Judge Denies Request To Block Colorado Campaign Donation Limits For 2022 Elections

By Sara Wilson, Colorado Newsline

March 11, 2022

A federal judge upheld Colorado’s campaign contribution limits Thursday when he rejected a request from a group of Republicans to suspend the state’s voter-approved limits.

“I stress that there is no right to give or receive unlimited political contributions and no right to be free from having to make a choice regarding campaign financing,” U.S. District Court Judge John Kane wrote in his opinion denying the preliminary injunction.

The current limits of $400 per cycle for state legislature candidates and $1,250 per cycle for statewide candidates will remain in effect this election cycle. Those limits were set by voters in 2002.

Kane wrote that the plaintiffs, gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez, state Senate candidate and state Rep. Rod Pelton and former Colorado Republican Party Chairman Steve House, “seek to enjoin a decades-old law on an expedited basis, without a fully developed factual record.” A full trial where the state government can be “given an opportunity to develop the factual record” would be necessary to overturn the limits, especially because it is a constitutional provision.

“Judge Kane correctly rejected the candidates’ and donor’s request for ‘extraordinary relief’ of suspending enforcement, in the midst of an election, of voter-approved contribution limits that have worked well for 20 years,” Cameron Hill, the associate director for the nonprofit Colorado Common Cause, said in a statement. Colorado Common Cause and the Campaign Legal Center filed an amicus brief against overturning the limits.

“We need strong protections in our democracy so everyone has a say in our government, not just the wealthy and well-connected,” added Hill. “The court’s decision upholding these limits makes clear that in Colorado, the size of your wallet shouldn’t determine the strength of your voice.”

Lopez testified that the contribution limit made it “extremely challenging” to pay for campaign operations such as traveling and media spending. He brought up examples of donors who had contributed the maximum amount and would donate more if they could.

Lopez began accepting donations in 2019, before the lawsuit was filed, and has so far raised nearly $70,000 in contributions, according to campaign finance reports.

Kane decided, however, that the constitutional limits don’t create an apparent disadvantage to challengers like Lopez. Political parties can donate nearly $700,000 to a candidate and people can donate an unlimited amount to independent expenditure committees, which can then spend an unlimited amount in support of candidates.

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