Colorado official warns 2020 election challenge "could happen again"

Ahead of the anniversary of the U.S. Capitol attack challenging the 2020 election, a Colorado official issued a stark warning.

What they’re saying: "It's not impossible something like this could happen again," said Joan Lopez, Arapahoe County clerk, during a virtual forum.

State of play: A new Axios/Momentive poll shows about 57% of Americans expect events similar to Jan. 6 to unfold in the future.

• Just 55% believe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election, the poll found.

Zoom in: The disbelief is engrained in the Colorado Republican Party, including some leaders, activists and candidates.

• A November poll by a Democratic firm found the vast majority of those who identify as "very conservative" in Colorado dispute the election results.
• Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, who is under investigation by the FBI and local authorities for leaking confidential election information, is backed by at least two candidates for governor.
• Ron Hanks, a GOP state lawmaker who is running for U.S. Senate, attended the Jan. 6 rally and said he went behind police lines.

The other side: Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, addressed the events in a briefing Wednesday. "The question of our time is: How do we view Jan. 6?" he said.

• "If we start down that road, of allowing systems of election administration to be undermined for partisan purposes," he added, "we lose the rule of law and we lose our democracy itself."

This story first appeared in the Axios Denver newsletter, designed to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news unfolding in their own backyard. Subscribe here.