NEWS Thursday, May 28, 2026
Jared Polis was leaning toward voting for Michael Bennet. Now he’s undecided.
Plus: The governor’s message to Colorado’s business leaders. Latest state campaign finance reports. TV ad avalanche. Go Avalanche.
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Gov. Jared Polis, possibly wearing a bulletproof vest, greets U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet during the swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 10, 2023, at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)
Gov. Jared Polis was leaning toward voting for U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in the Democratic primary for governor this year, but says he is now undecided after Bennet’s attacks on how he’s led Colorado.
“I was a ‘leaning Michael’ guy,” Polis said Tuesday at The Colorado Sun’s annual post-legislative session event. “I probably am, like, undecided. I’m watching what they say. I care about policy more than what they say about me.”
Polis said he thinks Attorney General Phil Weiser is stronger on housing while Bennet is stronger on education.
“Michael and Phil are both terrific,” he said. “I was watching part of the California gubernatorial debate, and I was like, ‘Wow, Michael or Phil is better than that field in the biggest state in our country.’”
The governor said he will be voting in the Democratic primary for governor, but he doesn’t plan to share who he votes for — Bennet or Weiser. That being said, Polis said a lot of his family members — including his husband and mother — are backing Weiser because of how critical Bennet has been of Polis’ tenure as governor.
“Michael’s been a little bit hostile, frankly,” Polis said. “I mean, it’s just bizarre.”
Some other highlights from what Polis said at the event, excluding his Tina Peters remarks, which you can watch and read about here:
- The governor said his campaign promise to have Colorado’s electricity powered 100% by renewable energy by 2040 won’t happen, blaming Trump administration policies for making the goal impossible. “We’ll be at 80% clean energy by 2040,” he said. “I think we’re still likely to be in the 90s, probably the low 90s, by 2040. That’s an A- for me.”
- “I really think we need to reinvent this (from) the ground up,” Polis said of healthcare and Colorado’s Medicaid program. Right now, the state is just “trying to stick our fingers in the dam to prevent it from bursting,” he said.
- Polis said moving to a graduated income tax system, as a potential November ballot measure would ask voters to do, would destroy Colorado’s economy and be “absolutely devastating.” “You can have a graduated income tax that’s not a tax increase,” he said. “That’s not what this is. This is a big tax increase.”
- The governor said he wanted half of the hundreds of millions of dollars that would have been raised by a set of bills ending tax breaks for businesses to go toward cutting Colorado’s income tax rate in exchange for letting the other half go toward a tax credit for lower-income families with children. Ultimately, two of the three bills died. Democratic sponsors blamed veto threats from Polis as the cause.
STORIES:
MORE FROM THE EVENT
Some other highlights from our post-session event:
- House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, and House Minority Leader Jarvis Caldwell, R-Colorado Springs, acknowledged there are flaws in Colorado’s citizen ballot initiative system. “There’s nothing stopping somebody from running a ballot initiative to say you have to allocate $10 billion to roads,” Caldwell said in a nod toward Initiative 175, a proposed ballot measure that would enshrine road funding in the state Constitution. “That could certainly get on the ballot and be passed, and then we would be saying, ‘well, how in the world are we going to fund this?’”
- “Members in both caucuses don’t always show up with collaboration or a desire to find compromise,” McCluskie said of heightened tensions at the Capitol. “I think in my four years as speaker, the rise in hateful rhetoric — the performative politics that now appear in social media and drive what is happening on our House floor — is deeply painful to me.”
- “We are ahead of the curve,” state Sen. Matt Ball, D-Denver, said of the bill he passed imposing new regulations on Colorado’s sports betting industry. “A lot of things that we passed in the bill that I ran this year will be the first in the nation.”
- Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, said it could take years for the legislature to pass a bill — or bills — regulating data centers in the state.
- “A lot of what it felt like in the legislature this year, talking to local governments, is there’s sort of preemption fatigue and just fatigue, I think, with this governor in particular about all the different ways that the legislature has chipped at local control,” Ball said of why a group of bills that would have let Coloradans get around local housing rules failed this year.
