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Colorado Politics

Victor Marx Holds Narrow Lead as Colorado GOP Governor Race Nears Finish
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Victor Marx Holds Narrow Lead as Colorado GOP Governor Race Nears Finish

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Republican Victor Marx held on to a narrow lead Monday over state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer as county clerks continued to count ballots in Colorado’s gubernatorial primary. Following an update posted at 3:30 p.m. by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, Marx had 206,477 votes to Kirkmeyer’s 204,527, for a lead of 1,950, or about 0.38% of the 518,490 votes tallied so far. State Rep. Scott Bottoms trailed in the three-way race with 107,486 votes. At present, the difference between Marx’s and Kirkmeyer’s totals is short of the number that would trigger a mandatory recount under Colorado law. Although Kirkmeyer jumped out to an early lead on primary election night last Tuesday, Marx overtook her the following afternoon and has sinc...
Cherry Creek School District Withholds Itemized Legal Invoices After $65K Investigation
Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Cherry Creek School District Withholds Itemized Legal Invoices After $65K Investigation

By: Nico Brambila | Colorado Politics After previously refusing to disclose the cost associated with the investigation into the former superintendent and his wife, the former human resources chief, Cherry Creek School District officials partially released records showing the cost to taxpayers: $65,054.85. The Denver Gazette obtained “invoice cover sheets” through a June 12 Colorado Open Records Act request seeking — among other things — invoices, billing records or payment records related to the investigation. Caitlin Holzfaster, the district’s records custodian,denied a similar request on May 15, claiming that descriptions could reveal attorney-client privileged information, legal advice or litigation strategy. Abbe Smith, a district spokesperson...
Boebert Advances to November Showdown Against Laubacher in Colorado’s 4th District
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Boebert Advances to November Showdown Against Laubacher in Colorado’s 4th District

By: Lauren Green | Colorado Politics Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) learned her Democratic opponent on Tuesday after both candidates advanced unopposed. Boebert is set for a matchup with Democrat Eileen Laubacher. Boebert originally representedColorado‘s 3rd Congressional District before she mounted a run in the 4th District after winning by just a few hundred votes in 2022. Boebert now sits in a seat rated “Solid Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Boebert will face Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral and Colorado native, in November. The at times controversial Republican is a boon for Democratic fundraising. Her Democratic opponent raised nearly $7 million in 2022 and more than $17 million in 2024, which would have been ...
Colorado Primary Sends Shockwaves Through State and National Politics
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Primary Sends Shockwaves Through State and National Politics

By: Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Voters in Colorado’s Democratic primary on Tuesday night mostly let their elected officials know that they’re fed up with the party’s Washington politicians and ready to back the most aggressive fighters they can find. At the same time, the voters who cast ballots in the Republican primary mostly embraced the GOP’s establishment, throwing the beleaguered party a potential lifeline in a state that hasn’t rewarded the party’s candidates with statewide wins in the last decade. It was a mixed bag for the two camps, as early frontrunners fell or struggled to keep it close in one of the most wide-open primaries the state has seen in years, with some standout exceptions keeping the night from delivering a simple message. Democratic...
Energy Secretary Chris Wright Pushes Expanding Energy Supply To Lower Costs In Colorado
Colorado Politics, Approved, National

Energy Secretary Chris Wright Pushes Expanding Energy Supply To Lower Costs In Colorado

By: Mark Samuelson | Colorado Politics As a heatwave in the U.S. and Europe punctuated widespread calls for recommitments to solar and other “renewable” sources, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright doubled down on America’s current policy, telling a Thornton crowd on Monday that energy goals would be fixed on increasing the nation’s capacity — no matter what the source. “I went to college to work on fusion energy. I worked on solar energy in graduate school, and geothermal energy right after,” Wright told the Colorado audience. “I don’t care where the energy comes from,” Wright said. “The lights are kept on by gas, coal and nuclear. We have got to grow the capacity, and we are majorly focused on that.” Wright’s visit to Colorado coincides with new calls for le...
New Internal Poll Shows Weiser Surging Past Bennet in Democratic Governor Primary
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

