Colorado state Rep. Monica Duran speaks before Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signs an eviction protections bill April 19 in the state Capitol in Denver. The for-cause eviction protections bill was one of the most sweeping pro-tenant bills passed in recent years and was the product of 18 months of lawmaking and organizing. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
If Colorado Democrats win a legislative supermajority in November, they’ll unlock two new political powers: the ability to refer constitutional amendments and override gubernatorial vetoes without Republican help.
To achieve a supermajority, Democrats must add one seat in the state Senate without losing ground in the House, where a number of incumbents face close races.
But lawmakers and political observers say voters shouldn’t expect a Democratic supermajority to use those powers often — if ever. Instead, it’s far more likely that the effects of the November election will be felt in other ways.
Outgoing House Speaker Pro Tem Chris deGruy Kennedy, a Lakewood Democrat, says one of the biggest differences he saw when the House achieved a supermajority was a change in what bills made it through committee, where Democrats often hold a three-seat edge.
“I think that’s where the bulk of the real life impact plays out,” deGruy Kennedy said. “Having the larger majority means more stuff makes it out of committee and gets a vote in front of the full House.”
Tighter majorities, on the other hand, can give one moderate committee member a veto over something that might have the majority it needs to pass a floor vote.
Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, a Monument Republican, says the margins of the Democratic majority matter for another reason, too. The fewer Republicans there are, the less their input is sought by Democratic bill sponsors.
“It’s a game of inches,” Lundeen said. “Relationships matter. The further and further you get away from balance, the less meaningful those conversations are.”
TABOR, TAXES AND THE STATE BUDGET
In theory, a legislative supermajority could lead to Democrats catching their proverbial white whale: a referred constitutional measure to amend the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. That could come in the form of relaxing its restraints on spending or — more likely — by attempting to repeal TABOR’s prohibition of a progressive income tax structure, allowing Democrats to raise tax rates on higher earners to raise funding for public services. Currently, everyone pays the same 4.25% tax rate regardless of income.
“We know how TABOR ties our hands in so many ways, and that’s why we’ve had to be creative when it comes to funding,” said House Majority Leader Monica Duran, a Wheat Ridge Democrat. “I think it really does open up the possibilities to be able to figure out how we can make some of these changes if we have the right numbers in the Senate and continue to have those in the House.”
Lundeen put it more bluntly: “I think TABOR is on the chopping block if Democrats have total control in a supermajority fashion in both chambers.”
But deGruy Kennedy, who now leads the progressive Bell Policy Center, isn’t so sure. He sees a citizen-led initiative as the more likely route to instituting a tiered income tax.
“When the rubber hits the road, you’ve got politics, you’ve got pressure from the lobby, you’ve got pressure from the governor,” deGruy Kennedy said. “There certainly will be some ambitious proposals, I am sure of that. But at the end of the day, the legislative path for referring anything to the constitution, unless it’s bipartisan, is very hard.”
Instead, deGruy Kennedy says larger Democratic majorities would mean more leverage for the political left to influence tax policies that the legislature can pass without voter approval — like this year’s sweeping changes to how TABOR refunds are issued and the series of property tax cuts passed by the legislature.
“At the end of the day, what we’re really in for this year is budget cuts,” deGruy Kennedy added, alluding to the state’s $900 million projected budget deficit.
“I do think that if the Republicans picked up some seats, that it probably gives them a little bit more room to push for the kind of cuts that they want to see in the budget,” he said. “I think that if Democrats are making those cuts, there may be different choices than if the Republicans have a louder voice.”
- Colorado’s Property Tax Commission meets at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the state Capitol.
- The University of Denver, Colorado Politics and The Denver Gazette are hosting a debate Thursday evening on Proposition 131. The debate, held at DU, will feature Kent Thiry, the former CEO of the Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita, and Nick Troiano, who leads the Denver-based election reform nonprofit Unite America, where Thiry is cochair of the board. Opposing the measure during the debate will be Republican Jason Lupo, the founder of First Choice Counts who ran unsuccessfully for a state House seat this year, and Republican Candice Stutzriem, codirector of First Choice Counts who tried unsuccessfully to get a measure on the November ballot that would have banned ranked choice voting in Colorado. Find more information on the debate here.
