Purplish

Colorado released former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters on parole June 1 from a women’s state correctional facility in Pueblo. She was less than two years into a nearly nine-year sentence for her role in tampering with county voting machines months after the 2020 presidential election, part of an effort to search for election rigging. Peters, who has become a hero among some MAGA voters, wasted no time repeating claims that Democrats are using technology to steal elections. 
The decision to free Peters early has potentially upended Gov. Jared Polis’ final months in office, enraging his political allies and disheartening defenders of the election system.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland and Tom Hesse dig into this long and complicated tale, from the original plot to access Mesa County’s election equipment, to the pressure campaign President Donald Trump launched to free her and Polis’ recent clemency decision. They also discuss what her early release could mean for elections and politics in the state, and elsewhere, going forward. 
Catch up on our latest coverage:

Colorado Matters: ‘It brainwashes people:’ Head of Colorado’s county clerks is concerned Tina Peters’ disinformation against elections will continue

CPR News: Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters released from prison

CPR News: Colorado Democrats censure Gov. Jared Polis over Tina Peters commutation

CPR News: Trump hails Peters’ commutation as state Democrats call it ‘a sad day’

CPR News: The Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ election security controversy, explained (2022)

Colorado in Depth: The Colorado clerk on trial for the big lie, and what it means for the 2024 election

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Other music in this episode is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. Additional reporting from CPR’s Kevin Beaty, Sam Brasch, Anthony Cotton and Ryan Warner. Megan Verlee is CPR News’ executive producer of podcasts.

Colorado’s primary elections are just around the corner. And there’s a lot riding on them — all of the statewide constitutional offices are on the ballot — and thanks to term limits, all of those races are wide open, including Colorado’s top office: governor. The fields include a who’s who of Colorado politics, and one newcomer who may have the potential to shake things up.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland talks with The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul and CPR’s Ben Markus about who’s on the Democratic and Republican tickets and the dynamics at play as they vie for votes. The five hopefuls on the ballot are running at a time when both parties are doing a bit of soul searching, and Coloradans on both sides of the aisle seem frustrated with the status quo. 
Catch up on our latest coverage:

CPR News: 2026 Colorado Primary Election Voter Guide

CPR News: Bottoms, Kirkmeyer make their cases to primary voters in CPR News gubernatorial candidates debate

CPR News: Democratic gubernatorial candidates Bennet and Weiser make their pitches to voters in live debate

The Colorado Sun: A third of Colorado voters have still never heard of Phil Weiser, poll shows

CPR News: Colorado GOP governor primary pits MAGA candidates against establishment favorite

The Colorado Sun: Tina Peters isn’t the first Colorado convict to become a central figure in a governor’s race

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer.

From speed cameras to vaccine policy to ketchup packets, which of the laws passed by the 2026 legislature will actually be affecting people’s daily lives, five or ten years from now. That’s the question that launches our session wrap up conversation. But in a year when new policies often took a backseat to painful budget realities, there were also lots of politics to keep things interesting. 
Catch up on our latest coverage:

CPR News: Lawmakers pass dozens of bills as 2026 session wraps up

CCNA: 101 bills that passed and failed in Colorado’s legislature this year that you need to know about

CPR News: Colorado lawmakers ask voters to consider giving up TABOR refunds to fund schools

CPR News: Polis says he will sign pared down AI bill that passed overnight

Colorado Sun: Colorado lawmakers reject bill that would have required legislative caucuses to report their donors

KUNC: Colorado legislature passes bill to allow lawsuits against ICE agents, other immigration officers 

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer.

Many of Colorado’s Democratic lawmakers came into this legislative session determined to push back against the Trump administration, especially on the president’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. They introduced proposals to ban state and local law enforcement from concealing their identity in most situations and to allow Coloradans to sue federal agents who violate their rights. But not all Democrats are on board with these ideas — worried they may harm legitimate law enforcement efforts and fail to keep the community safer. And the legislation raises big questions about the limits of state authority when it comes to how federal immigration agents behave within Colorado’s borders.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland, The Colorado Sun’s Taylor Dolven and The Denver Post’s Seth Klamann discuss the different bills, the potential legal challenges and the politics surrounding this issue, at a time when the stakes feel like they couldn’t be higher. 
Catch up on the latest coverage:

The Denver Post: Judge again blocks Gov. Jared Polis from directing state officials to comply with an ICE subpoena

The Denver Post: Federal judge criticizes ICE agents at Denver hearing for not knowing about earlier order limiting arrests

The Colorado Sun: Colorado lawmakers reject bill that would have required police to intervene when ICE agents use excessive force

The Denver Post: Thousands of immigrants in Colorado were arrested and deported during Trump’s first year

The Colorado Sun: As some Democratic governors lead on ICE pushback, Jared Polis is taking a hands-off approach

The Colorado Sun: Democratic lawmakers plan package of bills to further regulate federal immigration enforcement in Colorado

Denverite: What we saw from inside ICE’s raid at Aurora’s Edge apartments

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer. Additionally reporting for this episode from Denverite’s Kevin Beaty.

Colorado has a part-time, citizen legislature, driven by the notion that it’s important to have people from all kinds of professional backgrounds bringing their experience to lawmaking. So for four months every year, state legislators pause their regular lives to be at the Capitol. But the flexibility to do that can be hard to come by, and some say the pay — currently around $47,000 a year — makes things even harder. Now, an approach lawmakers hoped would take the politics out of the pay raise process could end up boosting their wages at the worst possible time.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland and KUNC’s Lucas Brady Woods lean into the ongoing debate and tension around how much state lawmakers earn, what it means for the legislative process and the variety of fixes, from the financial to the fundamental, some have proposed. 
Catch up on our latest coverage:

CPR News: How much are Colorado’s state legislators paid?

CPR News: Amid budget cuts, legislators and statewide office holders set for pay increases next year

The Independent Elected State Official Pay Commission’s 2025 Pay Report

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer. Additional reporting for this episode from Rae Solomon.