New Internal Poll Shows Weiser Surging Past Bennet in Democratic Governor Primary

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Attorney General Phil Weiser holds a lead over U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet among likely voters less than a week before ballots are due in Colorado’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, according to a new poll released Thursday by a group backing Weiser. The survey, conducted Wednesday and Thursday by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, found Weiser with 45% support to Bennet’s 36%, with 19% undecided. Fighting for Colorado, a state super PAC formed to support Weiser, commissioned the poll, which has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. PPP interviewed 600 likely voters — including Democrats and unaffiliated voters who said they’ll cast ballots in the Democratic primary — using a mix of automated calls to landline phones and text ...
Attorneys No Longer Required to Sign Immigration Certification in Colorado Courts
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Attorneys No Longer Required to Sign Immigration Certification in Colorado Courts

By Nico Brambila | Colorado Politics One year and 12 days. That’s how long a Colorado law requiring attorneys to certify they would not use court data for federal immigration enforcement remained on the books before lawmakers repealed it. Gov. Jared Polis signed the initial legislation, Senate Bill 25-276, on May 23, 2025. That legislation extended to the courts a law prohibiting disclosure of information for the purpose of assisting in federal immigration enforcement. The governor signed the modification to that law via House Bill 26-1276 on June 4. That modification exempted the Colorado courts’ e-filing system from the requirement that users certify they would not disclose information for the purpose of federal immigration enforcement. M...
Colorado Medicaid Freezes Payments to Home Health Agency Facing Fraud Investigation
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Medicaid Freezes Payments to Home Health Agency Facing Fraud Investigation

By: David Migoya | Colorado Politics The agency overseeing Colorado’s federal Medicaid program has suspended an Aurora home-health agency that is the focus of an investigation into an enterprise that lured dozens of homeless people with promises of free housing and cash and reaped tens of millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements. Officials said it has stopped paying Medicaid claims filed by On Going Home Health Care pending the outcome of its inquiry into “The Program,” an elaborate and intertwined confederation of businesses that provided shelter, money and prescriptions to homeless participants in return for billing the federal program for administering the drugs. The Program was the center of a Denver Gazette investigation last month that exposed how On Going ...
GOP Candidate Michael Allen Calls for Return to Basics on Crime and Public Safety
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

GOP Candidate Michael Allen Calls for Return to Basics on Crime and Public Safety

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Michael Allen said he is running for attorney general because he believes Colorado’s criminal justice system has been weakened by recent legislation and that rising crime is directly increasing the cost of living. A Navy veteran and longtime prosecutor, Allen argued that Colorado needs an attorney general who focuses on public safety, rather than on “political lawsuits,” and who understands how crime drives up insurance rates, retail prices and business costs. He said his goal is to “get back to basics” — reducing crime to reduce costs. Allen is running against David Willson in the Republican primary. The winner of the GOP primary will advance to the general election to face one of the four Democratic candidates: Jena Griswol...
Crank Says Colorado Springs Needs Results Not Anti-Trump Politics From Democrats
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Crank Says Colorado Springs Needs Results Not Anti-Trump Politics From Democrats

By Vince Bzdek | Colorado Politics For U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, who’s unopposed in the Republican primary for the 5th Congressional District but the main target of both candidates in the lively Democratic primary, the big question in the midterms is not who will stand up to President Donald Trump best. “The question, and I think this will be one in this race, is, does this community just want somebody who’s anti-Trump to fight and push back on Trump? Or do they want somebody who, no matter who the president is, whether it’s Joe Biden or Donald Trump, is going to go try and work to represent this community and get the best things for this community that they can?” Crank has been criticized by the Democratic candidates Jessica Killin and Joe Reagan for not standing up to Tr...