During the legislative session in 2018, the Democratic-controlled state House passed 90 bills that later met their doom in the Republican-controlled Senate. All but 16 of those bills were killed on a party-line vote. The 74 remaining bills blocked by Republicans now offer a roadmap for how the Democrats may govern in January when the […]
Colorado General Assembly
Posted inBusiness, Education, Energy, Environment, Growth, Health, News, Politics and Government, Transportation
The new Democratic majority in Colorado needs money for their ambitious agenda. Here’s where they could find it.
The paramount challenge Democrats face as they take full control of Colorado state government next year: the gap between the ambitious agenda they promised voters and the limited money they have to spend. In interviews with The Colorado Sun, top Democratic lawmakers say they’re already brainstorming ideas big and small to close that gap — including […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
A look at the long list of historical firsts Colorado reached with its 2018 elections
Colorado voters helped make history in the 2018 midterms. From the governor’s race to legislative contests — and plenty of races in between — voters picked candidates who represented firsts in Colorado politics. The biggest benchmarks came from Democrats who ran the table in major contests as part of the so-called blue wave. Here is […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Democrat Brianna Titone’s opponent concedes, making her the first transgender state representative-elect in Colorado
Democrat Brianna Titone was being interviewed by a local television news station on Saturday evening about what it would mean to be Colorado’s first transgender state representative when suddenly she received a phone call. On the other end of the line was Republican Vicki Pyne, with whom she’d been locked in a tight battle over […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado could elect its first transgender person to the legislature as four razor-thin state House races teeter
Four races for the Colorado House remain teetering along razor-thin margins on Friday as some votes are still being counted, including one contest that could result in the first transgender person being elected to the legislature. Right now, Democrats are holding solid leads in three of them. Here are those contests and where they stand […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
The takeaway from Amendment 73’s defeat: Voters won’t throw money into a broken school finance system
Voters rejected a 10-digit ask for new money for education this week, the third failed attempt at raising taxes for schools in the past eight years. Amendment 73 — which would have raised $1.6 billion for schools on top of the $11.7 billion they get now — went down 45 percent to 55 percent in […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado Senate Democrats, with their new majority, show early splits; statehouse Republicans search for a path forward
The new Democratic majorities at the state Capitol picked their leaders in elections Thursday that showed early divisions between the moderates and more liberal lawmakers. In the state Senate, where the party took control for the first time in four years, Pueblo Sen. Leroy Garcia unanimously won the job as the chamber’s president when it […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News, Politics and Government
It’s official: 2018 is the costliest year ever in Colorado politics
There’s no question that 2018 is the costliest year ever in Colorado politics. And it isn’t just multi-millionaire Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis fueling his gubernatorial campaign to the tune of $23.3 million. Just days before Election Day, more than $200 million has poured into Colorado campaigns this year, compared with $156.6 million in 2014, […]
Posted in2018 Voter Guide, News, Politics and Government
Unite America wants to upend the two-party system in Colorado. Their strategy doesn’t look like it will work.
If Jay Geyer’s pitch to voters sounds like it was written by an ethics teacher, well, that’s because it was. The independent candidate for the Colorado General Assembly, who teaches ethics and political philosophy at CU Boulder, isn’t rallying supporters by pledging to vote a certain way on divisive social issues like guns or abortion. […]
Posted in2018 Voter Guide, News, Politics and Government
Spending 5 times higher on state Senate races this year than in 2016
Candidates and committees still are scooping up political TV ad time with only eight days until the election comes to a close, adding nearly $2.5 million in spending last week. That brings total election-year spending to $66.9 million, $52.1 million of that on the general election alone. Many of the ads airing focus on the […]