Letter to the Editor: Dark money group spends $70,000 on HD19 Democratic primary

This letter was sent to Yellow Scene Magazine. As with all Letters to the Editor, the views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publication. We value providing space for community voices.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Dark money group funded by One Main Street spends $70,000 on HD19 Democratic primary

ERIE, CO, June 16, 2026 — An independent expenditure committee called “Blue Collar Progressives” has spent nearly $70,000 to support Jillaire McMillan in the June 30 Democratic primary for House District 19, according to itemized filings with the Colorado Secretary of State. The committee is already the subject of an open state campaign finance complaint.

The complaint (ED2026-35, filed by David Sabados, received June 5) alleges that Blue Collar Progressives registered to support state legislative candidates but is also actually running ads for county commissioner races, outside its stated purpose. It claims the committee is misleading the public and filing false documentation with the Secretary of State, under the “prohibited expenditure” and “inaccurate filing” categories.

Blue Collar Progressives registered as an independent expenditure committee on May 27, just weeks before the primary. State filings show it has raised $305,000 and already spent nearly all of it in a matter of days. [Per its filings, the committee’s funding traces to One Main Street Colorado, a group that does not disclose its donors.]

One Main Street poured roughly $800,000 into Colorado Democratic legislative primaries during the 2024 cycle, backing candidates it called “pragmatic” over grassroots progressives. The same network funds the Colorado Opportunity Caucus, which is under investigation after approving a $30,000 retreat for lawmakers and lobbyists at a Vail resort.

“Voters in HD19 deserve to know who is trying to buy this seat,” said Colton Jonjak Plahn, a Democratic candidate running against McMillan. “Voters are tired of elected officials not looking out for their best interests. I am running a grassroots campaign that takes no corporate PAC and no establishment PAC money, and believe no one should be able to buy an election.”

Independent expenditure committees are legally barred from coordinating with the campaigns they support, and Jonjak Plahn’s campaign is not alleging coordination by McMillan or her campaign. The campaign’s concern is transparency: voters are seeing tens of thousands of dollars in outside spending on this race without knowing its original source.

Jonjak Plahn is a born-and-raised Coloradan, a Stanford-trained aerospace engineer who’s running to keep HD19 focused on the people of the district, not special interests. Learn more at coltonforcolorado.com.

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