At least $42 million in dark-money spending went to support or oppose candidates and ballot measures
Dark money
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers want to put clear guardrails around how dark money can be spent on ballot measures
A bipartisan effort to clarify how much money political nonprofits can spend supporting or opposing Colorado ballot measures before they have to disclose their donors would likely allow the so-called dark-money groups to keep their finances secret in most cases. Two political nonprofits that often work against each other on Colorado ballot initiatives — the […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
6 big takeaways from the 2021 election results in Colorado and beyond
Colorado voters’ decisions in the 2021 elections left plenty to be dissected Wednesday. Here are six big takeaways from the results: The failure of two conservative-backed ballot measures As Republican candidates have lost in Colorado over the past two election cycles, conservatives have placed more emphasis on trying to advance their policies through ballot initiatives. […]
Posted inClimate, Coloradans, Economy, Environment, News, Outdoors, Politics and Government
Hard-right rooted group has made inroads in Colorado opposing Biden’s vision for public lands
Land grab or precious-resource preservation? The battle over where the truth ̶ and where Westerners’ hearts ̶ lie on that matter is rumbling through Colorado counties as a federal government initiative nicknamed 30×30 gains momentum, and opposition. Colorado has become the beachhead in a Texas-based group’s efforts to use local governments to thwart the Biden […]
Posted inElection 2020, Politics and Government
Top spenders on Colorado ballot measures all claimed victory in 2020 election, new reports show
Dark-money nonprofits, a discount tobacco company and wealthy donors fueled the costly ballot initiative contests in Colorado, and the side that spent the most won all the contested races. The most expensive ballot measure was Proposition 115, a proposed ban on abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy that voters soundly rejected, 59% to 41%, at […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Facebook shouldn’t block a journalist tool revealing how political ads are targeted
Many elements went into John Hickenlooper’s winning campaign for U.S. Senate this year, but an important aspect was his political advertising on Facebook. Not only did Hickenlooper outspend incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner on Facebook ads in the months leading up to Election Day by a ratio of $5 to $1, but he also deployed sophisticated […]
Posted inElection 2020, News, Politics and Government
Out-of-state money fuels U.S. Senate race between Cory Gardner and John Hickenlooper
The TV ads show grim, darkened images of former Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper or Republican Sen. Cory Gardner. The ads sound ominous, with solemn music and deep-voiced narrators. These are the sorts of messages that super PACs and dark money nonprofits have already spent more than $27 million on, targeting Colorado’s two major-party Senate candidates. […]
Posted inCOVID, News, Politics and Government
Audio: Second-home owners try to rally political power in Gunnison County after ban
In early April, Gunnison County announced that second-homeowners had to stay out of the county, to limit the spread of COVID-19. Now, second-homeowners who are frustrated by their lack of a voice on local issues are working to sway the upcoming county commissioner election. Jason Blevins has been following this story for The Colorado Sun and joined us to discuss […]
Posted inCOVID, News, Politics and Government
Gunnison County second-home owners, sour from being temporarily banned during coronavirus, gear up for political fight
One of the most timeworn laments of second-home owners in resort towns is their lack of a voice on political and taxation issues. Nonresidents can’t vote in their second-home communities, but the sales and property taxes they pay and the charitable contributions they make float a lot of high-country economies. After Gunnison County banned part-time […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Here’s who funded the last-minute, $1.5 million attacks on Andrew Romanoff in Colorado’s U.S. Senate primary
A dark-money nonprofit affiliated with Democratic leaders in the U.S. Senate is the major funder of a pop-up super PAC that spent nearly $1.5 million to boost former Gov. John Hickenlooper days before Colorado’s U.S. Senate primary, according to new federal reports. A spokesman for Let’s Turn Colorado Blue, the super PAC, said it received […]