Republicans have filed a lawsuit to overturn Colorado’s campaign finance law that severely limits how much candidates running for state office can raise from individual supporters.
Voters thought it was a good idea at the time when they passed a ballot measure in 2002 that severely curtailed donations with only small increases allowed for inflation.
Here we are 20 years later, and candidates running for the state legislature can only accept a maximum of $400 from a supporter, which is what many Coloradans can blow on a Costco run.
Candidates running for governor can only accept $1,250 per donor —unless you’re Jared Polis, then you can contribute $23 million to your own bad self and pretty much buy the damn seat.
Clearly, these limits are not providing an equal playing field for regular citizens to run for office.
The lawsuit was filed by gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez, state Rep. Rod Pelton of Cheyenne Wells who’s running for state Senate, and former state GOP Chairman Steve House.
Dan Burrows, a lawyer with the conservative non-profit Advance Colorado, will argue the case against the Colorado Secretary of State’s office during a court hearing this week.
Here’s what he told the Colorado Sun:
“The end result is that instead of opening up office for people who have small but passionate grassroots support it limits office to the independently wealthy,” Burrows said. “It has empowered self-funders. Donations that used to go to candidates, over which the candidates had control, have instead gone to independent expenditures.”
Colorado’s Attorney General Philip Weiser is defending the donation limits arguing it “would be a massive disruption to the status quo.”
Democrats supporting the status quo? The world really has gone crazy.
Cameron Hill, associate director of Colorado Common Cause, said ditching campaign contribution limits in Colorado at this point would create “a toxic, Wild West scenario.”
Check your talking points, libs, you forgot to call it racist as well.
The donations limits really are absurdly low, so we look forward to seeing this played out in court.