Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: COLORADO GOP

Marx Clings to Narrow Lead as Colorado Election Officials Finish Ballot Review
DENVER7, Approved, State

Marx Clings to Narrow Lead as Colorado Election Officials Finish Ballot Review

By Seth Klamann | Denver7 Race has remained largely unchanged for days, but it remains too close to call with some ballots still out. Victor Marx has held a narrow, roughly 2,000-vote lead over state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer for several days, but the race is still too close to call as the window for voters to fix deficient ballots remains open. Marx, a religious nonprofit leader, has led Kirkmeyer for nearly a week after overtaking the veteran lawmaker the day after polls closed in the June 30 primary. With more than 518,000 ballots counted, Marx led Kirkmeyer 39.8% to 39.5%, according to the Associated Press. The AP projected that 98% of votes had been counted. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
High Court Removes Limits on Party Coordination With Federal Candidates
Approved, DENVER7, National

High Court Removes Limits on Party Coordination With Federal Candidates

By Shannon Ogden | Denver7 The ruling allows national parties to make direct contributions to candidate campaigns and is expected to give Republicans a short-term financial advantage. The Supreme Court struck down limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president. The limits had been in place to prevent large donors from circumventing caps on contributions to a candidate by directing money to a party with the understanding the money would be spent for that candidate. The ruling means national parties will now be able to make direct contributions to candidate campaigns. The decision is also expected to give Republicans a short-term boost because they have a large cash advantage over Democrats. READ ...
Colorado GOP Governor Primary Too Close To Call As Kirkmeyer Holds Narrow Lead
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado GOP Governor Primary Too Close To Call As Kirkmeyer Holds Narrow Lead

By Jesse Paul and Olivia Prentzel | The Colorado Sun Kirkmeyer had 41% of the vote to Marx’s 39% at 10:30 p.m. In third place was state Rep. Scott Bottoms of Colorado Springs, with 20% of the vote. LARKSPUR — Colorado’s Republican primary for governor was too close to call Tuesday night, with state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer holding a slight lead over ministry leader Victor Marx in the race that will determine who gets a chance to become the state’s first Republican leader in 20 years.    Kirkmeyer had 41% of the vote to Marx’s 39% at 10:30 p.m. In third place was state Rep. Scott Bottoms of Colorado Springs, with 20% of the vote. Whoever ultimately wins the primary will face Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser in November. Republicans haven’...
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...
Colorado GOP Chooses Software Engineer Craig Steiner to Lead Party Recovery
DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado GOP Chooses Software Engineer Craig Steiner to Lead Party Recovery

By: Colette Bordelon | Denver7 Craig Steiner replaced Brita Horn as the new chair of the Colorado Republican party after Horn resigned from her position before her term ended. EL PASO COUNTY — The Colorado Republican Party has found their next leader, after the last chair of the party resigned from the role early amid a "tremendous divide" in the party. The former chair, Brita Horn, left the position in April, saying "under the continued threat of further division, legal attacks, and escalation within our party, it has become clear that those intent on prolonging this conflict will not stop." Craig Steiner was selected as the new chair of the Colorado GOP. In that role, he told Denver7 he will work to elect more Republicans and try to unite the party, whi...
Colorado’s unaffiliated majority is waiting for someone to lead
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s unaffiliated majority is waiting for someone to lead

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice "Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody,"  Franklin P. Adams. Sadly, Colorado politics is ruled largely by ideologues with agendas and pet projects who engage in personal attacks. Statesmanship seems to be a lost art.  So, both Republicans and Democrats are losing influence and votes – and the largest and fastest growing voter bloc in the State is ‘Unaffiliated’. This would indicate that both ‘majority parties’ (D and R) are divided and have lost sight of those things that are important to the average CO voter and taxpayer to whom they are responsible. The data speaks plainly for anyone willing to look at it.  Out of 3,996,931 registe...
Colorado’s Republican governor primary: Where Kirkmeyer and Bottoms stand, and Marx stays silent
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s Republican governor primary: Where Kirkmeyer and Bottoms stand, and Marx stays silent

By RMV Editorial Board | Rocky Mountain Voice Three candidates will appear on Colorado's Republican primary ballot for governor on June 30. Two of them answered questions from Rocky Mountain Voice this month. One did not. State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer and State Rep. Scott Bottoms each responded to questions drawn from reader submissions and issues facing Republican primary voters. RMV contacted the Marx campaign repeatedly. RMV founder Heidi Ganahl followed up personally and extended his deadline by an additional day. He still did not respond. Bottoms won the top line at assembly with 45 percent of delegate votes. Marx qualified with 39 percent after also filing petition signatures, which lowered his assembly threshold. Kirkmeyer qualified through petition alone, submitting mor...
Federal Judge Keeps Unaffiliated Voters In Colorado GOP Primaries
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Federal Judge Keeps Unaffiliated Voters In Colorado GOP Primaries

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer said excluding unaffiliated voters days before the state’s ballot certification deadline, and just weeks before ballots start being mailed out, would create too much confusion. A federal judge Tuesday rejected the Colorado GOP’s last-ditch effort to block unaffiliated voters from participating in the party’s June 30 primaries.  U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer said excluding unaffiliated voters days before the state’s ballot certification deadline, and just weeks before ballots start being mailed out, would create too much confusion.  The Republican Party asked Brimmer on April 20 to issue an emergency order preventing state elections officials from mailing Republican primary ball...
When systems fail: A contested Colorado convention raises broader questions about your digital life
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

When systems fail: A contested Colorado convention raises broader questions about your digital life

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A hospital cancels surgeries. Not because of a storm. Not because of a staffing shortage. Because a cyberattack forced it to. “They had to block Stryker from coming into their network and cancel all of the surgeries that required that robotic device,” said Maria Orms, a cybersecurity professional who was a gubernatorial candidate at the April 11 assembly.  “That could cause someone to die.” This wasn’t just a what-if. In March, there was a cyberattack tied to an Iran-linked hacking group that hit companies in the medical technology space, including Stryker and Intuitive Surgical. What that meant in practice wasn’t always clear in the moment. But hospitals rely on those systems every day—robotic platforms, connected net...
Colorado GOP says no race changed: Delegates and experts point to broader system failures
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado GOP says no race changed: Delegates and experts point to broader system failures

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice They came to Pueblo to vote. Instead, many spent hours in the cold, waiting. At the April 12 Colorado Republican state assembly, delegates stood in line outside the Massari Event Center early Saturday morning as credentialing stalled. Some leaned on canes. Others searched for places to sit. What was expected to be a long but routine day quickly turned into something else. In the days since the assembly, that experience has taken on new weight. For party officials, the issue has been explained. For many who were there, it raised deeper concerns. Party says results stand In the days following the assembly, questions focused on an 80-ballot discrepancy between the number of votes cast and the official credentialing report. Colora...