A two-week trial began Monday in the federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Colorado’s voter-approved state campaign contribution limits, which are among the lowest in the country.
The case was brought by three Republicans, who, backed by lawyers from a conservative political nonprofit, argue Colorado’s limits benefit self-funding candidates who can bankroll their campaigns.
“The evidence will show the contribution limits are too restrictive,” said Ryan Morrison, an attorney with the Institute for Free Speech, a conservative national nonprofit. “Colorado’s limits significantly restrict the amount of funding available for challengers to run competitive campaigns.”
Voters overwhelmingly adopted Colorado’s donation limits in 2002 through an amendment to the state constitution. They are now $1,450 for candidates for statewide office and $450 for state legislative candidates.
The lawsuit claims Colorado’s donation limits violate the First Amendment by limiting donors’ freedom of speech.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Michael Kotlarczyk, who is representing Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold in the case, said Colorado has had limits on campaign donations for 50 years and many state-level political contests remain competitive.
“Lower contribution limits do not produce higher incumbency rates,” Kotlarczyk said. “Colorado’s one of the most competitive states nationally.”
Senior U.S. District Court Judge John Kane, who is hearing the case, rejected an effort in the same lawsuit two years ago to overturn the campaign finance limits for the 2022 election. He told attorneys Monday that he has a range of questions in the case, including about the potential for corruption via campaign donations and who gets to determine that potential.
U.S. Rep. Greg Lopez, an Elizabeth Republican who was sworn into office July 8, took the stand Monday as the lead plaintiff in the case, recalling his unsuccessful gubernatorial runs in 2018 and 2022. He said he was hampered by the limits in those campaigns.
“It’s becoming a rich man’s game if you can’t write the million-dollar checks coming out of your personal accounts,” said Lopez, who was elected to the U.S. House last month to fill the remainder of former U.S. Rep. Ken Buck’s term in the 4th Congressional District.
Lopez said he plans to run for statewide office in 2026, though he hasn’t decided which. The governor’s office will be up for grabs again, as will three other statewide offices.
Gov. Jared Polis, a multimillionaire Democrat, spent more than $23 million of his personal wealth to win his 2018 campaign and more than $12 million to win in 2022. Self-funding candidates are not subject to the state’s donor limits.
But an attorney representing the state pointed out that Lopez never received a maximum-allowed donation during his 2018 gubernatorial contest, where he finished third in the four-candidate GOP primary. He lost in the 2022 primary, too.
State Sen. Rod Pelton, R-Cheyenne Wells, also testified that the costs of campaigning, especially travel, are hampered by the state’s low donor limits. He’s never faced a primary challenger in his three election cycles, and his district on the Eastern Plains is solidly Republican.
Donation limits for state House and Senate candidates increased last year for the first time since 2002, to $450 from $400 per person. Limits for statewide contests increased to $1,450 for statewide candidates from $1,250 because of inflation in the four years prior to 2023.
Lawyers for the Republican plaintiffs and Griswold, the defendant in the case, are expected to call witnesses over the next two weeks, with trial expected to conclude July 26. It’s a bench trial, so Kane will ultimately rule on the lawsuit.