Rodriguez said he thinks there’s a high probability that the legislature will return for a special session before Polis leaves office to rebalance the budget because of congressional actions.
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YOU HEARD IT HERE
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“We obviously value protecting consumers here, but we want to also realize that Colorado is a state. We don’t set national policy.”
— Gov. Jared Polis speaking to business leaders this week
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The governor, appearing at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the State event, hinted that he planned to veto a number of bills dealing with technology.
“It’s a little trendy now to regulate tech,” he said. “I think the AI bill, and the response, was an example of that. But there’s other bills that I’ve vetoed and I’m opposed to that are coming our way.”
The governor said Colorado is too small to be bringing some regulations. He particularly loathes measures requiring labeling of products.
“The threat is those products simply won’t be sold here, because, I mean, you’re not going to create a whole different supply run, especially if you’re a small company, just to sell to 1.5% of the American marketplace,” he said.
Polis refused to provide any insight into which bills he will veto this year during his appearance at The Sun’s post-session event.
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WHAT TO WATCH IN THE WEEK AHEAD
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- Monday is Memorial Day.
- The Democrats running to represent the 8th Congressional District will face off in a forum hosted by The Colorado Sun at 6 p.m. Thursday at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The candidates participating are former state Rep. Shannon Bird, Marine veteran Evan Munsing and state Rep. Manny Rutinel. Find details and register to attend here.
The Sun is hosting two other candidate forums ahead of the June 30 primary:
- At 6 p.m. on June 10 at the University of Denver, where at least three of the four Democrats running for attorney general will face off. Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty, former federal prosecutor Hetal Doshi and consumer and workers rights attorney David Seligman will participate in the forum. Secretary of State Jena Griswold has not confirmed her participation. Find details and register to attend here.
- At 10 a.m. on June 13 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, where Democratic gubernatorial candidates U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and Attorney General Phil Weiser will face off. Find details and register to attend here.
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Want to reach Colorado political influencers and support quality local journalism? The Sun can help get your message attention through a sponsorship of The Unaffiliated, the must-read politics and policy newsletter in Colorado. Contact Sylvia Harmon at underwriting@coloradosun.com for more information.
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THE POLITICAL TICKER
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ENDORSEMENTS
The NRDC Action Fund, the political offshoot of the Natural Resources Defense Council, endorsed U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s gubernatorial campaign.
“Colorado is on the frontlines of the climate crisis and deserves a governor with a proven track record of delivering for Colorado communities,” Jed Ober, managing director of NRDC Action Fund, said in a written statement. “Throughout his career, Michael has been a fierce advocate for Colorado’s environment, public lands and water. He has a clear vision to ensure Colorado leads the fight to hold polluters accountable, safeguard public lands from Trump’s attacks, and protect our climate.”
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, endorsed Democratic candidates Tyler Quick, who is running to be an Adams County commissioner; Chela Garcia Irlando, who is running for a state Senate seat; and Gabriel Cervantes, who is running for a state House seat.
PERSONNEL FILE
Former Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen has been named an energy fellow at the Common Sense Institute, a conservative-leaning nonprofit thinktank.
Lundeen left the legislature last year to become president and CEO of the American Excellence Foundation, where he remains in that position.
“Paul is a proven leader who understands how policy decisions translate into real-world economic outcomes,” Cinamon Watson, CEO of the Common Sense Institute, said in a written statement. “His experience brings a new, valuable perspective to CSI’s energy work. As energy continues to shape the state’s economic outlook, Paul’s expertise will strengthen our ability to deliver thoughtful analysis that informs decision-makers across Colorado.”
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
The Colorado GOP raised about $48,000 last month, spent $68,000 and started May with $48,500 in the bank. The party reported having $271,000 in debts, mostly to a lawyer hired by former Chairwoman Brita Horn.
The Colorado Democratic Party raised about $200,000 last month, spent $128,000 and had $385,697.52 in the bank to start May with no debts.
