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Money didn’t win Colorado’s primary. The ground game did.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Money didn’t win Colorado’s primary. The ground game did.

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board One of Colorado's biggest races still isn't settled. Two days after the polls closed, the Republican primary for governor had not been called. Victor Marx led Barb Kirkmeyer by about 2,000 votes statewide—39.86 percent to 39.43 percent, with Scott Bottoms third at 20.71 percent—in the Secretary of State's Thursday morning count. Marx's edge, 2,181 votes out of more than 500,000 cast, sits just outside Colorado's mandatory recount range, which trips at half a percentage point.  On the Democrat side, the race was settled. Attorney General Phil Weiser defeated U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, 56.71 percent to 43.29 percent. Colorado doesn't finish voting when the polls close. And neither do Colorado's campaigns. The real story from Tues...
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Colorado Primary Sends Shockwaves Through State and National Politics
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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...
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Pride changed. I didn’t.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Pride changed. I didn’t.

By Valdamar Archuleta | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As the world wraps up another June, filled with rainbows and unicorns, I, as a gay Republican, reflect on 30 days of what always ends up being unproductive conflict. And once again, I prepare to face the inevitable question: “How can you be a gay Republican?” Well, it’s pretty easy. Donald Trump was the first American President to take office supporting same-sex marriage. He was also the first President to wave a rainbow on the campaign trail before being elected. Which, he did right here in Colorado. Sure, this can just be tossed up as political lip service, but Trump went further. In 2019, President Donald Trump introduced the “Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America” initiative. At the same time, his adminis...
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Colorado GOP Chooses Software Engineer Craig Steiner to Lead Party Recovery
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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...
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Judge keeps Colorado’s GOP primary open to unaffiliated voters
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Approved, DENVER7, State

Judge keeps Colorado’s GOP primary open to unaffiliated voters

By April Schildmeyer | Denver7 DENVER — A judge rejected three Republican primary candidates' request to block unaffiliated voters from participating in the upcoming party primary election. Former State House Rep. Ron Hanks, State Rep. Scott Bottoms and David Willson, a candidate for attorney general, filed the suit, claiming that allowing non-party voters to participate dilutes the votes of registered Republicans and violated the party's First Amendment rights. In 2016, Colorado voters approved Proposition 108, which opened primaries to unaffiliated voters. Judge Jon J. Olafson found the plaintiffs waited too long to file their lawsuit, noting that ballots had already been mailed to overseas military voters. County clerks must mail ballots to military and overseas voters by...
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Colorado Republicans Demand Accountability After Weld Chair’s Arrest For Child Prostitution
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Colorado Republicans Demand Accountability After Weld Chair’s Arrest For Child Prostitution

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado Two days after Weld County Republicans Chair Hunter Rivera was arrested in Northern Colorado for allegedly soliciting child prostitution, he resigned from his position. The party condemned Rivera after he was arrested during a Larimer County Sheriff's Office operation targeting child predators. The sheriff's office said dozens of people responded to online listings posing as minors selling sexual acts, and Rivera and Ismaaeel Abdur-Rahmaan were arrested when they arrived at the agreed upon location. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
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Senate Democrats Advance Plan To Redirect Millions In TABOR Refunds
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Senate Democrats Advance Plan To Redirect Millions In TABOR Refunds

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Despite objections from legislative staff and Republican opposition, Senate Democrats on Friday moved forward with a proposal to reroute $306 million in taxpayer refunds. Already, critics are preparing to sue over the proposal that seeks to take $300 million in Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refunds over the next two years to cover what Democratic lawmakers believe is an overpayment from a previous fiscal year. House Bill 1419 won preliminary approval from the state Senate on Friday. It now awaits a final vote in the chamber and will then go back to the House, which must concur with any amendments adopted. The alleged overpayments in 2024–25 TABOR refunds were never reflected in the state’s 2024–25 budget because they stemmed ...
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Democrats Advance Bill Sidestepping Citizen Led Push To Prioritize Roads And Bridges
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Democrats Advance Bill Sidestepping Citizen Led Push To Prioritize Roads And Bridges

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The battle over road funding intensified at the state Capitol this week, where legislators are seeking to negate an initiative that supporters say is sorely needed but which critics insist would divert money from other state priorities. Supporters of the initiative questioned the timing of new legislation that emerged in the waning days of the legislative session. They also wondered about how much feedback sponsors sought, insinuating the House bill was crafted without input from the road construction industry. At stake is roughly $700 million in state dollars. Introduced last week, House Bill 1430 would take effect only ifInitiative No. 175 passes in November. The initiative would require that transportation-...
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Colorado Legislators To Receive Raises During $1.5 Billion Budget Crisis
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Legislators To Receive Raises During $1.5 Billion Budget Crisis

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado’s $1.5 billion budget deficit is driving widespread cuts across state services, including reduced reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers and steep income losses for families caring for relatives with intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, as those reductions take effect, an automatic pay increase for state lawmakers — triggered by a 2024 change in law — remains scheduled to begin in 2027. When Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1333 on Monday, the measure included a salary increase for legislators. The bill does not reference this pay raise directly, nor is it mentioned in either of the bill’s fiscal analyses. The increased salary, along with higher per diem and mileage rates, is expe...
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Federal Judge Keeps Unaffiliated Voters In Colorado GOP Primaries
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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...
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