RECENT LOBBYING, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE UPDATES
Campaign Finance & Lobbying Compliance
Colorado: A federal judge upheld Colorado’s individual campaign contribution limits as constitutional on March 26, 2026, ruling that three Republican plaintiffs failed to show the state’s campaign finance framework violates the First Amendment. U.S. District Court Senior Judge John L. Kane found that Colorado voters legitimately enacted the limits to guard against quid pro quo corruption, and that the caps do not prevent challengers from mounting successful campaigns. The lawsuit, filed more than four years ago by now-Sen. Rod Pelton, former state Republican Party chair Steve House and gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez challenged Article 28, a state constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2002. The disputed provisions cap individual contributions to statewide candidates at $1,450 per cycle and legislative candidates at $450, with doubled limits available to candidates who voluntarily
