Billionaires dominating Colorado's election, new reports show
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Billionaires and wealthy individuals — most from outside Colorado — are donating huge sums to persuade voters to approve two 2024 ballot measures, an exclusive Axios Denver analysis finds.
Why it matters: The big-dollar influence raises questions about the outsized role of wealthy donors pushing their agendas on Colorado voters.
State of play: Of the roughly $70 million injected into state-level races this year, 10% came from 10 donors, an analysis of the latest campaign finance reports shows.
- The bulk — about $5.9 million — is aimed at overhauling Colorado's election system to ban party primaries and put in place ranked-choice voting.
- The remainder — about $1.45 million — went toward supporting a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access.
The intrigue: The No. 1 individual donor is former DaVita CEO Kent Thiry, who spent $2.8 million through Sept. 25 supporting Colorado candidates and ballot measures. Almost all of it went toward Proposition 131, the election overhaul measure.
- Yes, but: His influence is actually much larger. The overall top donor this election, at $4.4 million, is Unite America, an election reform advocacy organization where Thiry is co-chair.
Zoom in: The next-largest donors are Ben Walton, grandson of the Walmart founder, and Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix. Each gave $1 million to Prop. 131.
The rest of the top 10:
- Michael Bloomberg, former New York mayor: $750,000 to support Amendment 79 protecting abortion
- Kathryn Murdoch of New York: $500,000 to back Prop. 131
- Lynn Schusterman of Oklahoma: $500,000 to support Amendment 79
- Robert Small of Boston: $200,000 for Prop. 131
- Merle Chambers of Denver: $200,000 for Amendment 79
- John Carroll of Massachusetts: $160,000 for Prop. 131