Election season has begun, and The Colorado Sun wants its readers to know what will guide our coverage of the state’s June 25 primaries and Nov. 5 general election.
In addition to 2024 being a presidential election year, Colorado will be home to one of the most competitive U.S. House races in the nation in the toss-up 8th Congressional District, which spans Denver’s northeast suburbs along U.S. 85 into Greeley. Republicans are battling to make up some of the ground they’ve lost in the legislature. And there are likely to be many initiatives on the November statewide ballot.
While our coverage plans may change as Election Day nears, we want to be as transparent about our approach as possible so Coloradans can understand how and why we pursue certain stories. We also want your feedback and help as we fan out across the state to report and write.
Ultimately, The Sun’s goal is to focus on policy over politics, with an emphasis on what Coloradans need to know to fill out and cast their ballots.
We want to hear from you
The Sun is part of the Voter Voices 2024 project, an initiative with newsrooms around the state aimed at enlisting the public to help us decide what questions to ask candidates.
If you haven’t already, please fill out our survey below.
Help us report on the 2024 election by telling us what you care about. Survey
Which races we’ll cover
The Sun is a small newsroom, so we think hard about how to best use our limited resources. Thus, we are focusing our election coverage this year on races that are competitive and that will have an effect on the trajectory of the state and nation.
To determine whether a contest is competitive, we take into consideration a number of factors, including voter registration data, past election results, polling, and candidate and political group fundraising and spending. A race’s competitiveness can shift during an election cycle, and we will adapt accordingly.
We’ll focus much of our primary coverage on the Republican contests in the 3rd, 4th and 5th congressional districts, where the incumbents are not running for reelection. The districts all lean in the GOP’s favor, so whoever wins the primary will be the favorite to win in November, too.
In the 4th District, Colorado’s most GOP-favorable district spanning the Eastern Plains into Douglas County and Loveland, six Republicans are vying to replace former U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, who resigned in March. Among them is U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who now represents the 3rd District but decided in December to move to the 4th District to improve her chances of being reelected.
Boebert faces five Republicans in the primary:
- State Rep. Richard Holtorf of Akron
- State Rep. Mike Lynch of Wellington
- Conservative radio host Deborah Flora of Parker
- Former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling, who is currently a Logan County commissioner
- Businessman Peter Yu of Windsor
Three Democrats are running in the 4th District primary. They are activist and former congressional staffer Trisha Calvarese of Highlands Ranch; addiction recovery advocate John Padora of Severance; and Marine veteran Ike McCorkle of Parker.
There will also be a special election June 25 in the 4th District that will determine who serves out the rest of Buck’s term, which ends in early January. Republican Greg Lopez, a former Parker mayor, faces Calvarese and two minor party candidates in the contest.
In the 3rd District, six Republicans are running against each other in a primary that will determine who faces Democrat Adam Frisch, a former Aspen city councilman, in November. Frisch is running unopposed in the primary.
In the 5th District, which is made up almost the entirety of El Paso County, Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams is running against conservative commentator Jeff Crank in a Republican primary that will likely determine who replaces U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, who is retiring. Two Democrats are running in the primary in this Republican stronghold district.
There are also a number of highly competitive primaries in state House and Senate contests that we plan to watch closely.
As for the general election, much of our focus will be on the 8th District, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo is running for reelection in a race that could decide which party controls Congress. She won by 1,632 votes in 2022, and will face the winner of the Republican primary between state Rep. Gabe Evans and former state Rep. Janak Joshi.
We’ll also keep tabs on the 3rd District, where Boebert beat Frisch in 2022 by just 546 votes. With the congresswoman switching districts, however, the race could be less competitive.
Additionally, we will be reporting on a slate of ballot measures that could influence abortion access, property taxes, how Coloradans vote and the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. Many initiatives haven’t qualified for the ballot yet, and the lineup won’t be set until mid-August.
Finally, we will be watching a number of toss-up legislative districts to see if the GOP can gain ground at the Colorado Capitol.
Other than the presidential contest between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, a race that’s not expected to be competitive in Colorado, there is only one other statewide contest in the general election. That’s for an at-large seat on the University of Colorado Board of Regents.
We’re keeping track of all the congressional candidates registered with the Federal Election Commission here:
We’re tracking legislative candidates who filed to run thus far here:
How we’ll cover the most important contests
In the races we are tracking most closely, we’ll provide comparisons of where candidates stand on the issues that voters tell us they care about. We’ll also examine the records of office holders and candidates.
When it comes to ballot measures, The Sun will produce easy-to-understand explainers unpacking complicated issues. In our coverage you’ll also find information about the groups and people behind the initiatives and what their motivations are.
What you won’t find at The Sun are stories about political stunts or that prominently feature canned attack quotes from candidates’ spokespeople.
When The Sun covers polls this election cycle, we will do so carefully. We only report on polls conducted recently by reputable pollsters. If a pollster won’t share their full list of survey questions with us, or if they are using a small and unreliable sample, we will not cover their results.
We’ll also produce a comprehensive voter guide ahead of the November election, similar to the one we did in 2022.
Why we cover money in politics
One thing you’ll find a lot of in The Sun is coverage of money in politics.
Campaigns that raise the most money — or that benefit the most from spending by political groups — don’t always win, but cash does play a significant role in elections. So The Sun is keeping a close eye on how much candidates and issue groups raise, how they spend it and how much they have in the bank.
We pay particular attention to groups like super PACs, which aren’t subject to donor limits and often spend a lot more money than candidates. We also track spending by political nonprofits that don’t have to disclose their donors — organizations we refer to as dark-money groups.
The Sun also closely analyzes political TV contracts from the Federal Communications Commission.
Following the money gives us an idea of who is behind political messages you’re seeing.
We’ll answer your questions about voting
Wondering if you’re registered to vote, when your ballot will arrive or how to vote in person?
The Sun has got you covered. Ask your questions using the form below and we’ll respond individually, as well as answer questions on our site.
Got a question about Election 2024 in Colorado?
Submit your inquiry about this year’s elections to The Sun’s politics team. We’ll be answering them through election season.
Thanks for your question!
Events we’re planning
Our second annual SunFest, which will be held Sept. 27 at the University of Denver, will feature plenty of political panels.
We’ll be looking to partner with other news outlets throughout the year to host debates in competitive contests. Finally, we’re planning a series of virtual sessions to explain ballot measures and bridge political divisions.
Then there’s The Unaffiliated
If you’re looking for even more political coverage, you should sign up for The Unaffiliated, our newsletter pulling back the curtain on Colorado politics and policy. There you will find more quick-hit stories on polls, what candidates are saying on the campaign trail and plenty more information on what’s going behind the scenes.
You must be a premium Colorado Sun subscriber to get the newsletter; subscriptions like these are vital to our mission of providing most of our journalism for free as a public service, without a paywall or obtrusive advertising. Sign up here.
How we’ll cover election results
When Election Day arrives, you can expect The Sun to be working nonstop to bring you coverage of what’s happening on the ground. Our reporters, editors and photographers will visit polling places across the state to talk with voters and find out what motivated their decisions at the ballot box.
Results start being posted at 7 p.m. June 25 and Nov. 5, and we are hoping to bring you live numbers on our website. But we won’t post stories about races until we know whether a contest is going to be called in one candidate’s direction or another — or if a contest will be too close to call on election night.
Early results are just that. We don’t want to mislead you as to which way a contest is going.
We recommend you follow our reporters and editors on X, where they will be posting live updates through the day and night.