Colorado Politics

 Ballot measure seeks tax hike for higher income earners in 2026

A coalition led by a Colorado think tank will file a ballot initiative on Wednesday to raise state income tax rates on annual household incomes and corporations with earnings above $500,000. The ballot measure, which sets up a “graduated” income...

 Tancredo endorses Jeff Hurd challenger Hope Scheppelman in Colorado’s CD3 GOP primary

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo this week formally endorsed Hope Scheppelman, a former vice chair of the Colorado Republican Party who is challenging first-term Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd in next year’s 3rd Congressional District GOP primary. In his endorsement,...

 Colorado’s crowded gubernatorial primary fields take shape as race looms for open seat | TRAIL MIX

A few months after celebrating Colorado’s sesquicentennial next summer, voters will elect the state’s 44th governor in the first open race for the seat since term-limited Democrat Jared Polis was elected eight years earlier. At last count, four Democrats and...

 Donald Trump endorses Colorado Republican Jeff Crank’s bid for reelection

President Donald Trump formally endorsed U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank’s bid for reelection on Tuesday, calling the Colorado Springs Republican a “Fierce Advocate for our America First Agenda.” Crank, a staunch Trump ally, is seeking a second term in the reliably...

 Ohio Republican Jim Jordan headlines fundraisers for El Paso County GOP, Colorado House members

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, plans to appear at fundraisers for Colorado’s four GOP members of Congress this week while he’s visiting the state to speak at the El Paso County GOP’s annual fundraising dinner in...

 Colorado Democrats choose Pueblo for 2026 state assembly

The Colorado Democratic Party announced on Tuesday that its 2026 state assembly will take place at a historic theater in Pueblo next spring, marking the first time in eight years that the party will hold an in-person statewide nominating convention....

 ‘Be courageous’: Gabby Giffords talks gun violence prevention with Colorado Democrats | TRAIL MIX

Gabby Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman from Arizona who survived a 2011 assassination attempt, told a friendly audience in Thornton on Aug. 6 that it’ll take persistence over the long haul to end gun violence. “Move ahead, do not look...

 Democrat Jena Griswold endorsed by Jamie Raskin, James Coleman in Colorado’s attorney general primary

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold on Thursday released dozens of new endorsements for her candidacy in the 2026 Democratic primary for attorney general, including U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Senate President James Coleman and former state Reps. Leslie...

 Colorado’s transportation funding gap prompts push for new revenue sources through ballot measures

A pair of measures proposing a new way to provide additional funding for Colorado’s roads, bridges, and highways could be headed to the ballot next November. The initiatives, backed by retired contractor Donald Hanneman, and retired tech executive Michael Hancock,...

 Colorado Senate District 9 vacancy filled by Lynda Zamora Wilson in El Paso County

A vacancy committee has selected Republican Lynda Zamora Wilson to represent Senate District 9 following the resignation of former Minority Leader Paul Lundeen of Monument.  Wilson, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, has worked as an analyst for the...

 The Left is back in Resistance mode

The left flank of the Democratic Party is back on its Resistance footing against President Donald Trump less than 100 days into his second term. Sen. Cory Booker‘s (D-NJ) marathon anti-Trump speechmaking, the Democratic pilgrimages to a Salvadoran prison, and...

 Democrat, Republican enter Colorado state House race

A Democrat and a Republican have officially entered the race for House District 32, which includes parts of Westminster and Commerce City. The seat is currently held by Democratic Rep. Manny Rutinel, who is running for Congress. The eventual winner...

 ‘I want my Colorado back’: Teller County sheriff to run for Colorado governor

Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell is joining the 2026 Colorado gubernatorial race with plans to tackle several issues. His focuses will be on the budget shortfall, housing affordability issues, immigration policies and crime trends if elected all while emphasizing the...

 Colorado Springs tests machine to count, verify City Council election results

The ballots are mailed out and the machines are calibrated to count votes in Colorado Springs’ April 1 municipal election. The City Clerk’s office and elections staff ran the logic and accuracy test for the ballot counting machine early Monday...

 Top Trump ally Steve Bannon set to headline Colorado GOP’s annual fundraising dinner

Former senior Trump advisor Steve Bannon is slated to headline the Colorado Republican Party’s annual fundraising dinner in March, five months after the popular podcaster’s release from federal prison, the state GOP announced Thursday. An architect of Donald Trump’s 2016...

