Colorado’s June 30 primary arrives with four federal lawsuits circling Secretary of State Jena Griswold, $3.5 million in dark money working both party primaries, and New York’s socialist sweep fresh in every campaign manager’s memory.
Peter Bernegger’s federal civil rights suit, Bernegger v. Griswold, alleges Griswold’s own deputy presided over a complaint targeting Griswold’s office — and introduced a sworn declaration Bernegger never saw until the ruling issued against him. A court order requires an amended complaint by July 25 or the case is dismissed. The RNC filed a separate suit June 26 alleging Colorado registers voters who have never lived in the United States, citing more than 100 such registrations in Douglas County alone. North Carolina struck down an equivalent statute; Michigan upheld theirs.
Colorado TRACER filings show the same donors — Kent Thiry, the Denver Metro Chamber, Colorado Advocates for Rural Electrification — writing checks to both the Democratic and Republican primary intervention committees simultaneously. A quarter million dollars from sports betting companies landed in the Republican operation. One Main Street Colorado, which discloses no donors, funded both sides through layered committees.
Three DSA-backed candidates swept New York congressional primaries Tuesday. Colorado’s Julie Gonzales carries the same platform in the Senate race. A DSA supermajority in the Colorado legislature would give the socialist wing the margin to refer constitutional amendments and overhaul TABOR without Republican input.
Tina Peters walked out of La Vista Correctional Facility June 1 on parole, 20 months into a nine-year sentence. Gov. Polis commuted it under federal pressure. Twenty-five days later she was on stage at Freedom Fest in Castle Rock. VP Vance called compensation from the Anti-Weaponization Fund reasonable.
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