The Denver Gazette publishes Jon Caldara’s argument that Colorado’s primary system has changed the logic of party registration. Caldara says he left the Republican Party, became unaffiliated, and is returning a Democratic primary ballot this year because, in his view, that is where his vote carries more influence in a state where Democratic primaries often determine the general-election winner. Colorado voters approved Proposition 108 in 2016, allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in major-party primaries.
The bigger story here is not one Jon’s ballot strategy. It is the absurdity of partisan identity in a one-party Colorado where Democrats run the table while calling themselves brave revolutionaries, and Republicans keep stepping on rakes then asking serious conservatives to clap because the rake had an elephant sticker on it.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Caldara argues it “makes no sense” to be registered Republican or Democrat in Colorado if your goal is maximizing primary influence. That is not exactly a love letter to party loyalty.
- He points out that unaffiliated voters can choose which major-party primary ballot to return, while party-affiliated voters are locked into their own lane. Political flexibility used to be called disloyalty. Now it is just reading the rulebook.
- Caldara says in Boulder, his Republican primary ballot offers few contested races, several empty races, and candidates with little chance in November. That is not a strategy problem. That is a party infrastructure problem wearing a name tag.
- He also argues the winners of the Democratic primaries for governor and attorney general will likely win in November. In a state with Colorado’s current political imbalance, the primary often becomes the real fight, while the general election gets treated like a ceremonial handshake.
- The uncomfortable takeaway is that serious voters are increasingly being forced to think strategically because the Republicans are not giving them enough competence to vote for plainly.
My Bottom Line
This is what political homelessness looks like in Colorado. There are plenty of conservatives who still care about liberty, taxes, energy, property rights, public safety, and constitutional limits. They did not stop believing those things. They just got tired of being asked to applaud bad management because it arrived wrapped in red bunting.
Colorado Republicans have to reckon with that. Purity cosplay is not a plan. Posting harder is not a field operation. Nominating candidates who thrill a caucus room and terrify everyone else is not courage. It is assisted losing with balloons and confetti.
Colorado Democrats have their own problem. They confuse dominance with wisdom. Winning in a weakened political market does not make every policy smart, every candidate qualified, or every regulatory appetite noble. A one-party state can get arrogant fast, and Colorado Democrats have been speedrunning the tutorial.
Voters are stuck choosing between bad management and smug management. That is not healthy. Colorado needs adults, not team jerseys. Voting strategy can be ugly, but pretending the current arrangement works is uglier.
Source: The Denver Gazette
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