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Allegations of Improper Spending Mount Against Bennet Campaign
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Allegations of Improper Spending Mount Against Bennet Campaign

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Three state campaign finance complaints have been filed against U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Denver, tied to his campaign for governor in 2026. A fourth is likely, sources have told Colorado Politics. The first two were filed on Sept. 24 and on Nov. 4 by Alyssa Holladay of Denver. Her political affiliation is unknown. The first two complaints were consolidated by the secretary of state’s elections division on Nov. 17. A response is due from the Bennet campaign on Dec. 3. The September complaint said Bennet is a candidate for both governor in 2026 and for the U.S. Senate in 2028 and he is actively fundraising and spending money for both races. Bennet, the complaint noted, filed a candidate affidavit for the Senate race on March 11, 2...
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Colorado Mourns Sen. Faith Winter After Fatal I-25 Crash
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Mourns Sen. Faith Winter After Fatal I-25 Crash

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics State Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, was killed in a car accident Wednesday evening on Interstate 25. The accident took place near the intersection of I-25 and Dry Creek Avenue in Centennial, according to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office. Officers were dispatched to the accident around 8 p.m. Three people were injured and one died. While Arapahoe County would not confirm the identity of the fatality, Senate President James Coleman of Denver told Colorado Politics it was Winter. In a statement, Coleman and Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, said they are devastated to learn of Winter’s passing. “Today, our caucus grieves the loss of a dedicated public servant whose commitment to the people of Colorado never waver...
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Crow Draws Fire After Democrats Urge Troops to Reject ‘Illegal’ Orders
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Crow Draws Fire After Democrats Urge Troops to Reject ‘Illegal’ Orders

By: Thelma Grimes and The Washington Examiner | Colorado Politics President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that Democratic veterans in Congress who urged military service members to “refuse illegal orders” from the Trump administration should receive capital punishment. In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” The president’s message was aimed at several Democrats, including Colorado U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, along with with Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-MI, and Mark Kelly, D-AZ, in addition to Reps. Maggie Goodlander, D-NH, Chris Deluzio, D-PA, and Chrissy Houlahan, D-PA. In a video posted Tuesday, the Democratic lawmakers told military and intelligence personnel to disobey orders that they allege are “unlawfu...
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Colorado Ethics Commission Probes 17 Democrats Over Vail Retreat Contributions
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Ethics Commission Probes 17 Democrats Over Vail Retreat Contributions

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission, on Tuesday, voted to move forward with investigations into 17 state Democratic lawmakers who have been accused of accepting illegal contributions to pay for an October retreat in Vail. Colorado Common Cause filed complaints against members of the Colorado Opportunity Caucus, a group of moderate Democrats in the General Assembly. The complaints are against: Sen. Lindsey Daugherty of Arvada, the group’s chair and Rep. Shannon Bird of Westminster. Bird has said she did not participate in the retreat, nor was she part of the conversation seeking $25,000 from One Main Street Colorado to pay for hotel rooms at the Sonnenalp Vail resort for the Oct. 3-5 retreat. She said in a statement Tuesday that s...
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Xcel Seeks One-Year Extension to Keep Comanche Coal Unit Running as Grid Pressures Rise
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Xcel Seeks One-Year Extension to Keep Comanche Coal Unit Running as Grid Pressures Rise

By Scott Weiser | Colorado Politics Colorado’s largest utility company has petitioned energy regulators to push back the retirement of a coal-fired, electrical generating unit located in the Southern part of the state from December 2025 to the end of 2026. The Polis administration is backing the petition. Comanche Unit 2 is one of three coal-fired units at the Pueblo-based Comanche Generating Station. In its petition, Xcel Energy cites as reason an extended outage at the adjacent Unit 3, surging peak demand and supply chain hurdles. The petition underscores admissions from both Xcel and state officials about a potential generating resource shortfall exacerbated by a failure at the Comanche Unit 3, taking it off-line for the next 11 months, and by delays in bringing new “rene...
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Polis Budget Plan Sparks Bipartisan Pushback Over Medicaid Costs and Pinnacol Gamble
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Polis Budget Plan Sparks Bipartisan Pushback Over Medicaid Costs and Pinnacol Gamble

