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.