Rocky Mountain Voice

Rocky Mountain Voice

Polls show Republican momentum, Democrat doubts as Colorado’s 2026 battle lines form
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Polls show Republican momentum, Democrat doubts as Colorado’s 2026 battle lines form

By RMV Staff | Rocky Mountain Voice Unaffiliated voters now make up nearly half of Colorado’s electorate – and both parties are fighting to find a winning message. With the 2026 midterms on the horizon, several new polls offer an early glimpse into Colorado's shifting political terrain. A recent survey of 987 likely Colorado Republican primary voters, conducted by Pulse Opinion Research for the Road to Red Initiative from March 14–19, offers a snapshot of voter sentiment heading into the 2026 midterms. Among these voters, optimism runs high. Fifty-nine percent say the country is headed in the right direction – and 69% give Trump strong marks for his time in office. The Republican advantage extends beyond Trump himself. If voters were casting ballots in congressional races to...
Ganahl: From Superior Elementary to sex camps — Colorado parental rights under attack
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Ganahl: From Superior Elementary to sex camps — Colorado parental rights under attack

By Heidi Ganahl | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In 2018, as a mom of four with three of my children in first and third grade at Superior Elementary, I was shocked to learn that our young students were being exposed to confusing gender identity discussions without parental knowledge.  This was done through a program called Queer Endeavor at CU Boulder, which trained thousands of teachers in the metro area to integrate “queering the curriculum” around “problematic parents.” As a statewide elected University of Colorado Regent at the time, I felt a responsibility to speak out, warning that this was the start of a dangerous trend.  I was called a fearmonger and mocked.  But today, that warning has become a chilling reality. Colorado schools and universiti...
Gimelshteyn: The unraveling medical crisis that Colorado parents must pay attention to
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Gimelshteyn: The unraveling medical crisis that Colorado parents must pay attention to

By Lori Gimelshteyn | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Just a few years ago, parents were assured that “gender-affirming care” was lifesaving, compassionate, and backed by science. Affirmation, puberty blockers, hormones, and ultimately surgery were sold as the only path forward for a child questioning whether they were “born in the wrong body.”  But the cracks in this narrative are widening—and behind them lies a deeply troubling truth: children have been swept into a medical experiment that ignores mental health, underlying trauma, and long-term consequences. Families across Colorado have shared heartbreaking stories of what happened when they trusted this system.  Many parents believed they were doing the right thing—only to realize that the affirmative model...
Turning Point USA launches at Valor Christian: Courage, character, and a little wild West spirit
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Turning Point USA launches at Valor Christian: Courage, character, and a little wild West spirit

By RMV Staff | Rocky Mountain Voice It was more than just another Tuesday morning at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado—it was a full-on Turning Point. Nearly 50 students, faculty, and guests gathered for the official launch of Valor’s new Turning Point USA chapter, and let’s just say, the energy was more electric than a Bronco game on a Sunday afternoon. Gabby Reichardt, the Rockies High School Field Representative for Turning Point USA, called the launch a personal milestone. “I'm super proud to have a chapter at Valor as my alma mater and it was definitely a target school of mine for a long time.” She added, “Having a community surrounding the students who want to help support the chapter is really great. And that's definitely part of our broader high school ...
Court sides with new Colorado GOP Chair, blocks committee tied to former leadership
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Court sides with new Colorado GOP Chair, blocks committee tied to former leadership

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A district judge in El Paso County has rejected an attempt by the Colorado Republican Party’s Investigative Committee—an entity formed under former chair Dave Williams—to intervene in a lawsuit that the party’s current leadership has moved to dismiss. In a ruling filed April 23, District Court Judge Amanda J. Philipps found that the Investigative Committee lacks standing and legal authority to join or intervene in the ongoing civil case, saying the group was assigned "limited tasks" and does not possess independent power to act on behalf of the Colorado Republican State Central Committee (CRC). "Absent an express statutory right, a subordinate state agency lacks standing or any other legal authority to obtain judicial rev...
Garbo: How Democrats weaponized–and betrayed American citizens while defending criminal illegal immigrants
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Garbo: How Democrats weaponized–and betrayed American citizens while defending criminal illegal immigrants

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Democrats have made their priorities unmistakably clear: American citizens come last. The people they swore to represent – the very citizens who pay their salaries and trust them to uphold the Constitution – are now treated as political enemies, stripped of basic rights, and left to rot in the name of partisan gain.  Meanwhile, violent foreign nationals, like MS-13 gang members, are given more care, sympathy, and legal protection than the American people ever receive.  This isn’t just hypocrisy. This is betrayal. Look at how January 6th defendants – the “J6ers” – have been treated. Many of these individuals are nonviolent, first-time offenders who exercised poor judgment on one day. They are American citizens, en...
Colorado law limits what voters can verify—and critics say that needs to change
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Colorado law limits what voters can verify—and critics say that needs to change

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Mesa County’s Ballot Verifier tool has been praised for giving residents unprecedented access to redacted ballot images and cast vote records. But for some longtime election integrity advocates, it’s only part of the solution. “This is a great step forward,” said Ed Arnos, a Mesa County resident and former lottery systems designer. “But it doesn’t verify the most important part—how the ballots were actually read.” This article is Part 3 of a three-part series on the Ballot Verifier: Mesa’s launch, Ada County’s pilot and the debate over election transparency laws. A philosophical divide Mesa County residents Tom Keenan and Ed Arnos have supported election transparency efforts for years. But both say the current syste...
From critics to champions: How a ballot transparency tool won over Idaho voters—and inspired Mesa County
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From critics to champions: How a ballot transparency tool won over Idaho voters—and inspired Mesa County

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice When Ada County launched a ballot audit tool built by a small independent company, no one knew what to expect. But what followed surprised even the clerk who helped shape it.  Election skeptics became supporters, recount demands dropped and voters started tracking their own ballots—sometimes using nothing more than a $2 bill. What began as a simple idea sketched on napkins between an Idaho election official and a civic-minded data entrepreneur would grow into a public-facing ballot verification platform now used by counties in multiple states, including Mesa County, Colorado. This article is Part 2 of a three-part series on the Ballot Verifier: Mesa’s launch, Ada County’s pilot and the debate over election transpa...
Mesa County launches Ballot Verifier, giving voters unprecedented access to ballots
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Mesa County launches Ballot Verifier, giving voters unprecedented access to ballots

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Mesa County launched a first-of-its-kind ballot transparency tool last month, allowing residents to view redacted ballot images and corresponding cast vote records online—without filing a CORA request. Supporters say it could reshape public trust in elections. Others say it doesn’t go far enough. But one thing is certain: Mesa County is at the heart of a national battle over election integrity, and the Ballot Verifier came to fruition out of demand — and the innovation of an election stats company that wanted to answer to it. Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Bobbie Gross said the tool was made possible by an initial $30,000 investment to develop the system and redaction process. “I believe $20,000 every year to keep it goin...