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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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Legislative transparency takes a hit as video livestream decision stalls
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State

Legislative transparency takes a hit as video livestream decision stalls

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Update-a-palooza on legislative livestreams and campaign finance complaints I wanted to update some stories I’ve been following before they get too stale (as you can see in today’s third post, I’ll be taking the rest of the week off). First, and simplest, is an update to whether or not the state legislature will continue what was a pilot program to livestream legislative committee hearings (video and audio instead of just audio). The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition story linked first below offers more details, but the upshot is that the legislature is a decided “maybe” on whether or not to continue it. The livestreams, at least according to the article, are pretty popular but it seems the sticking point ...
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AI Review Flags Hundreds of Reporting Gaps for Griswold and Weiser Campaigns
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

AI Review Flags Hundreds of Reporting Gaps for Griswold and Weiser Campaigns

By: Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Using artificial intelligence as analytical tool, a resident of Longmont has filed complaints against two prominent Colorado Democrats, alleging multiple campaign finance violations. The complaints are among a growing number of campaign finance allegations against individuals running for some of Colorado’s top jobs. What’s unique with the complaints is the use of AI as a data or analytical tool. On Nov. 20, Jeffrey Ethan Au Green of Longmont filed a complaint against Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor against U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who is running to succeed Weiser, was the subject of a Nov. 2 complaint, also filed by Au Green. Four Democrats ar...
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Campaign-finance storm erupts as Weiser, Bennet and Griswold face 3,674 alleged violations
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Colorado Based News, Approved, State, Substack

Campaign-finance storm erupts as Weiser, Bennet and Griswold face 3,674 alleged violations

Media Contact: Ethan Augreen | Colorado Based News New Campaign-Finance Complaints Target Michael Bennet, Phil Weiser After Similar Complaint Against Jena Griswold Upheld by Attorney General’s Office DENVER, CO — November 20, 2025 — Colorado’s 2026 election landscape was shaken today as two major new campaign-finance complaints were filed against gubernatorial candidates Philip Weiser and Michael Bennet, bringing the statewide total to 3,674 alleged violations by three of the Colorado Democratic Party’s most prominent candidates. “No Colorado citizen has ever filed an evidence-based campaign finance action this large, covering this many statewide candidates, with this volume of documented violations. This is unprecedented in scale,” said Ethan Au...
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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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Why Colorado’s Elections No Longer Belong to Its Voters
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Why Colorado’s Elections No Longer Belong to Its Voters

By: Vince Bzdek | Commentary, The Denver Gazette Why is Michael Bloomberg, the former presidential candidate, three-term New York mayor and founder of the financial info firm that bears his name, spending millions on Colorado elections? The short answer: because he can. The liberal New Yorker has donated $2.7 million to support Denver’s flavored tobacco ban, Referendum 301, to be decided on Tuesday. Two of his donations to that campaign were the largest individual contributions in Denver history, according to an Axios analysis. Bloomberg is also the largest donor in the 2026 governor’s race, giving $500,000 to a super-PAC supporting U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s campaign. “This is a very large donation for a statewide race,” Seth Masket, professor of political sc...
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Anatomy of a Coloradan Addicted to Making Political Donations
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Anatomy of a Coloradan Addicted to Making Political Donations

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice America may be the land of the free but it is also the land of addictions. The 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicates that 28.2 million Americans have a “drug use disorder” and the National Council on Problem Gambling reports that approximately 2.5 million Americans have “severe problems” gambling and an additional 5 to 8 million have mild or moderate issues. The dangers of addictions to drugs and/or gambling are well known, highly publicized, and well studied, but the dangers of being addicted to making political donations aren’t. At least until now. Addictions generally seem to be a bigger problem for the young than the old. The American Psychiatric Association reports that people over the age of 60 are...
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Parents vs. unions: The battle over Mesa County’s schools
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Parents vs. unions: The battle over Mesa County’s schools

By Kent Zook | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The same people and organizations trying to replace District 51 School board members, Andrea Haitz, Will Jones, and Angela Lema are the ones responsible for neglecting our schools in the first place. Previous board leadership allowed facilities to deteriorate to the point that repair costs became unfeasible. Union-backed leaders pushed for schools to remain closed longer during COVID-19 and for students to continue masking despite mounting evidence that masks did little to prevent transmission. On August 17, 2021, under the old union-backed board, a public meeting abruptly ended after just 30 minutes of comment, even though 45 minutes had been allotted. The board members, backed by the union, simply walked out with a police escort...
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Why is Denver trying to buy Western Slope school boards?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Why is Denver trying to buy Western Slope school boards?

By Christy Anderson | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In the Grand Junction area you may have seen flyers in your mailbox accusing our current school board members, Andrea Haitz, Angela Lema and “Willie” (Will) Jones of being “enemies” who “cannot be trusted.” These false attack ads come from Denver’s “Students Deserve Better” campaign. After digging into the financials, Students Deserve Better is also majorly funded by none other than the Colorado Education Association.  The teachers union has a long history that started in the 1970s of using money to influence local elections, but this year’s spending is unprecedented. The Colorado Education Association (CEA) is pouring tens of thousands of dollars into our local school board race to regain control and push their highly...
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Democrat Lawmakers Face Scrutiny Over Vail Retreat Funded by Undisclosed Donors
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Democrat Lawmakers Face Scrutiny Over Vail Retreat Funded by Undisclosed Donors

By Taylor Dolven and Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun The Colorado Opportunity Caucus, considered among the more moderate Democrats in the legislature, organized the event. The caucus was formed as a nonprofit that doesn’t disclose its donors. At least 17 Democratic state lawmakers gathered with lobbyists during a weekend retreat at a Vail hotel organized by the nonprofit Colorado Opportunity Caucus. The two-day gathering included “educational panels” and discussions, according to state Sen. Lindsey Daugherty, an Arvada Democrat who is chair of the caucus formed in January as a nonprofit. She said the purpose of the event was to “get a group of pragmatic, diverse legislators together to really talk about our goals for our caucus based on what we think the Colorado people really want ...
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