Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Rocky Mountain Voice

Could ‘Mighty 19′ grow and end Democrats’ State House majority? Leadership hopes so.
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Could ‘Mighty 19′ grow and end Democrats’ State House majority? Leadership hopes so.

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The competition of 10 contested primaries and fielding candidates in races for 60 of 65 seats has Republican leadership in the Colorado House of Representatives hopeful it can increase seat count in the next legislature. Known as the "Mighty 19", House Republicans faced a super-minority in the 2024 session, with Democrats holding a 46-19 majority. Republicans would need to pick up at least three seats to end the super majority and 14 seats to regain control of the State House. "Today's primary election results showcase the strength and dedication of our Republican candidates," Colorado House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese wrote in a press statement. Pugliese was unopposed in the District 14 primary election, earning more than double the vot...
Read More
Looking ahead: The major-party general election matchups setup Tuesday night by primary voters
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Looking ahead: The major-party general election matchups setup Tuesday night by primary voters

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Voters in both the Democratic and Republican Party's primary elections weighed in and Tuesday night their general election nominees were selected. There were two races at the top of the ballot with six candidates, while other top-line races were head-to-head and in some cases unopposed. The nominees now advance to the general election. Following is a glance at how the major party's general election nominees will matchup in opposed races, assuming winners in preliminary returns stand: U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Representative, District 1Diane DeGette (D) vs. Valdamar Archuleta (R)U.S. Representative, District 2Joe Neguse (D) vs. Marshall Dawson (R)U.S. Representative, District 3Adam Frisch (D) vs. Jeff Hurd (R)U.S. Representative, ...
Read More
In waning hours of campaign, one 4th District candidate faced water, fire emergencies
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

In waning hours of campaign, one 4th District candidate faced water, fire emergencies

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The final days and even hours of a campaign can sometimes mean the difference between winning and losing, but for one 4th District candidate for Congress the past days have brought more important battles. Instead of knocking doors, meeting with supporters or other activities that would have helped his campaign, Richard Holtorf spent Sunday coming to the rescue on Buffalo Springs Ranch, where he operates a cattle feeder operation. The water table dropped and the pasture wells were not pumping water, Holtorf's campaign manager Rhonda Brandt explained to The Independent. It is the type of emergency that farmers and ranchers through the rural portion of the district face. Then the problem became worse on Monday. "Richard was working to rest...
Read More
‘I am 100% conservative’: Boebert predicts 4th District primary victory in call with supporters
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘I am 100% conservative’: Boebert predicts 4th District primary victory in call with supporters

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice When the dust settles in less than 24 hours on the Republican Party's primary election, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert intends to be the party's 4th District general election nominee. "We have definitely put in the work," she said during a Monday evening call with grassroots supporters. "I'm ready for a victory." While she brought the panache to the call, her campaign manager, Drew Sexton, noted his desire to tamper expectations until after election returns. "We're hopeful to bring it home tomorrow," he said. She is able to have high expectations, Boebert said, because of the effort put into the campaign, effort some didn't recognize, such as two opponents who criticized that she expected the campaign to be a "coronation". A Kaplan Strategies...
Read More
Washington County, where ballot count is low, but turnout dependably high
No Comments
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Washington County, where ballot count is low, but turnout dependably high

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice It is the home to every farmer's favorite diner, Mom's Kitchen, a county seat whose namesake is more synonymous with a major city in Ohio, and is Colorado's leader in wheat production at almost 5 million annual bushels. The rural landowners here count their land in sections, not acres, and many routinely grow crops the old school way, without irrigation pivots. The last Democratic President to win here was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. Republicans have carried at least three-fourths of the Presidential vote here in each election since 2000 -- four of the last five by 80 percent or better. Situated west of Yuma County, known here as Cory Gardner Country, and south of Logan County, the "backwards L" shaped Washington County is reliable for ...
Read More
Douglas County, cornerstone of a 4th District victory, has cast 49.1% of ballots in district
No Comments
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Douglas County, cornerstone of a 4th District victory, has cast 49.1% of ballots in district

