Colorado · General election Nov 3, 2026
Every major race on Colorado's November ballot, with an outside-money check on each: who is spending, whether they are based in Colorado, how new they are, and what cannot be traced. Plus a field guide for checking it yourself.
Colorado is rated safe for Democrats at the top of the ticket. Several things on this ballot still have national reach, and most of them get little attention for that reason.
Each race gets one traceability label based on public filings and reporting as of October 6. It measures how much of the money can be followed to a person or company. It does not measure whether the spending is good or bad.
Ratings below are the forecaster consensus. The House Majority PAC (D) has reserved over $9 million in Colorado TV and digital, including $810,500 in Spanish-language ads. The Congressional Leadership Fund (R) has reserved $5.5 million in the Denver market to defend CO-8. Both report donors to the FEC, but both also take money from affiliated nonprofits that don't.
Fourteen measures, the most in state history. Committees had raised more than $17 million by Sept. 21. This is where the least traceable money in Colorado is going this year.
The clearest example of what you were asking about is Amendment 84, which would require a driver's license or Social Security number on mail-ballot envelopes. Its campaign raised $4.25 million, almost all from three out-of-state nonprofits that don't disclose donors: the Ohio-based Coalition for American Prosperity and Growth ($2.25 million), A Public Voice of McLean, Virginia ($1 million) and American Jobs and Growth Fund of Alexandria, Virginia ($1 million).
The Ohio group previously operated as the Coalition for Ohio Prosperity and Growth. It paid a former Ohio GOP leader as a consultant and funded a group first registered as "Protect Women Ohio." Its listed addresses are mail-service centers in Colorado Springs and Arlington, Virginia, with a West Palm Beach ZIP code. The registered agent is Colorado attorney Suzanne Taheri.
The network behind six measures. Advance Colorado put 81, 82, 85, 86, 132 and 136 on the ballot after working on more than 20 possible initiatives. It is run by Michael Fields, who previously worked for Americans for Prosperity and ran Colorado Rising Action. It doesn't disclose donors.
Tax filings traced by the Colorado Times Recorder show money flowing into the wider network (Unite for Colorado, Colorado Opportunity Foundation and related groups) from the Bradley Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and donor-advised funds, which hide the original giver. Reports that Philip Anschutz is a major funder have never been confirmed or denied.
Relational context: Anschutz's company owns the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Denver Gazette and Colorado Politics. Gazette editorial boards have endorsed Yes on 85, 86 and 136. Two other nonprofits that don't disclose donors, Common Sense America and A Brighter Colorado, share the work on 81 and 86.
Amendment or proposition? Amendments (81–87) go into the constitution, need 55%, and can only be undone by another statewide vote. Propositions (NN, 132–137) are ordinary laws that pass with a simple majority and the legislature can later amend. When a measure's effects are uncertain, that difference decides who can fix it.
Democrats hold the Senate 23–12 and the House with a large majority. The fights are over supermajorities, which need 24 Senate seats and 44 House seats.
Arapahoe County's races come first, then clerk races in other large counties and Mesa County. County clerks run elections in Colorado: they mail ballots, verify signatures, count votes and run audits. That makes this race as important to election administration as the secretary of state.
These items appear in different sections above but connect. Each is a documented fact; how they relate is worth watching, not a proven plan.
The Mesa County precedent. Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was convicted in 2024 of tampering with election equipment to support false fraud claims. Gov. Polis commuted her sentence, and she was paroled June 1, 2026. Since then she has met with Trump at the White House and spoken at national events promoting claims that voting machines are rigged and mail ballots are dangerous (per the Colorado Times Recorder, a progressive outlet). Her case is the reason a county clerk race is worth your attention.
The rules. Amendment 84 would change how every mail ballot is verified, funded almost entirely by out-of-state groups that hide their donors. Because it's constitutional, any problems it causes can only be fixed by another statewide vote.
The people. The Republican nominee for secretary of state, James Wiley, wants mostly in-person voting with hand counts. The Republican nominee for Arapahoe County clerk, Annette Budd, questions current election security. The Democratic nominees, Amanda Gonzalez and Joan Lopez, are both sitting county clerks.
The federal pressure. The Justice Department is appealing its lost suit for Colorado's full voter file. Whoever is secretary of state and attorney general in 2027 decides how to respond.
What to watch: whether candidates commit, in writing, to certifying results on the legal schedule; whether any group spends on the clerk or secretary of state races late in October; and whether messaging about Amendment 84 cites real Colorado fraud cases or only general distrust.
This is the same method reporters used to trace the money above. Start with the mail, ads and texts you actually receive, then follow the "paid for by" name through the records below.