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis’ proposed state budget for 2026-27 drew sharp criticism Wednesday from the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee, as lawmakers from both parties criticized plans to slow Medicaid spending growth and to rely on a deal to privatize Pinnacol Assurance. This quasi-state agency is the state’s largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance. Polis has already cut $79 million in the 2025-26 budget, primarily for rates paid to Medicaid providers in dental, behavioral health and services to children with disabilities. The governor’s 2026-27 budget proposes an additional $197.7 million in general fund dollars, or about 5.6%, in the Medicaid program. But the projected growth is at 11.9%, or $631.4 million. He has also brought in...
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Sparks Fly as Colorado Springs Postpones Vote on Vehicle Camping Restrictions
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Sparks Fly as Colorado Springs Postpones Vote on Vehicle Camping Restrictions

By: Debbie Kelly | Colorado Politics After about three hours of presentation, discussion and public comment, Colorado Springs City Council voted 5-4 Monday to postpone a proposal that would add a vehicle camping ban to city ordinances pertaining to illegal urban camping and consolidate them for standardization and consistency. The issue will be taken up in six months, at the May 12 council meeting. Opponents to the vehicle-camping ban in particular made a strong showing and included people who are or have been homeless, representatives from organizations that provide services to the homeless population, as well as high-profile community leaders such as Rabbi Iah Pillsbury, who leads Temple Beit Torah, and Dr. Jaeson Fournier, president and CEO of Peak Vista Community Health Center...
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Colorado buys the socialist sandwich: Free lunches and fewer freedoms
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado buys the socialist sandwich: Free lunches and fewer freedoms

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Colorado Politics If you’re a fan of limited government, personal liberty, or educational choice, Tuesday night’s election results were a downer, just another one in a long line of depressing elections that has made Colorado more California than California. However, if you prefer a controlling elite deciding your fate, debt, class envy and teacher unions, it was just another victory in a decade’s long win streak. I’m curious how multi-billionaire nannyist Michael Bloomberg felt about his out-of-state investment. He put $5 million toward convincing Denver voters adults must stop buying Swisher Sweets cigars (which contains flavored tobacco, the new fentanyl). As adults drive by marijuana shops selling flavored edibles, liquor stores selling peach-inf...
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Polis Silent on Claims of RTD Using Public Tax Money for Political Gain
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Commentary, State

Polis Silent on Claims of RTD Using Public Tax Money for Political Gain

By Natalie Menten | Commentary, Colorado Politics A tax-hike campaign shouldn’t be funded with public tax dollars to hire political consultants — period. Yet Colorado law contains a loophole that allows public agencies to spend money campaigning under the guise of “education” or “engagement.” That’s exactly what the Front Range Passenger Rail District, an appointed board that includes 17 voting and seven non-voting members — many hand-picked by Gov. Jared Polis — intends to do. On Oct. 30, the district issued a public bid to hire a consultant team to create a “Friends of Front Range Rail” relational engagement platform. The bid spells out the goal: “build awareness, engagement, and grassroots momentum,” while giving supporters tools to “share campaign content,” “invite friends,” and ...
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Colorado Ethics Watch Alleges Misconduct by Democratic Legislators at Vail Retreat
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Ethics Watch Alleges Misconduct by Democratic Legislators at Vail Retreat

By: Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado Common Cause filed complaints Wednesday with the state ethics commission against 12 Democratic state lawmakers, alleging they accepted funding from the “dark money” group One Main Street Colorado for a three-day retreat at a luxury hotel in Vail last October. The complaints said the lawmakers accepted illegal gifts from One Main Street that violate Amendment 41, the state’s ethics amendment, also known as Article 29 of the state Constitution. Under that amendment, lawmakers are not allowed to accept gifts exceeding $75 per person per year. But the cost of the rooms at the Sonnenalp Vail came in at about $25,000 for the lawmakers. The complaint claimed the hotel charges $316 to $500 per night. Common Cause also said th...
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