- The final federal campaign finance deadline before the Nov. 5 election is Thursday. Candidates and political action committees on that day must report their fundraising and spending between Oct. 1 and Oct. 16.
- Coloradans who aren’t registered to vote but who want to receive a ballot in the mail must register by Monday.
The amount Democrat Trisha Calvarese paid herself out of her congressional campaign account in July, August and September.
Calvarese, who is running to represent Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, started taking a salary from her campaign after winning the three-way Democratic primary.
She paid herself $3,119.08 in July, and then began taking a biweekly salary of $2,650.46 in August. That’s a typical paycheck for someone who earns $63,500 a year. The living wage for a single adult without children in the Denver area is $55,058, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In a written statement, Calvarese said she is “proud to be earning an honest, middle-class wage on this campaign.”
“Congress is full of the ultra-wealthy because it’s almost impossible for normal people to run for office,” she said. “It’s part of the reason why Congress is so broken. … Like most Coloradans, I know what it feels like to actually worry about medical bills and the rising cost of gas and groceries.”
Calvarese, who is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, isn’t the only Colorado congressional candidate taking a salary this year. Republican Gabe Evans in the 8th Congressional is, too, though to a much lesser extent. Evans is paying himself $1,650 a month.
Evans’ Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, received a salary from her campaign in 2022, but now that she’s an incumbent she’s prohibited from doing so.
Boebert, as an incumbent, is also prohibited from taking a salary from her campaign. She didn’t take a salary when she first ran for Congress in 2020.
Democrat River Gassen, who is running a longshot campaign in the Republican-stronghold 5th Congressional District, reported paying herself $2,500 on Oct. 15 for work as her campaign’s treasurer.
There’s nothing illegal about the payments, but it’s unusual for candidates to pay themselves or their loved ones a salary because of the criticism it can draw.
Congressional candidates are allowed to take a salary equivalent of up to $238 a day. The actual limit per candidate depends on how much they earned on average over the preceding five years.
According to Calvarese’s personal financial disclosure, she earned about $134,500 in 2023 for her work as a speechwriter at the National Science Foundation. She left the position in January as she launched her congressional campaign. Calvarese didn’t report any personal debt, though she said her spouse owes between $15,000 and $50,000 for a student loan he took out in 2016 to pay for graduate school.
Where the Colorado GOP and Colorado Democratic Party spent their money last month
Colorado GOP chairman Dave Williams speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center on Oct. 11 in Aurora. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The Colorado GOP raised more than $362,000 in September, about 80% of which came from the party’s participation in the Trump 47 Committee, a joint fundraising committee with the Trump campaign, Republican National Committee and state Republican parties across the country.
The party spent $371,000 last month, most of which came in the form of a $280,846 transfer to the Republican National Committee.
The Colorado GOP’s second largest expense was its legal fees as it successfully battled a leadership takeover attempt from opponents of Chairman Dave Williams. The party paid $10,000 to Hampton & Pigott LLP and $12,000 to Melito Law LLC, the two law firms representing Williams and the party in court. It also set aside $10,000 for the “COGOP legal fund.”
The Colorado GOP also sent $9,000 to Let Kids Be Kids, a state issue committee that unsuccessfully tried to get a measure on the November ballot that would have banned gender reassignment procedures on children in Colorado.
The party reported no direct spending on behalf of Republican candidates running in Colorado this year and ended the month with $335,000 in cash on hand.
The Colorado Democratic Party reported raising $515,000 in September, much of it from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Adam Frisch’s campaign in the 3rd Congressional District. It spent $487,817.43 last month.
The CDP’s spending included $200,000 in mailers supporting U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in the 8th Congressional District, as well as $25,000 in mailers supporting Frisch. The party also spent more than $22,000 in yard signs.
The party spent about $100,000 on payroll and associated taxes in September. The CDP had more than $622,000 in cash on hand to start October.
