Last year, paid signature gatherers were found to be misleading voters in left-leaning areas of Colorado while canvassing for Initiative 95, a proposed constitutional amendment that would force local law enforcement to work more closely with ICE. Now, a leader of the conservative dark money group that created Initiative 95 is citing those deceptively gathered signatures as an indicator of support from the left.
Signature gatherers outside of grocery stores and other public spaces are a common sight in the year before an election — but can you trust what circulators tell you?
Of the 87 ballot initiatives listed on the website for the Colorado Title Board, which manages the state's ballot initiative process, Advance Colorado president Michael Fields is listed as a proponent for 61 of them.
Last week, we published a first-of-its-kind investigation into the right-wing dark money network exerting immense influence over Colorado politics. Called “The Redprint: How Advance Colorado and Anonymous Donors Shape the Political Landscape,” the piece looked at Advance Colorado’s opaque funding and tightly knit cluster of organizations which, together, allow it to drive dominant political narratives in ways which benefit their donors’ agendas.
The Republican Party wields no official power at the state level in Colorado. Since 2020, the GOP has been shut out of every statewide office and control of either chamber of the state Legislature. Despite the party’s ouster from official authority, though, one group of Colorado Republicans has figured out how to work within the new reality, and has succeeded in driving conservative issues forward at the state level without a governor, attorney general, or state Legislature on their side.
About 2,500 years ago, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus noted that the only constant in life is change. In all the time which has passed since that observation, some people still haven’t gotten the message – something which was proven again last week when the conservatives at Advance Colorado took a break from being the sole remaining political threat faced by Colorado Democrats and indulged one of American conservatism’s least serious impulses: kneejerk rage at a minor change.
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. That list includes some major movers and shakers who have driven conservative policy both in Colorado and nationally.
The Common Sense Institute (CSI), a conservative research organization, educates the public about “policy debates” without taking sides or supporting candidates or ballot initiatives, according to its website.
Yesterday was the launch of Colorado’s 2025 legislative session, and Democrats and Republicans are both focused on affordability, housing, and mental health this year. But they disagree on what should be done.
Progressive public education advocates in Colorado have found an unlikely ally in their opposition to Amendment 80 — Christian homeschoolers.
