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4 takeaways from preliminary election results in Colorado
It could be days before a winner is determined in a handful of races, and weeks before vote counts are formally certified by state officials, but many of the headline results in Colorado’s 2020 election are clear — beginning with record-shattering turnout that saw voters cast more than 3.1 million ballots. With more than 2.9 […]
Ballot measure roundup: Abortion restrictions fail as income tax cut, paid leave, tobacco taxes pass
Colorado voters on Tuesday soundly rejected a ballot question that sought to ban abortions after 22 weeks — but could end up saying yes to all 10 of the other measures placed on their 2020 ballots, if results hold. Both liberal groups and conservative ones claimed victory in several important ballot fights, with a universal […]
Colorado Democrats celebrate another ‘decisive majority’ in state legislative races
Colorado Democrats are set to maintain control of the Colorado House of Representatives, and have added at least one seat to their crucial state Senate majority, unofficial results from the Colorado secretary of state’s office showed Tuesday night. As of 10 p.m, Democrats had claimed victory in two races for Republican-held General Assembly seats in […]
Five down-ballot races to watch on election night in Colorado
With just hours remaining for Colorado voters to return their ballots in the 2020 election, there’s little suspense about who will prevail in the two biggest statewide races. Another round of polls released early this week showed that Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden continues to be the overwhelming favorite to capture Colorado’s nine electoral […]
Gov. Polis’ proposal kicks off Colorado budget process amid uncertainty over pandemic, federal aid
Gov. Jared Polis on Monday unveiled a $35.4 billion state budget proposal that he said would restore many of the most painful cuts made amid the fiscal crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year. But with the virus surging again and a pivotal election about to determine the balance of power in Washington, […]
After historic zero-carbon pledge, Platte River Power Authority leaves door open to natural gas
Over the past few years, nearly every major electric utility and provider in Colorado has made headline-grabbing commitments to clean energy, pledging to be leaders in the global shift away from fossil fuels that scientists say is urgently necessary to combat climate change. But some environmental groups say that a recent move by northern Colorado’s […]
Gov. Polis orders one-time $375 stimulus payments to 435,000 Colorado workers
An estimated 435,000 Coloradans will receive a one-time direct payment of $375 in early December under an economic stimulus program announced by Gov. Jared Polis and state lawmakers on Wednesday. “I am taking swift action in close consultation with legislative leadership and members of the JBC to direct immediate payments to people whose lives and […]
Report: Colorado’s progress on clean-energy transition promising but uneven
Colorado has made significant progress towards clean energy over the last 10 years, environmental advocates found in a report released Tuesday. But while its adoption of clean-energy technologies ranks in the top half of U.S. states across multiple categories, progress has come faster in some sectors than others. The report by Environment America’s Research and […]
2020 brings another long list of Colorado ballot questions — but no blockbuster spending
From reproductive rights and a universal paid leave program to thorny wildlife management issues and complicated property-tax formulas, there’s no shortage of ballot questions that Coloradans are being asked to weigh in on in the 2020 election. In Denver, when combined with local measures, judicial retention elections and more, the result is a six-page, 47-question […]
Environmental groups again urge bolder action after Polis touts climate ‘roadmap’
As climate-intensified wildfires continued to rage across Colorado on Thursday, Gov. Jared Polis touted his administration’s collaborative approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in remarks to a state air-quality board — and environmental advocates once again faulted the governor for not pushing hard enough with strict regulations. Polis addressed the members of Colorado’s Air Quality […]
East Troublesome Fire’s ‘unprecedented’ blowup a sign of Colorado’s grim climate future
Christopher Joyner has spent years working for the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies that fight wildfires on Colorado’s public lands. He worked the Mullen Fire, which burned 176,000 acres on the Colorado-Wyoming border last month, and the Pine Gulch Fire, which briefly became the largest wildfire in state history in the summer. But nothing […]
Spending on legislative races spells trouble for Colorado Republicans
As millions of dollars in campaign contributions from large corporations and “dark money” nonprofits pour into Colorado’s legislative elections, spending figures show that Democrats are well-positioned to defend, and potentially expand, their crucial majority in the state Senate in 2021. Disclosure reports filed with the Colorado secretary of state’s office show that deep-pocketed conservative super […]