“It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” -Yogi Berra

 

I predict I'll have a psychic girlfriend, but she'll leave me before we meet.

 

I have one prediction for election night that I'm certain will come true. Scotch.

 

About a third of all Colorado voters have cast their ballots. By the end of the weekend, I suspect most will have voted. So, like you, I've been guessing how the Colorado races will go.

 

Let me subject you to my predictions. By no means are these my endorsements; this is what I think we will wake up to Wednesday morning, along with a hangover.

 

President. I think Trump will win, though it might take days to count the ballots. That said, the longer the vote count takes, the more the left magically finds ballots in mailbags, back of closets, and under mattresses. So, the slower the count takes, the more likely it is that Harris wins. Trump lost Colorado by 14 points four years ago. I think he loses Colorado by about 8 this time.

 

1st Congressional District. The fossil of Diana DeGette reelected.

 

2nd Congressional District. Joe Neguse reelected.

 

3rd Congressional District. Jeff Hurd wins.

 

4th Congressional District. Lauren Boebert wins.

 

5th Congressional District. Jeff Crank wins. That’s two Jeffs winning.

 

6th Congressional District. Jason Crow reelected.

 

7th Congressional District. Brittany Petterson reelected.

 

8th Congressional District. Yadira Caraveo reelected. But something tells me she might resign before her next election.

 

The State House and State Senate remain firmly in Democratic control with a continued supermajority in the house, and potentially one in the Senate.

 

Amendment G, modify property tax exemption for veterans with disabilities. Passes.

 

Amendment H, judicial discipline procedures and confidentiality. Passes, but don't expect it to make much difference in our corrupt and incestuous system of courts.

 

Amendment I, constitutional bail exception for first-degree murder. Passes, but it could be close.

 

Amendment J, repealing the definition of marriage in the Constitution. Passes.

 

Amendment K, modify constitutional election deadlines. Passes. This one could be close because voters might not understand it and it takes 55% to pass. 

 

Amendment 79, constitutional right to abortion. Passes, and then finally, can they stop scaring voters that “a woman’s right to healthcare is on the ballot” every election?

 

Amendment 80, constitutional right to school choice. Fails. I hope I'm wrong. If not, this poorly worded measure is another expensive, well-intentioned Hail Mary pass without doing the long-term hard work of changing political culture and building coalitions first.

 

Proposition JJ, retain additional sports betting tax revenue. Passes.

 

Proposition KK, firearms and ammunition excise tax. Passes, in further proof of the Californian refugee influence to our once liberty-loving state.

 

Proposition 127, prohibit bobcat, links, and mountain lion hunting. Passes, by the same voters who forced wolf introduction into backyards that were not theirs.

 

Proposition 128, parole eligibility for crimes of violence. Passes.

 

Proposition 129, establishing veterinary professional associates. Passes, but who knows on this one.

 

Proposition 130, funding for law enforcement. Passes. But this was poorly worded without a deadline for the funding to happen. Without political pressure during the next legislative session, full funding could take years or decades.

 

Proposition 131, establishing all candidate primary and ranked choice voting general elections. Passes.

 

Without a doubt Proposition 131, ranked choice voting, is the 800-pound gorilla on this ballot with potential for the most disruptive political change. I think it will pass. The question is what happens to Colorado in the years following.

 

Even given my strong skepticism about ranked choice voting, I believe there are opportunities to move good policy forward if this system is implemented correctly. Check out my column below.

 

A lady tells her shrink that she can see into the future. He asked, “when did this start?” She says, “next Tuesday.”

 

In Complete Colorado, Cory Gaines covers taxpayer gold for a left-leaningradio station.


Ari Armstrong makes a cogent case against Proposition KK.


Lastly, Mike Rosen pens an op-ed on what progressives get wrong about income distribution.

Tonight on PBS channel 12 at 8:30 P.M., I have a very special guest, Ken Pope, of Victims of Communism Memorial Fund. While communism killed over 100 million worldwide, it’s becoming fashionable again with our youth. Ken and I explore why on this very important episode of Devil’s Advocate.