BILL TRACKER
Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday signed a pair of bills aimed at reducing the state’s prison population:
- Under Senate Bill 158, which takes effect July 1, the state board of parole can release people from prison who were sentenced for crimes committed before they were 21 years old
- Senate Bill 159 aims to speed up the release of some imprisoned people by adjusting the state’s earned time formula
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THE NARRATIVE
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Our takeaways from the latest state campaign finance filings, TV ad activity
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Jena Griswold addresses the Colorado Democratic Assembly on March 28 in Pueblo. Her campaign spent about $750,000 on ads in recent weeks. (Mike Sweeney, Special to The Colorado Sun)
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State campaigns and committees filed fundraising reports Monday for the money they raised and spent from April 30 to May 13.
Here are some of the highlights:
- Rocky Mountain Way, the state-level super PAC supporting U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet ‘s gubernatorial campaign, reported raising about $930,000 during the period, including $400,000 from the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association and $300,000 from Stand For Children, and ended the stretch with about $4 million in the bank after spending $1.6 million, almost all of it on ads. Bennet raised about $125,000 during the span and spent about $356,000, much of it on TV and digital ads, leaving his campaign with just shy of $950,000 in the bank.
- Attorney General Phil Weiser, Bennet’s primary rival, raised about $210,000 during the stretch and spent just under $950,000 — much of that on TV and digital ads, as well as mailers — leaving him with nearly $2 million in the bank. Fighting For Colorado, the state-level super PAC backing Weiser, received $100,000 on May 11 from Denver billionaire James Monroe, who chairs the board of Globalstar, a telecommunications company.
- Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx raised about $215,000 during the reporting period and spent about $460,000, leaving him with $283,000 in the bank.
- Coloradans For A Level Playing Field, the issue committee funded by U.S. House Democrats supporting a redistricting ballot measure in Colorado, raised north of $250,000 during the reporting period and spent $132,000, ending the span with about $315,000 in the bank. The Global Impact Social Welfare Fund, a liberal nonprofit, gave $250,000 to the committee on May 8.
- Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who is running for attorney general, spent nearly $800,000 during the span, including about $750,000 on ads. She ended with about $270,000 in the bank after raising $53,500.
- The Colorado Affordability Project, a state-level super PAC, spent about $30,000 on digital ads in support of state Rep. Sean Camacho, D-Denver, who faces a primary challenge from civil rights attorney Iris Halpern.
TV
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper began running TV ads this week as his campaign purchased air time throughout the state up until June 30. Some figures:
- More than $120,000 in ads to run on CBS Colorado in Denver
- Nearly $200,000 in ad time on Fox31 in Denver
- About $12,000 in ads on KKTV in Colorado Springs
See Hickenlooper’s folksy first ad of this election cycle here.
The American Action Network, a conservative political nonprofit, is buying TV time in the Colorado Springs/Pueblo and Grand Junction markets. That’s likely targeted at helping either Republican U.S. Reps. Jeff Hurd or Jeff Crank.
Some campaigns that have been running TV spots have new ads out. That includes Weiser, who takes Bennet to task for backing Trump nominees in a new spot — a message mirrored in the first ad out from Fighting For Colorado.
State Rep. Manny Rutinel, D-Commerce City, is running a new ad attacking former state Rep. Shannon Bird in the 8th Congressional District Democratic primary. “The ad will be backed by a buy of at least $250,000 on broadcast and cable TV,” Rutinel’s campaign said.
The ad was filmed on a landing just outside the state Capitol. Sitting state lawmakers are prohibited from campaigning “within the Capitol complex buildings,” per a memo from the legislature’s nonpartisan lawyers.
“Manny used publicly-accessible property to let voters know” about Bird’s record, Clay Volino, Rutinel’s campaign manager, said in a written statement.
At least one of Bird’s ads feature images of her outside the Capitol, but she’s not subject to the same rules because she’s not a sitting lawmaker.
Colorado Sun staff writer Taylor Dolven contributed to this report.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
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