Colorado

Placeholder

Highest-power issue: Forfeiture of property without a criminal conviction. Current recommendation: Endorse Wendy Choate.

1. Forfeiture of property without a criminal conviction · power 80
2. Licensing barriers to harmless work · power 45
3. Felony penalties for peaceable firearm possession · power 40
4. Criminal penalties for peaceful home enterprise · power 24

Legislature

Placeholder

The legislature drafts the statute, sets the penalty and the mental state, funds the agencies, and can sunset an emergency power. On most of these issues it holds the text.

Forfeiture of property without a criminal conviction

Placeholder. The state takes a car, a bank account, or a small business on the claim that the property was involved in a crime, without a conviction of the owner. Peaceful people lose the property that is the case. Sample entry for Colorado.

Harm: 4
Reach: 4
Office impact: 5
Power: 80

Conduct 5 and penalty severity 2 (License, property, or forfeiture) blend 60/40 into harm 4. Power 80 = 4 × 4 × 5.

Who can act

The legislature writes the penalty, the mental state, and the budget. On the question of how severely the law punishes peaceful conduct, this is usually the office with the text in its hands. One seat matters only as part of a majority, which is what winnability has to reflect. On forfeiture, the legislature can require a conviction, put the burden on the state, and send the proceeds somewhere other than the agency that seized the property. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Wendy Choate's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Wendy Choate is fictional.

2026 legislative elections

Endorse Wendy Choate

Placeholder legislature race for the 2026 cycle in Colorado. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “clear” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Endorse Wendy Choate (The lead clears the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Wendy Choate

Limited-government placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 92

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Limited-government placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Helen Crowe

Enforcement-first placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score -40

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Enforcement-first placeholder.

Placeholder call for Colorado, Legislature. The issue in this office is “Forfeiture of property without a criminal conviction.” Wendy Choate leads Helen Crowe after winnability weighting, with a winnability of 4 out of 5, and the gap clears the toss-up rule. The editorial call matches the formula. Wendy Choate is not a real candidate.

All calls for this state

Judiciary

Placeholder

Judges rule on warrants, constitutional limits, and how a penalty is applied. They do not rewrite a clear statute, and this scorecard does not ask them to.

Licensing barriers to harmless work

Placeholder. A person who braids hair, gives ordinary advice, or runs a one-chair trade has to buy a license designed for a different occupation, or face fines and a shutdown. Sample entry for Colorado.

Harm: 3
Reach: 5
Office impact: 3
Power: 45

Conduct 3 and penalty severity 2 (License, property, or forfeiture) blend 60/40 into harm 3. Power 45 = 3 × 5 × 3.

Who can act

Judges apply the text and the constitution. They can refuse an unreasonable search, limit a forfeiture, or strike a penalty that exceeds the charter. They cannot supply a mental state the legislature deleted. Office impact is high when the dispute is constitutional and low when the statute is plain. On licensing, judges hear constitutional challenges to a barrier that has no relationship to competence. Most applications still go through. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Clara Nguyen's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Clara Nguyen is fictional.

2026 judicial elections

Toss-up

Placeholder judiciary race for the 2026 cycle in Colorado. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “close” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Toss-up — The lead sits inside the toss-up gap. Leading score: Clara Nguyen. (The lead sits inside the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Yves Rask

Cautious-reform placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score 22.5

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Cautious-reform placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Clara Nguyen

Incumbent-leaning placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 25.9

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Incumbent-leaning placeholder.

Placeholder call for Colorado, Judiciary. The issue in this office is “Licensing barriers to harmless work.” Editors mark a toss-up because the score gap between Clara Nguyen and Yves Rask sits inside the toss-up threshold. The lead sits inside the toss-up gap. Clara Nguyen and Yves Rask are fictional.

All calls for this state

Attorney general

Placeholder

The attorney general decides appeals, civil enforcement, and often whether the state will defend a statute. Charging power over ordinary crimes may sit with county attorneys. The entry says so when that split matters.

Felony penalties for peaceable firearm possession

Placeholder scenario, not a claim about current state law. A non-prohibited adult faces a felony for possessing a firearm without a permission slip, or for a paperwork defect that involves no violence. Sample entry for Colorado.

Harm: 5
Reach: 2
Office impact: 4
Power: 40

Conduct 5 and penalty severity 4 (Felony imprisonment) blend 60/40 into harm 5. Power 40 = 5 × 2 × 4.

Who can act

An attorney general rarely rewrites a statute. The office decides which cases to bring, which appeals to pursue, which settlements to accept, and, in many states, whether to defend a statute at all. That is power over how a penalty is used, not over the fact that it exists. On a possession felony, the attorney general's share is appeals and, where the office has it, a statewide charging policy. Local prosecutors may still file the case. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Xenia Vale's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Xenia Vale is fictional.

2026 attorney general election

Endorse Xenia Vale

Placeholder attorney general race for the 2026 cycle in Colorado. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “clear” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Endorse Xenia Vale (The lead clears the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Xenia Vale

Limited-government placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 46

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Limited-government placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Miles Ortega

Enforcement-first placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score -20

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Enforcement-first placeholder.

Placeholder call for Colorado, Attorney general. The issue in this office is “Felony penalties for peaceable firearm possession.” Xenia Vale leads Miles Ortega after winnability weighting, with a winnability of 4 out of 5, and the gap clears the toss-up rule. The editorial call matches the formula. Xenia Vale is not a real candidate.

All calls for this state

Governor

Placeholder

The governor signs or vetoes statutes, issues and withdraws executive orders, appoints agency heads, and proposes the budget. The office does not write a criminal penalty on its own.

Criminal penalties for peaceful home enterprise

Placeholder. A zoning rule makes it a misdemeanor to teach, repair, or sell from one's own home, with no nuisance and no unwilling neighbor required. Sample entry for Colorado.

Harm: 3
Reach: 4
Office impact: 2
Power: 24

Conduct 3 and penalty severity 3 (Misdemeanor, up to a year) blend 60/40 into harm 3. Power 24 = 3 × 4 × 2.

Who can act

A governor does not write the statute. The office can veto a penalty, refuse to expand it, appoint the people who enforce it, and propose the budget that feeds it. Where the harm lives in an order or an agency rule, the governor's pen is the direct instrument. On home enterprise, the governor's leverage is a preemption bill and the agencies that back local bans. The citation is usually local. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Pauline Cho's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Pauline Cho is fictional.

2026 gubernatorial election

Toss-up

Placeholder governor race for the 2026 cycle in Colorado. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “close” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Toss-up — The lead sits inside the toss-up gap. Leading score: Pauline Cho. (The lead sits inside the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Victor Alm

Cautious-reform placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score 12

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Cautious-reform placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Pauline Cho

Incumbent-leaning placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 13.8

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Incumbent-leaning placeholder.

Placeholder call for Colorado, Governor. The issue in this office is “Criminal penalties for peaceful home enterprise.” Editors mark a toss-up because the score gap between Pauline Cho and Victor Alm sits inside the toss-up threshold. The lead sits inside the toss-up gap. Pauline Cho and Victor Alm are fictional.

All calls for this state