By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice
When Colorado voters rejected Proposition 127 in 2024, they didn’t just weigh in on mountain lions and bobcats – they delivered a decisive verdict on who should shape wildlife policy. In the state’s first failed wildlife ballot measure since 1992, 54.7% voted no.
Behind that result was an award-winning campaign by Caliber Contact, a Republican firm that reframed the issue through a values-driven lens by tapping into safety concerns, protective instincts and the voice of everyday Coloradans – over celebrity advocates.
Caliber Contact’s work is once again making headlines after the firm received two Pollie Awards this month for this very campaign – reminding the political world how strategic messaging helped sway one of Colorado’s most high-profile ballot battles. Known in the industry as the Oscars of political advertising, the Pollie Awards celebrate standout work in campaign strategy and public communications.
Founded by Chris Cox and Chasen Bullock, Caliber Contact launched a mail campaign designed to speak directly to suburban women in the Denver metro area – a key voting bloc. Their messaging emphasized the risks posed by large predators and the importance of maintaining Colorado’s science-based wildlife management system.
One mail piece depicted a mountain lion attacking a young girl with the headline, “Don’t let this be the last thing your child sees.” The visual – and its blunt urgency – tapped into a primal protective instinct, reframing the ballot issue as a matter of immediate family safety.
The message was clear: while animal rights activists framed the measure as a ban on so-called trophy hunting, opponents believed it undermined public safety and stripped professional biologists of essential management tools.
Caliber Contact’s strategy leaned into family-focused safety messaging, framing the debate around protective parental instincts and community values rather than partisan rhetoric.
While the supporting campaign leaned on celebrity voices like Jane Goodall and Robert Redford, the opposition stayed focused on local values and lived realities. That contrast proved pivotal.
Caliber Contact’s strategy paid off – not just with voters, but with political pros.
This month, the firm earned Pollie Awards from the American Association of Political Consultants, a nod to the strategy that helped shape the outcome of Prop 127. The winning effort included collaboration with Dorsey Pictures, which produced a suite of ads like “Every Mother’s Worst Nightmare,” “Lion Attacks in the News,” and “Life & Death.”
The campaign’s success wasn’t just about volume – it was about understanding how to reach voters who aren’t usually part of the wildlife policy conversation.
Dorsey Pictures CEO Chris Dorsey explained to The Outdoor Wire, “It will not be enough to only talk to sportsmen to win future wildlife referendums. We must create messaging that speaks to women in particular on platforms and media they frequent.”
The results of that shift in strategy were undeniable. Proposition 127 failed in 58 of Colorado’s 64 counties.
Rural counties that had opposed wolf reintroduction back in 2020 rejected the hunting ban by even wider margins. And in left-leaning places like Boulder and Broomfield, support for Proposition 127 dropped off more than expected, according to KGNU.
Dan Westbrook, a spokesperson for the opposition campaign against Prop 127, told CPR, “People saw the struggle that it’s taken to get that accomplished” – defeating ballot-box biology, as in the case of wolf reintroduction – “and it made them take a moment, pause, and really research this current ballot initiative a little bit deeper and not just have a guttural reaction.”
The winning formula, built on emotionally resonant storytelling and security-conscious voter outreach, suggests a new blueprint: combine values-driven outreach with emotionally resonant imagery that targets persuadable constituencies, not just the political base.
Caliber Contact’s communications, anchored in values-driven appeals rather than inflammatory tactics, resonated where it mattered most: in the hearts of parents, homeowners and community-focused voters.
Proposition 127’s defeat wasn’t just a win for hunters and wildlife biologists. It marked a turning point in how policy fights over wildlife and public safety are waged – and who is equipped to win them.
By focusing on the concerns of everyday Coloradans, Caliber Contact proved that knowing your audience can carry more weight than any celebrity endorsement or outside cash.
Whether that signals a lasting shift in ballot campaign strategy remains to be seen – but the 2024 vote proved that in Colorado, message still matters.