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Nearly half of all ballots cast as of Sunday in the 4th District were derived from Douglas County voters, meaning the remaining 20 counties in the district comprise the other half. Election Day is Tuesday, June 25. Voters may cast a ballot today and Tuesday at either a drop box location or at a voting center. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. About one-fifth of registered voters have cast a ballot thus far in the 4th District. Among the 538,837 active registered voters in the district, 108,405 have cast a ballot (20.1%). Among those, 53,193 reside in Douglas County (49.1%). Voters in Larimer County have turned in 17,245 ballots, comprising 15.9 percent of all returned ballots. Weld County voters have returned 8,572 ballots...
Read More
Boll: Local media demonizes engaged conservative community members
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Boll: Local media demonizes engaged conservative community members

By Laureen Boll | Guest Columnist, Rocky Mountain Voice I’m quite close to recent events happening at the Douglas County School Board, given my role as a parent advocacy leader in Douglas County and being a parent of two children whose K-12 years were spent in Douglas County School District (DCSD). Much of my role as a parent advocate is monitoring laws and regulations against the rights of individuals upheld by the U.S. Constitution, and speaking up when it appears that the rights of parents and/or students are being violated by the government, in this case taxpayer-funded schools.  The Douglas County School District recently updated its Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity policy to incorporate a new state statute titled “Concerning Protections for Students Against Discrimin...
Read More
Barnhart: Two years ago, today, Supreme Court ruled favorably in the Dobbs case
No Comments
Approved, Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Barnhart: Two years ago, today, Supreme Court ruled favorably in the Dobbs case

By Faye Barnhart | Guest Columnist, Rocky Mountain Voice It has been two years since the seemingly impossible happened with the overturn of Roe v. Wade in the historic Dobbs decision. Taking a similar course to slavery in the United States, the Supreme Court had made an overarching dismissal of all 50 states laws that previous to 1973 limited or outlawed abortion in all the states. Even in Colorado -- the first notorious state for allowing abortion -- it was originally limited to 16 weeks and needed a three-panel of doctors and the permission of the husband. As archaic as that may sound, it shows how compromising with evil has gotten us to where we are today, where more than 2,000 children are legally tortured to death every month in Colorado, from conception through all nine months ...
Read More
As primary draws to a close, candidates are making final pitch to voters, asking for turnout
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

As primary draws to a close, candidates are making final pitch to voters, asking for turnout

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice From the far stretches of the Eastern Plains to the Western Slope and all places in between, candidates up and down the ballot have spent the past six months attempting to woo voters. At one time earlier this year, a dozen candidates were vying for the Republican nomination in the 4th District to replace U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, and others in less ballyhooed races worked no less hard to earn support for their party nomination. All the miles, chicken dinners, speeches, videos and ads culminate Tuesday in the election of party nominees to various offices - nominees Republicans hope can win in the general election this fall. So what is the final message candidates hope to leave with voters? What efforts did candidates make to get voters to cast ba...
Read More
In low-turnout primary election, 4th District outperforming others with 17.1% of all ballots cast
No Comments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

In low-turnout primary election, 4th District outperforming others with 17.1% of all ballots cast

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice It may not be a historically-low turnout as many candidates from all corners of Colorado fear, but the primary election certainly doesn't appear to be shattering any records. With the weekend, Monday and Tuesday left in the primary election for both major parties and candidates, there have been 533,659 ballots cast. Registered voters cast 608,318 ballots in 2022, an upward trend from 2020. Another almost 75,000 ballots must be cast statewide in order to eclipse 2022. There has not been a downward swing in total ballots cast in at least the past four even-year primary elections. Election Day is Tuesday, June 25. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day at voting centers throughout the state. Ballots may also be cast through the clo...
Read More