brewing over a proposed bill to essentially undo the decades-old Labor Peace Act.

Yet by far the biggest legislative elephant in the room for the upcoming session is the roughly $1 billion hole in the state budget. Yes, recent reports have diluted that down to only $600-and-some-odd-million, but those revised figures are not accounting for supplemental requests, including Medicaid. Resolving this deficit and balancing the budget will require, and perhaps catalyze, some bipartisan collaboration, but will also set up some philosophical combat over priorities — and raise the unwelcome specter of new taxes: forged, of course, as “fees.”

For mainly practical reasons, I impose strict limits on my predictive capacities, but I permit myself this one: in the year ahead problems will persist, new ones will erupt, mistakes will be made and the Republic will thrive in spite of it all. Happy Boxing Day.

Kelly Sloan is a political and public affairs consultant and a recovering journalist based in Denver.