Ed Warner is a scientist, environmentalist, and philanthropist to many conservation causes. He sat down to explain to me, somehow in language even I could understand, why nuclear energy is the future and how government incentives have screwed it up. Seriously, watch this episode or listen to the podcast, you'll learn a lot.

Blue Cities and States nationwide are beginning to sue oil and gas companies for climate change. Who is responsible, and should the courts decide? PowerGab Hosts Jake Fogleman and Amy Cooke discuss this with attorney and former Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton.

Colorado’s political future under Proposition 131

By Jon Caldara

Out of the 14 statewide ballot questions, which by the way ties the record, it’s Proposition 131 that would bring the most political change and disruption with its jungle primaries and ranked-choice voting general elections.


Assuming voter fatigue doesn’t keep voters from reaching this down-ballot issue, it’s the last of the statewide questions, it should pass. This is a prediction not an endorsement.


It will pass because of its more than $15 million in funding, and because there is no effective or funded campaign against it, and generally voters are frustrated with both major parties.


The only area of agreement between the Colorado GOP and the Colorado Democratic Party is that they hate this proposal. That also bodes very well for 131’s passage.


Prop 131 does not create a pure ranked-choice voting system. Instead, it makes a hybrid system where the top four candidates from an open primary move to the general election which is decided by ranked-choice voting.


Democrats hate the proposal because it could challenge their one-party dominance of all three branches of Colorado’s government. Republicans fear that should two Republicans make it to the general election they will cancel each other out, allowing the Democrat to win.


This is arguably what happened in Alaska, as the Republican-heavy state elected a Democrat to represent it in the U.S. Congress. On Nov. 5, voters in Alaska may rescind the very system Colorado is likely to pass.


So, what will Colorado look like under a system where anyone can petition on to a shared primary ballot? Honestly, no one knows. But the thought of it is causing conniptions among Ds and Rs.


Though nowhere near guaranteed, there is a hopeful outcome after 131 passes. It could bring some lucidity back to our state’s progressive government. It all depends on how this system is implemented and utilized.


First, it requires we accept some realities about Colorado many social conservatives refuse to accept. And I’ll keep repeating these realities, even though it’s like trying to convince your drunk uncle he’s an alcoholic. Some Republicans will violently never accept it, to the point of indignantly accusing you of being the alcoholic.


For the next decade or so, Colorado is not going to become an anti-abortion state. It is not going to become an anti-cannabis state. It’s not going to become an anti-gay state. And it will continue to be a very environmentally activist state.

In other words, the Dave Williams type of gay flag-burning, Trump-worshiping, pro-life conservative will continue to turn off swing voters. And despite what that crowd believes, you can’t win by turning off swing voters. Winning elections is about addition, not subtraction.


And should Trump retake the presidency, swing Colorado voters, particularly independent suburban women, will be loath to vote for any Republicans until he is out of office.


But being anti-Trump and pro-choice doesn’t make an unaffiliated voter pro-tax, pro-crime, pro-regulation or woke. And this is where Prop 131 might, might bring some sanity back to Colorado.


Nearly 50% of all Colorado voters are now unaffiliated. And that number is only growing (yet another reason Prop 131 will very likely win). To these independents, the current Democratic party’s version of socialism is distasteful, and the social conservativism of the Republican party is unwelcoming.

So, half of the state’s voters are now politically displaced. Or, to put it in terms NPR listeners can comprehend, half of Colorado is currently experiencing political homelessness.


After 131 becomes law, rural legislative districts should continue to elect Republicans. Urban districts should continue to elect Democrats. It is the swing suburban districts that could see something very different — unaffiliated candidates running and winning.


The system to elect the mayor of Colorado Springs is comparable to what Prop 131 brings with its open jungle primary. For better or worse, as the Springs lost its well-known conservatism, it elected an unaffiliated mayor, Yemi Mololade. It is a sign of what is to come.


Colorado is poised to become the first state where unaffiliated candidates could swing the balance in the legislature. They could work with rural Republicans to lower taxes and regulations and increase penalties for crime, while joining urban Democrats to defend social issues.


At least that’s my hope. Either way, unaffiliated candidates will run and will win.