Colorado Politics

 Colorado Democrats slam Tina Peters’ release, while Republicans cheer

Tina Peters, the former Colorado county clerk convicted of breaching her county’s secure voting equipment, drew cheers from fellow Republicans upon her release from prison Monday after Democratic Gov. Jared Polis commuted her sentence. Other state Democrats, however, said remarks...

 Colorado groups push policies on hunting, taxes, transgender issues this November election

With five initiatives already cleared and many more in the pipeline, Colorado voters will face major policy decisions this fall that would affect their income taxes, how schools deal with transgender athletes, and whether hundreds of millions in funding should...

 Colorado Republicans elect software engineer Craig Steiner to fill vacant state chairman position

The Colorado Republican Party on Saturday elected Craig Steiner to fill the party’s vacant state chair position at a state central committee meeting in Buena Vista, just over a week before primary ballots go out to voters and five months...

 Colorado Democratic attorney general candidates clash over experience and Trump lawsuits

Colorado’s four Democratic candidates for attorney general clashed sharply Thursday night in a debate that repeatedly returned to one theme — whether the state’s top lawyer should be a courtroom veteran or a political fighter. The contenders additionally sparred over...

 Colorado candidates for governor share plans to tackle youth mental health crisis

Three candidates for Colorado’s highest elected office laid out their plans to address the state’s youth mental health crisis during a forum on Thursday. Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, and Republican State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer fielded...

 Colorado advocates unveil youth mental-health ‘playbook’ for next governor

Colorado youth‑mental‑health advocates have released a new “playbook,” urging the next governor to streamline the state’s sprawling system of services and appoint a single leader to oversee them. In addition to hosting a gubernatorial candidate forum on Thursday, Mind Our...

 Colorado’s Democratic attorney general candidates debate in Parker

The four Democrats running for attorney general in Colorado’s June 30 primary are slated to take the stage Thursday night in Parker at a debate sponsored by Colorado Politics, the Denver Gazette and Common Sense Institute. The primary election for...

 Colorado governor candidates confront business climate, housing affordability woes

Four of the five major-party candidates for Colorado governor share common ground on two big issues: they see the perception that Colorado has become less business‑friendly as a serious concern, and they view housing affordability as central to the state’s...

 Republicans Kirkmeyer, Bottoms say they won’t back Marx if he wins Colorado’s gubernatorial primary

Two of the Republicans running for governor of Colorado said Tuesday night in a debate that they won’t support the third candidate if he wins next month’s primary election. State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer and state Rep. Scott Bottoms said that...

 180,000 signatures submitted to put Colorado road funding initiative on November ballot

Organizers of a proposal seeking to dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars to road construction and maintenance have submitted signatures to state election officials in their campaign to put the initiative on the ballot this November. If officials certified the...

 Democrat Evan Munsing suspends campaign in primary to challenge Gabe Evans in Colorado’s 8th CD

Democratic congressional candidate Evan Munsing announced Wednesday that he is suspending his campaign to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado’s most competitive U.S. House district, saying his bid to run as an outsider committed to reform has been...

 Colorado business groups host gubernatorial forum Thursday

Several business groups are hosting a forum among gubernatorial candidates on Thursday morning. The candidates attending are Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, and Republicans Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer and Victor Marx. The forum will take place...

 Gazette, Centennial Institute cosponsoring Republican gubernatorial debate Tuesday

The Gazette and the Centennial Institute are cosponsoring a Republican gubernatorial debate Tuesday at Colorado Christian University, featuring candidates state Rep. Scott Bottoms, a Colorado Springs pastor, and longtime GOP insider state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer. Candidates will field questions on...

 Tina Peters thanks Polis for shortening her sentence, calls Colorado Democrats’ censure a ‘travesty’

Two days after the Colorado Democratic Party formally condemned Gov. Jared Polis over his decision last week to shorten Tina Peters’ prison sentence for tampering with election equipment, Peters heaped praise on the term-limited Democrat and slammed his party for...

 Attorney general candidate Doshi puts ‘Hetal to the metal’ in Colorado Democrat’s 1st TV ad

Democratic attorney general candidate Hetal Doshi makes clear how to pronounce her first name in the former federal prosecutor’s first TV and digital ad, which launched statewide on Friday, just over two weeks before ballots start going out to Colorado...