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PROPOSITION 129
Gov. Jared Polis last week formally endorsed Proposition 129, which would establish a state-regulated, master’s degree-level position — veterinary professional associate — designed to create expanded access to veterinary care. He and first gentleman Marlon Reis also each gave $2,500 to the issue committee supporting the measure.
“It would be great to have it as an option for veterinarians to expand the bandwidth of their practices, too, and it will help save people money on veterinary bills for pets and also better support our ranchers in rural areas with severe veterinary shortages. I will be voting yes on Proposition 127,” Polis said in a written statement.
PROPOSITION 131
Colorado Voters First, the issue committee supporting Proposition 131, released a new list of endorsements last week from prominent women in Colorado politics. They include:
- Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt, a Democrat
- State Rep. Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada
- Former state Rep. Edie Hooton, D-Boulder
- Former Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout, a Democrat
The measure would change most of the state’s primaries so candidates from all parties run against each other, with the top four vote-getters advancing to a ranked choice voting general election.
8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
The super PAC spending in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District continues to ramp up as Election Day approaches.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the Republican super PAC tied to House Speaker Mike Johnson, has increased its spending in the 8th Congressional District to help Republican state Rep. Gabe Evans to $4.3 million. That includes spending on a new TV ad in which the PAC labels Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo a “liberal extremist.”
Meanwhile, Mainstream Colorado on Saturday reported $280,000 in spending to benefit Caraveo in the district, bringing the federal super PAC’s total spending on the race to more than $1.1 million. Most of the PAC’s money has come from nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors, which The Colorado Sun refers to as dark money groups.
3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
The Congressional Leadership Fund is ramping up its spending in support of Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. The expenditures are a sign that the district remains in play.
The CLF reported spending money on text messages and mailers for Hurd, a Republican, bringing its investment in the district to nearly $90,000.
Hurd is running against Democrat Adam Frisch, who nearly unseated Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in 2022. Frisch announced Monday that he has been endorsed by Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham, a Republican.
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Campaign finance tidbits to-go
Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., speaks during the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22 in Chicago. Neguse’s leadership PAC, Hope PAC, donated $41,000 last month to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and various Democratic candidates for the U.S. House. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The proverbial salmon of Capistrano — aka big campaign donations — keep flocking. Here are the latest ones you need to know about:
- Ben Walton, a Walmart heir, donated another $1 million to Colorado Voters First on Friday, bringing his spending on the issue committee supporting Proposition 131 to $2 million. The Colorado Chamber of Commerce gave the committee $225,000 on Friday. Colorado Voters First received $1 million from Unite America PA, a Denver-based election reform group, and $100,000 from Patrick Hamill, a real estate developer, on Thursday.
- State Rep. Bob Marshall, D-Highlands Ranch, loaned $25,000 to his reelection campaign Oct. 11.
- The National Education Association, the national teachers union, donated $1 million last week to Public Schools Strong, the issue committee opposing Amendment 80. Public Schools Strong also received $7,500 from the District 12 Educators Association and $5,000 from the Pueblo Education Association, two local teachers unions.
- U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse’s leadership PAC, Hope PAC, donated $41,000 last month to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and various Democratic candidates for the U.S. House. Neguse is currently the assistant house Democratic leader. He may be eyeing an even more prominent position in Congress should his party win back control of the House. Neguse also gave DCCC $140,000 from his campaign committee after previously giving $630,000 to the group this election cycle.
- U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen’s reelection campaign sent $165,000 to DCCC in September after previously giving the group $160,000.
- U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s leadership PAC donated to Republican congressional candidates Jeff Hurd, John Fabbricatore and Gabe Evans last month.
Colorado Sun correspondent Sandra Fish contributed to this report.
NEGUSE MEETS WITH LOBBYISTS
Fish spotted Neguse on Friday meeting with members of the Politicalworks lobbying team, including founder Travis Berry, at the Denver Art Museum. Also there was lobbyist Patrick Boyle, president of the Nexus Policy Group.
Neguse reported to the Federal Elections Commission that he received $1,000 each on Friday from Berry and Boyle.
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Corrections & Clarifications
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