What Colorado Lost to Term Limits

Colorado has lost hundreds of years of legislative experience to its misguided term limit amendment.

Colorado's green energy revolution

Energy production in Colorado has shifted dramatically over the past 25 years. At the turn of the century, more than three-quarters of the electricity produced in Colorado was generated in coal-fired power plants. A few years ago, wind power overtook coal in total megawatt hours produced, and this

Colorado's "Hook and Squeeze"

Colorado Democrats have been using unsustainable fundraising tactics that threaten to burn out donors and increase cynicism.

Interview with John Padora, August 24, 2026

Note: This interview was transcribed by an AI tool which seems to have done an admirable job, but errors likely remain. It has further been very lightly edited for readability. I conducted this interview for my post, "Colorado's Hook and Squeeze." Brad Jones: I wanted to

$1 Billion on Ping Pong: What Colorado’s Sports Betting Data Reveals

Coloradans have wagered more than a billion dollars on table tennis since the legalization of online sports betting, but that is only a small part of the story.

Housing affordability in Colorado

Colorado has one of the least affordable housing markets in the country. A recent report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition ranked Colorado among the least affordable housing markets in the country. This was an issue that came up over and over in my recent review of state legislative

How Colorado Politicians are Talking About the Issues

Democrats and Republicans running for the state legislature are presenting themselves in very different ways. They talk about different issues and they talk about those issues in very different ways. Political campaigns are the key connective tissue between candidates and Coloradans. In this post, I'll review some data

Cast Vote Records in the 2026 Democratic Primary in Denver

Analysis of the ballots cast in the 2026 primary election reveals the diversity of the electorate.

Rising temperatures in Colorado over the last 75 years

In my last post, I (perhaps unadvisedly) wandered out of my comfort zone and into some climatological data in the form of snowpack data over the past 40 years in Colorado. While I wait on some official election data to come in, I've got another dataset in the

Preparing for a long, fiery summer

What does Colorado's historically dry winter portend for fire season?

On the risk of reading too much into election results

Just as it was a mistake to read too much into Trump's 2024 victory, it is a mistake to try to read too much into a handful of Democratic primary contests.

Understanding Kiros's victory in CO-01

A few relevant data points about Kiros's victory in CO-01.

2026 election

Colorado's 2026 primary

Some observations about the June 30 primary elections in Colorado

2026 election

What to watch for in the 2026 primary elections

A few things that I'll be watching as election results come in next week.

traffic violence

Traffic violence in Colorado, 2005-2024

Hundreds of people die every year on Colorado's roads. In many ways, Colorado is typical of the national epidemic of traffic violence. This post discusses some of the important trends and compares Colorado to the rest of the country.

Colorado legislature

The 2026 State Legislative Session by the Numbers

The second regular session of the 75th General Assembly wrapped up in mid-May. This was the last regular session under Jared Polis's tenure as governor. As others have reported, the 2026 regular session was conducted under the cloud of the budget shortfall which constrained much of what

2026 election

Gubernatorial primary update: Q1 2026

This post will provide an update based on the latest campaign finance disclosure filings for the major candidates for the race for governor in Colorado. Others have covered the total amounts raised by each candidate. My analysis will center on what we might be able to learn from the past

The direct impact of rising gas prices on Colorado residents

This post explores the impact of rising gas prices on Colorado households.

public opinion

Coloradans' attitudes about data centers

Coloradans oppose data centers by a margin of more than three-to-one according to a new survey from the Colorado Polling Institute.

redistricting

Colorado mid-cycle redistricting

The Trump administration's pressure on Republican-led states for mid-cycle redistricting plans that advantage the GOP has opened the debate within Colorado about the possibility of responding in kind. This post will explore what a 2027 redistricting effort – should it pass – might realistically accomplish in Colorado. While

partisanship

Colorado partisanship in context

Colorado has trended toward the Democratic Party even as the rest of the country is moving in the other direction. This post puts Colorado into the national context.

partisanship

The partisan gender gap in Colorado

The gender gap in partisan affiliation has shrunk somewhat over the past 20 years. Women remain more likely than men to identify or lean toward the Democratic Party than men.

partisanship

Partisanship among Coloradans: Educational divides

Partisanship and political outcomes in the U.S. have become increasingly linked to levels of educational attainment. This post unpacks the diploma divide within Colorado using individual-level survey data.

partisanship

Party identification among Colorado residents, 2006-2025

Over the past 20 years, Democrats have gained a substantial advantage among the general public in Colorado. This is in stark contrast to the way Democratic identification has been trending in the rest of the country. Two decades ago, the share of Coloradans who identified or leaned toward the Republican