Colorado Politics

 Bennet wants to be Colorado’s next governor | Cronin and Loevy

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is considered the front-runner in the Colorado Democratic Party primary contest for governor. His major opponent is current Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.  The Democratic primary election is June 30. Registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters who choose to can vote in this election. Ballots are being mailed...

 A tale of two debates | Vince Bzdek

Ballots go out Monday as the June 30 state primary elections bear down on us. As a result, it is suddenly the season of proliferating political debates, and there have been some doozies already. I had the chance to see two very...

 6 incumbents face challengers in primary in state races

With Colorado’s primary election just weeks away, voters will see plenty of new names on their ballots when they’re sent out next week.  There will be some old names, too, as several incumbents are running opposed. Six lawmakers — one...

 After prison release, Tina Peters faces tight parole limits, ongoing legal troubles

Released from prison this week, former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters now begins a parole term that outlines strict limits on her movements and conduct, while separate ethics and campaign‑finance cases continue to move forward. Peters’ parole, as first reported...

 Democrats Bennet, Weiser square off in spirited Colorado gubernatorial primary debate

The two Democrats running for governor of Colorado agreed on nearly every policy-related topic but vehemently clashed over which of them is best equipped to lead the state through what one described as an “existential moment” in a televised debate...

 Colorado voters to decide dozens of open state seats in June 30 primaries

With 21 Senate seats and all 65 House seats on the ballot, Colorado voters can expect a crowded November election. Nearly two dozen lawmakers are stepping down — some to run for other offices, others to leave politics altogether —...

 Election office rejects lobbying allegations in Colorado House district race

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office has dismissed a complaint alleging that attorney Iris Halpern engaged in illegal lobbying at the state Capitol. Halpern is challenging Rep. Sean Camacho, D-Denver, in the June 30 primary for the House District 6...

 Colorado legislature braces for high turnover: 21 Senate seats, 15 House positions

This year’s general election will feature an unusually high number of state Senate races — 21 seats, the most in at least three decades. The surge stems from the number of new senators appointed to fill vacancies during the 2025...

 Colorado’s 3 Republican gubernatorial candidates face off in heated primary debate

The three Colorado Republicans running for governor defended their qualifications, described their visions for the state and traded jabs over each other’s character at an often contentious televised debate that routinely veered into unusual territory Tuesday night in Denver. The...

 Hickenlooper hits airwaves with 1st TV ad in Colorado’s Democratic US Senate primary

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper launched his reelection campaign’s first TV ad Tuesday, a week before Colorado voters start receiving primary ballots, with a spot taking aim at the Trump administration’s foiled plans to sell public lands. Hickenlooper is facing a...

 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...