 Legal filings escalate tensions in Colorado House District 6 Democratic primary

With the Colorado primary just weeks away, the Democratic race in Denver’s House District 6 has erupted into dueling complaints and legal challenges, underscoring the district’s long‑running divide between moderates and progressives. In Denver’s House District 6, the Democratic primary...

 Colorado Democrats formally rebuke Gov. Jared Polis for shortening Tina Peters’ prison sentence

The Colorado Democratic Party on Wednesday formally censured Democratic Gov. Jared Polis for reducing the prison sentence of Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk convicted of election-related felonies, and barred the term-limited governor from speaking or appearing as an...

 Colorado Democrats launch petition to censure Gov. Jared Polis for releasing Tina Peters

Hundreds of Democrats, including party officials and current and former legislators, have signed a petition urging their party to formally censure Gov. Jared Polis over his decision to grant clemency to Tina Peters. The governor’s decision means Peters, the former...

 Democrat John Hickenlooper launches 1st ad in Colorado’s US Senate primary

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper hits screens Tuesday with his reelection campaign’s first statewide ad, recounting highlights of the Colorado Democrat’s business and political career. The 30-second spot, set to air on digital and streaming platforms, lands six weeks before the...

 Colorado county Republican chair arrested in sting on allegations he tried to pay for sex with a child

Hunter Rivera, the 24-year-old chairman of the Weld County Republican Party, was one of two men arrested Thursday on suspicion of trying to buy sex from Larimer County Sheriff’s Office investigators who posed as minors as part of an operation...

 Colorado Gov. Jared Polis grants clemency to Tina Peters, makes her eligible for release from prison

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday granted clemency to Tina Peters and made the former Republican county clerk eligible for release from state prison as soon as early June, capping months of speculation that the Democratic governor would shorten a...

 Grand jury indicts 2 petition circulators in 2024 signature-forgery case

A statewide grand jury has indicted two petition circulators on allegations that they forged signatures while gathering support for a proposed constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot. The Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office said the circulators — Cherell Long...

 Colorado Democrat John Hickenlooper lands support from trio of local labor unions

Three local labor unions endorsed U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper’s bid for reelection this week, calling the Colorado Democrat a proven champion of the state’s workers and their rights. Hickenlooper’s campaign announced endorsements on Tuesday from SMART Sheet Metal Workers Local...

 Colorado lawmakers pass bill negating road-funding ballot measure

Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday approved a last‑minute amendment to a bill crafted to counter a ballot measure requiring that public funds collected for “road transportation” go to “road transportation,” setting up a high‑stakes clash over street funding and public services....

 Colorado Democrat Jason Crow calls on House leadership to ban trading on prediction markets

U.S. Rep. Jason Crow on Monday joined a bipartisan call asking House Speaker Mike Johnson to adopt new rules banning the chamber’s lawmakers, their families and staff from participating in prediction markets, in a move the Aurora Democrat said can...

 Colorado legislators ask voters to forfeit thousands in TABOR refunds, redirect money to school spending

A Democratic‑backed proposal to direct money to K‑12 schools using Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights dollars is headed to the ballot, setting up a major debate over taxpayer refunds and long‑term education funding. If voters approve it, the average Coloradan would...

 Colorado legislators abandon proposal targeting natural gas initiative

Colorado lawmakers pulled back plans to counter a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right of consumers to use natural gas. The bill’s backers said the legislation would not have significantly affected the initiative’s impact, even as debate intensifies among environmental...

 Colorado Politics’ 8th CD primary debate canceled after Democrat Shannon Bird withdraws 

Organizers on Tuesday canceled next week’s Democratic primary debate in Colorado’s toss-up 8th Congressional District after former state Rep. Shannon Bird withdrew, leaving just one candidate planning to take the stage. Three Democrats are seeking the nomination in the state’s...

 Ron Hanks, Scott Bottoms sue to stop Colorado’s unaffiliated voters from participating in June primary

Three Republican candidates in Colorado filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court this week seeking to prevent unaffiliated voters from participating in next month’s primary, arguing that the state’s semi-open primary system violates their constitutional rights by forcing Republicans to...

 Latest Pinnacol proposal shifts sponsors and cuts state benefits, triggers union standoff

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...