This year, the Colorado Times Recorder team focused a lot of our efforts on one of the biggest problems plaguing American democracy: the presence of dark money in politics. Whether it’s anonymous funds from billionaires, funds funnelled through a dozen national orgs until the source has been lost, or the unaccountable fortunes flowing into lobbying and influence efforts, the flood of unaccountable dark money is deteriorating our politics.
Though much of the focus on dark money focuses on Washington, D.C., we spent much of this year looking at how those forces manifest in Colorado, from the top of the ticket all the way down to local races.
DAVIS: A Conversation with Katherine Stewart about Her New Book, and the Movement to Destroy Democracy
In February, I had the opportunity to interview legendary author and investigative reporter Katherine Stewart about her new book, Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy. As usual, she left me both concerned and optimistic.
“We don’t need to tolerate this level of dark money in our political system,” Stewart told me. “We could go further and create public funding for political campaigns. There’s also a lot that we can do through the regulation of internet and media to diminish the power and reach of misinformation. So yes, it’s true that beyond a certain point the concentration of wealth will overwhelm us and drown us, as you say. But we’re not there yet. We can fight the tide!”
Billionaires Pave the Way for Trump’s Federal Vouchers in the School Privatization Movement
In March, contributor Mike DeGuire looked specifically at the floes of dark money forcing their way into the discussion around public education. Specifically, Mike looked at the dark money groups working to pave the way for a federal school vouchers program and an effort to privatize the public school system.
DEGUIRE: The Dark Money Funding a Candidate for Colorado’s State Board of Education
In June, Mike narrowed the scope to focus on the dark money funding one specific candidate for Colorado’s state board of education.
“What is the reason for this historic influx of money for a single candidate in a state board of education primary race?” Mike wrote. “While there are three other elections for state board members this November, the District 2 race seems to be pivotal in ensuring that a majority of state board members support charter school priorities.”
From DC to Denver: The Right-Wing Groups Funding Colorado’s Conservative Training Program
In April, reporter Jamie O’Rourke published an investigation into Colorado’s main conservative training program, the Leadership Program of the Rockies, and the right-wing dark money groups funding its work.
“An email sent out this week by The Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR), Colorado’s preeminent training program for conservative politicians and activists, details all the sponsors of its 2025 conference,” Jamie wrote. “That list includes some major movers and shakers who have driven conservative policy both in Colorado and nationally.”
The Redprint: How Advance Colorado and Anonymous Donors Shape the Political Landscape
In August, I published an investigation months in the making, looking at the work of Colorado’s number-one conservative dark money group: Advance Colorado. By sifting thousands of tax documents, interviewing well-placed political consultants, and connecting more than a few dots, I managed to publish more information about the organization’s finances than has ever been made public before.
DAVIS: Your Questions About ‘The Redprint,’ Answered
I also followed-up The Redprint with a piece answering questions I received about the initial investigation, and taking a more focused look at the ways the Advance Colorado network has worked to influence local school board races in Colorado over the last few electoral cycles by showering huge amounts of cash down onto otherwise small-dollar races.
Outside Money, Inside Influence: The Network Shaping Denver’s School Board Race
In October, Mike DeGuire wrote about the dark money networks working to influence the outcome of school board races in the state’s by-far largest school district: Denver Public Schools. “Dark money is once again pouring into Denver’s school board elections,” Mike wrote.
DAVIS: The Dark Money in Your Mailbox
That same month, I wrote about the dark money networks attempting to influence school board elections pretty much everywhere else in the state, with a particular focus on the right-wing organizations attempting to influence districts in places like El Paso County, Montrose, Douglas County, and Durango.
Analysis: Conservative Dark Money Group Dominates Colorado’s Ballot Initiative Process for 2026
Last month, reporter Jamie O’Rourke took another close look at Advance Colorado, this time with a focus on how the conservative mega-org uses its nearly limitless sums of dark money to influence the state’s ballot initiative process. Jamie’s reporting is the first look at a wave of Advance-backed ballot initiatives preparing to flood the state with signature collectors next year in an attempt to get onto the ballot.
