Sentinel Colorado, with reporting from The Associated Press and Sentinel staff writers, lays out the final stretch of Colorado’s primary election, which ends tomorrow, June 30. The big-ticket item is the governor’s race, where Democrats Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser are fighting to become their party’s nominee, while Republicans Scott Bottoms, Barb Kirkmeyer and Victor Marx are trying to win the GOP nomination.
Important correction to the usual political fog machine: this primary does not “replace” Gov. Jared Polis. It chooses nominees for the general election. Voters are writing the November menu, not coronating anybody, despite how much some campaign consultants would enjoy wearing velvet.
The article also walks through major Senate and House primaries, Aurora-area races, voting rules, ballot deadlines and the mechanics of Colorado’s mostly mail-ballot system. Translation: this is the part where people who complain for a living find out whether they can perform the basic adult task of returning a ballot on time.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Colorado’s primary ends June 30, with polls closing at 7 p.m. MT. Ballots must be in the hands of election officials by then. Not postmarked. Not “I meant to.” Not sitting in a mailbox like a sad little civic fossil.
- Democrats are choosing between Michael Bennet and Phil Weiser for governor, while Republicans are choosing between Scott Bottoms, Barb Kirkmeyer and Victor Marx. One side is sorting out the post-Polis era. The other needs to decide whether it wants a serious November fight or another applause-based exercise in losing politely.
- If Bennet wins the nomination and then the governor’s race, his U.S. Senate seat becomes a major chess piece. According to the article, Bennet has said he would keep the seat until taking office and appoint his own replacement, rather than letting Polis do it. Nothing says “democracy” like everyone suddenly discovering process when there is a Senate seat on the table.
- Other major contests include Sen. John Hickenlooper facing a Democratic primary challenge from state Sen. Julie Gonzales, with Republican state Sen. Mark Baisley unopposed, and the 8th Congressional District Democratic primary between Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel to decide who faces Republican Rep. Gabe Evans.
- Unaffiliated voters can participate in the Democratic, Republican or Unity Party primaries. Registered Democrats and Republicans are stuck with their own party’s ballot. Colorado had about 4.4 million registered voters as of June 1, including about 2.3 million unaffiliated voters, which means the largest political party in Colorado is basically “don’t make me join your club.”
My Bottom Line
This is the civic gut-check. Colorado’s primary ends tomorrow, and this is where November gets written. Not by Twitter patriots. Not by yard-sign philosophers. Not by the guy at the coffee shop who has a 43-minute theory about everything but has not opened his ballot envelope.
Everybody wants to complain about bad candidates, captured parties, corrupt incentives, Denver nonsense and Washington rot. Fine. Plenty of material. But then half the room treats primaries like optional homework and acts shocked when the most organized weirdos in the building end up running the show. That is not a conspiracy. That is arithmetic with bumper stickers.
So do the boring thing. Check your ballot status. Use GoVoteColorado.com or your county clerk’s official election site. If it is too late to mail it, do not mail it and then perform surprise when the laws of time and distance remain undefeated. Use a proper drop box or vote center. Follow the actual deadline: 7 p.m. on June 30.
Self-government is not always patriotic music and fireworks. Sometimes it is a ballot, a signature, a deadline and a metal box bolted to the ground. No confetti. No cable-news dopamine. Just consequences. If you hate the menu in November but skipped the primary in June, congratulations, chef. You helped cook it.
Source: Sentinel Colorado
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