Unsanctioned political ads featuring President Donald Trump are tainting the state primary race for House District 13, the seat held by Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie.
One of two Democratic candidates, Consuelo Redhorse, of Summit County, claims a third-party group based in Durango is pumping money into divisive Facebook ads for her challenger, Chris Floyd of Leadville.
On her campaign page Redhorse, the outgoing school board president in Summit, calls out a group known as Colorado Mountain Progressives, saying this committee is funded by anonymous donors trying to sway the June 30 primary.
Another ad, from a Denver group called Colorado Affordability Project, is also making the rounds on Facebook. It reads, “Donald Trump thinks he’s a king,” and goes on to say Floyd, a former Lake County judge, “will prove him wrong.” A video with images of Trump and Floyd tells viewers she will fix healthcare and build housing.
Despite curiously similar names the two groups are not related, according to state documents, but Redhorse believes they are pitting the Democratic party against itself.
“This underscores the influence of money and power on election, and that as a larger issue is wild,” Redhorse tells Krystal 93. “They make it seem like (Floyd) can fill all these campaign promises. I know from being on school board you can’t do that. It is problematic when you say you can.”
State filings show Colorado Mountain Progressives has raised $100,000 and spent more than $46,000 on mountain town candidates.
Colorado Affordability Project has raised five times that amount, more than a half-million dollars, and spent nearly $360,000 on digital ads for Floyd and others.
Floyd does not endorse these alleged dark money ads, telling Krystal 93 in an email, “I have been running an upbeat campaign focused on my background and experience that qualifies me for elected office, and not my opponents.” Her official election website touts endorsements from dozens of elected officials, including her predecessor, McCluskie.
“Unfortunately, the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC eliminated limits on independent political spending by corporations, labor unions and some tax-exempt nonprofits,” Floyd continues. “This means that outside groups can legally spend for and against candidates, and there is nothing we can do about it.”
These ads have turned a state House primary into a confusing and artificial feud, especially in Summit, where voters are flooded with unsanctioned ads on Hulu, YouTube and elsewhere.
Neither candidate has accepted money from large candidate committees, according to state filings. Floyd has raised close to $38,000 and spent less than half of it. Redhorse has raised about $13,000 and spent less than one-fourth of it.
But the digital noise persists. Another political group, COLOR Action Fund, is pitting Floyd against Redhorse by calling out this artificial feud.
“Consuelo is a People Power Progressive running in HD-13 rejecting corporate PAC money,” reads a June 4 post from the Action Fund. “Running for the same seat is Chris Floyd, a status quo candidate with dark money connections.”
Roberts returns
Dark money claims have shadowed local lawmakers for years now.
Running unopposed this primary is Sen. Dylan Roberts, of Frisco. Roberts was almost caught up in a messy controversy late last year, when he and more than 15 other Dems were accused of using dark money to pay for hotel rooms in Vail. Roberts escaped those claims unscathed by proving he never stayed there. A state ethics investigation is ongoing.
Running against Roberts in November is Republican Corey Marshall of Gilpin County, a retired businessman and current owner of a horse ranch. He ran and lost a campaign for Gilpin County Commissioner in 2024.