Editor’s note: This explainer is adapted from a story published by The Denver Post in September about Advance Colorado and its success pursuing conservative ballot measures as Colorado Democrats have widened the power gap over Republicans in the state.
Advance Colorado has proven itself as the most successful wing of the conservative movement in a state that’s turned bluer and bluer in recent years.
The group placed a drumbeat of conservative proposals in front of Colorado voters in recent years, often winning at the ballot box or forcing concessions from state leaders. Advance has the backing of major Republican figures and donors, but its shadowy approach has also faced criticism for condensing complicated policy into ballot measures that may have impacts that are more far-reaching than voters understand.
On the Nov. 3 ballot, Advance is back with six ballot measures — four proposed constitutional amendments and two propositions — with major potential implications for taxation, energy, criminal justice and immigration policy.
One question is aimed, in the view of Advance’s leader, at defending the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, the state constitutional amendment that restricts the growth of government spending and requires voter approval for tax increases. Advance’s Proposition 136 would cap the state’s income tax, and it was filed in opposition to two other ballot proposals backed by Democrats: Amendment 87, which would increase income taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations through a graduated income tax while lowering taxes for most people, and Proposition NN, which would allow the state to keep more money for schools instead of refunding it to taxpayers.
Here’s a look at Advance’s latest ballot measures, its history and leadership, and information about how it operates.
Advance Colorado’s 2026 ballot questions
Among 14 statewide ballot measures this fall are a half-dozen backed by Advance. The proposed constitutional amendments need 55% support to pass, while the propositions — which would change state law — require a simple majority.
► Amendment 81
Would require that law enforcement notify federal immigration officials when immigrants without proper legal status are charged with a violent crime or, if they were previously convicted of a felony, are charged with any new offense.
► Amendment 82
Would establish a constitutional right to sell and buy natural gas for cooking and heating.
► Amendment 85
Would require that ballot questions be written at an 8th-grade reading level. It would also prohibit additional restrictions or mandates for ballot titles’ wording if they would interfere with the plain-language requirement.
Colorado voter guide: Stories, explainers and editorials for the 2026 election
► Amendment 86
Would ban congressional redistricting that specifically favors one political party and prohibit mid-decade changes without receiving approvals from the state redistricting commission and the Colorado Supreme Court. (This was filed in opposition to Democratic efforts to change congressional boundaries for 2028 and 2030 as part of a national redistricting war with Republicans, but the state Supreme Court struck down those measures.)
► Proposition 132
Would increase the criminal penalties for the possession or distribution of fentanyl.
► Proposition 136
Would cap Colorado's state income tax at its current rate of 4.4%.
What is Advance Colorado's track record?
Advance, which was formed five years ago, began focusing directly on the ballot after its success in crushing the legislature-referred Proposition HH in 2023. Its president, Michael Fields, ran the campaign against the measure, which would have curbed property tax increases and allowed the state to keep more of its revenue. Its failure with voters forced a special legislative session.
In 2024, the group pursued its own measures and went two for three, passing propositions that required the cash-strapped legislature to spend $350 million on police funding and required offenders convicted of violent crimes to serve more of their sentences. The measure that failed, narrowly, was .
That year, Advance withdrew two property tax measures that would have cut taxes and blown gaping holes in government budgets after reaching a deal with state officials that resulted in another special session delivering property tax relief.
Who funds and directs Advance Colorado?
Fields, 39, is the face of Advance Colorado, but The Post's reporting showed that it was pulled together by former Gov. Bill Owens and billionaire Philip Anschutz. One funder said its supporters included an invite-only group of four or five dozen donors who gather for dinner twice a year.
Advance's annual revenue grew from $1 million to $5.7 million between 2021 and 2024, according to federal tax records. Fields has declined to identify his financial supporters, other than to say that more than 12,000 people have donated to Advance.
But federal tax filings have disclosed some donors. Businessman Ralph Nagel's foundation gave the group $475,000 in 2024, and former University of Colorado President Bruce Benson's foundation gave $400,000. That year, the Norwood Foundation, run by the leaders of a Colorado Springs developer, gave $250,000; a group run by former U.S. Senate candidate Joe O'Dea contributed $627,000; and the Wisconsin-based Bradley Impact Fund gave $500,000.
Nagel told The Post that Fields and his team give presentations to the donor group, and that while donors may have their own ideas, Fields has been broadly respected and trusted to steer Advance. Nagel and Fields said its campaigns were often planned two to three years out.
“We fund a base amount, and then everyone makes more contributions on a project basis,” Nagel said.
What does Advance Colorado and its supporters say?
Advance has argued that it speaks directly to voters, circumventing the Democratic legislature that it criticizes as out of step with Colorado. Its supporters say its success is proof that while Republicans may be out of favor in a blue Colorado, their animating ideas still have purchase.
“We are doing stuff that I believe can pass because voters understand it,” Fields told The Post recently. “And we are that voice, I believe, of the center of unaffiliated voters right now.”
Owens, described as an adviser or informal chairman of the group, told The Post in a statement that he was “proud of the work Advance Colorado is doing to promote common sense policies and protect Colorado’s future. It has now become a critical part of the infrastructure pushing back against the Leftap stupid policies.”
Tyler Sandberg, a Republican consultant, echoes Owens: “Conservatives have long said that our ideas win, even if our candidates don’t win. They put that to the actual test by putting them on the ballot and passing them pretty overwhelmingly.”
What do Advance Colorado's critics say?
Critics have long accused Advance of misleading voters with its ballot measures while pursuing its donors' economic interests above those of the broader state. Steve Fenberg, a Democrat and former president of the state Senate, called Advance "a shell of an entity, in my opinion, with a good and charismatic leader."
“But at the end of the day," Fenberg said, "they’re there to hide major donors who want to have an influence on Colorado’s future.”
Scott Wasserman, who previously ran the Bell Policy Center, one of the progressive groups championing Amendment 87's graduated income tax proposal, pointed to the impact of Advance's ballot measures, with the state's Democratic officials left to deal with the resulting shortfalls and challenges.
“I think one of the major problems is that the opposition can just either burn the house down (through ballot-passed tax cuts) or just be like, you have a right to natural gas,” he said. “And itap the governing coalition that has to figure it out. If we’re just going to govern by brinksmanship, this is not going to work.”