Keep a simple log: date, channel (TV, mailer, text, Instagram, streaming, YouTube), the exact "paid for by" name, and what it said. Screenshot texts and social ads; photograph mailers front and back. The "paid for by" name is the key you'll use for every other step. If an ad has no disclaimer, note that too, since it may be a violation.
tracer.sos.colorado.gov
Broadcast stations, cable systems and satellite providers must post political ad contracts in the FCC Public Inspection File (publicfiles.fcc.gov). Search a Denver station (KUSA, KMGH, KDVR, KCNC), open its Political File for 2026, and look under federal, state and issue ads. Each contract shows who bought time, how much, and which dates. This is how reporters total TV spending before campaign filings catch up.
Anyone can file a campaign-finance complaint with the Colorado Secretary of State, for example over a missing disclaimer or an unregistered committee. Federal complaints go to the FEC. Unwanted political texts can be forwarded to 7726 (SPAM). Local reporters at the Colorado Sun, Colorado Newsline and CPR have broken most of the dark-money stories this cycle and take tips.
These are the gaps that make the "safe state" assumption risky. Each row shows what you can do instead of relying on filings.
| Channel or money type | Why it's hard to see | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Streaming TV ads (Hulu, Roku, YouTube TV and similar) | Not covered by FCC public files. Some platforms keep their own libraries, many don't. | Log ads you see, with the "paid for by" name, then trace the payer in TRACER or FEC records. |
| Political texts | No public archive. Senders often use rotating numbers and vendor names. | Screenshot, note the sender name, report to 7726, and compare across friends to see who is being targeted. |
| Paid influencers and creators | Often undisclosed. Not in ad libraries because it isn't sold as an ad. | Watch for many accounts posting the same talking points at once. Note account names and dates. |
| "Issue" ads that avoid naming candidates | Can fall outside some disclosure rules depending on timing and wording. | Check the Meta and Google libraries, which include issue ads, and the FCC files. |
| 501(c)(4) nonprofits | Not required to name donors publicly. | Read 990s for revenue, officers and grants out; follow shared agents and addresses. |
| LLCs used as donors | Colorado's public business records show the agent and address, not who owns or funds the company. | Note the formation date, agent and address; search the name across states. |
| Organic and coordinated social posts | Free posts and bot or sockpuppet networks are not ads, so nothing is filed. | Document examples; academic and newsroom disinformation trackers sometimes publish analyses. |
| Poll sponsorship | Polls released to shape a narrative can be paid for by groups that don't disclose donors. | Always check who paid for a poll before citing it. The latest public CO-8 poll was paid for by a nonprofit that doesn't disclose donors. |
Compiled October 5, 2026; updated October 6 with the Marx fine, judicial retention, county clerk races, legislative donors and network checks for statewide and U.S. House candidates. Additional sources for that update: Denver Gazette and Colorado Springs Gazette (Marx fine, Oct. 2 and 5); CPR (debate; Mesa clerk; AG primary); Colorado Politics (judicial performance, Aug. 4 and 17; legislative spending, Sept. 28; Trump–Evans endorsement); Ballotpedia (Hood; supermajority stakes); Colorado Newsline (Amendment 84; DLCC targets); HPPR/Colorado Sun (Amendment 86 funding); Axios Denver and Newsweek (AI money in CO-8 primary); Campaign Legal Center (Aug. 17 complaint); Democracy Docket (Wiley); Bolts (2022 clerk survey); KUNC (Peters commutation; Hurd re-endorsement); Grand Junction Daily Sentinel (Mesa primary); county sample ballots (Weld, Larimer, Douglas, El Paso, Adams, Boulder). Money figures are from the latest reporting each source cites (mostly June–September filings) and will grow. Sources: Colorado Politics (Sept. 25 ballot-measure money), Killeen Daily Herald/AP (Amendment 84 funder), Colorado Sun (dark money in statehouse primaries; governor super PACs), Colorado Newsline (14 measures; August cash), CPR voter guide (candidate lists; Wiley interview), KUNC (CO-8 poll), Colorado Politics (House ad reservations), Denver Gazette (legislative battlegrounds), Littleton Independent (Arapahoe clerk and sheriff), Wikipedia race pages (primary results, ratings). Second pass (Oct. 5): CPR voter guides on Amendments 81–86 and Prop 132; Colorado Newsline (Amendment 84 costs, Prop NN, DOJ appeal); NPR (Texas 2022 rejections; Peters commutation); HPPR/Colorado Sun (Amendment 86 funding); Chalkbeat and the Tax Foundation (Amendment 87); Colorado Times Recorder (Advance Colorado network; Peters since release); Westword (Michael Fields); CBS Colorado (Attorney General Alliance); Wikipedia (Victor Marx).