 Colorado GOP sues Republicans who tried to oust Dave Williams from state chair position

The Colorado Republican Party sued six prominent state Republicans this week alleging the group orchestrated a failed “coup” that attempted to remove state GOP Chairman Dave Williams and his fellow state party officers from their positions last summer, costing the...

 Colorado GOP adjourns online meeting without considering controversial bylaws amendments

It took just over an hour and a half for the Colorado Republican Party’s state central committee to decide it wasn’t going to conduct any business on Thursday night. About 90 minutes into an online meeting of the committee, state...

 Democratic state lawmaker Manny Rutinel launches bid to challenge Gabe Evans in Colorado’s 8th CD

State Rep. Manny Rutinel on Monday announced his candidate for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado’s swingy 8th Congressional District, a nearly evenly divided seat decided by some of the narrowest margins in the...

 FEC dismisses complaint over Colorado GOP’s support for state chair Dave Williams’ 5th CD campaign

The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint filed last year against the Colorado Republican Party and its chairman, Dave Williams, that alleged the state GOP violated campaign finance law when it spent party funds to support Williams’ congressional campaign....

 Jamie Jackson wins Colorado House District 41 seat after vacancy election

A vacancy committee of Arapahoe County Democrats elected Jamie Jackson to serve as the state representative for House District 41, replacing Sen. Iman Jodeh, who left the position to serve in the Senate.  Jackson, the COO of the nonprofit organization...

 Arapahoe County Democrats set to hold vacancy election to replace Sen. Iman Jodeh in House District 41

The Arapahoe County Democrats will be holding a vacancy election Wednesday evening to replace Sen. Iman Jodeh, D-Aurora, who moved from the House to the Senate following former Sen. Janet Buckner’s departure.  Three candidates are running to represent the district,...

 Colorado GOP chair candidate Brita Horn announces endorsements from dozens of leading Republicans

More than two dozen Republican politicians, party officials and activists are supporting Brita Horn’s bid to chair the state GOP, the former Routt County treasurer announced Thursday. Among those backing Horn are former University of Colorado Regent and past gubernatorial...

 Top Colorado GOP staffer Darcy Schoening announces bid for state Republican Party chair

Darcy Schoening, the Colorado Republican Party’s director of special initiatives, on Monday declared that she’s running for state GOP chair in the party’s upcoming reorganization election. The state Republicans’ incumbent chair, former state Rep. Dave Williams, hasn’t announced whether he...

 Colorado Gov. Jared Polis urges lawmakers to pay fallen officer’s widow $1 million as mandated by voter-approved measure

Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday urged lawmakers to honor the will of the voters, notably by immediately implementing a measure approved last November that directs the state to provide benefits to the families of officers killed in the line of...

 Some Colorado House Republicans refuse to certify election results due to voting system breach

Six Republican members of the Colorado House of Representatives voted against certifying the 2024 election results, arguing that an error made by the Secretary of State’s office in which a spreadsheet containing passwords for the state’s voting machines were posted...

 Phil Weiser’s campaign for Colorado governor raises $155,000

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said his gubernatorial campaign raised more than $155,000 a day after launching his campaign. Weiser announced his candidacy for governor on Thursday. It’s customary for candidates to unveil their fundraising numbers shortly after announcing their...

 Top political stories in Colorado add up to a topsy-turvy 2024 | YEAR IN REVIEW

In a year marked by reversals, switches and unprecedented twists, Colorado’s political players barreled through month after month of historic firsts in 2024. While he lost Colorado by double digits, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies loomed over...

 Denver district attorney won’t pursue criminal charges over election password breach

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann has decided against pursuing criminal charges over the breach in election equipment passwords by the Secretary of State’s Office. McCann said her decision was the result of a seven-week investigation into whether the office of...

 10 Colorado electors officially cast state’s vote for Harris in presidential election

Colorado has officially cast its 10 electoral votes for Kamala Harris in this year’s presidential election.  The 10 electors, elected by the Colorado Democratic Party to represent each member of Colorado’s congressional delegation, all voted for Harris and her vice...

 Colorado voters undecided over choices for governor among Democrats, poll says

A majority of voters are undecided about their next choice for Colorado governor among a few potential Democratic aspirants. The poll only offered potential Democratic candidates.   The nonprofit Healthier Colorado released its findings of its first poll on the 2026...