Gov. Jared Polis brushes off party's censure over Tina Peters clemency, saying he's 'really proud to be a Democrat'

Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post on May 21, 2026

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DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Thursday that he remained “proud to be a Democrat” even after the state party’s central committee voted overwhelmingly to censure him for commuting Tina Peters’ prison sentence for election-related crimes.

But first, he ate a carrot.

Polis, speaking at the signing of an executive order to support healthy eating and food access, chewed on the carrot for nearly 15 seconds before answering a question about whether he’d wear the censure from his party like a badge of honor. Wednesday night’s unusual action against a governor of the same party included a ban on the Colorado Democratic Party hosting Polis as a featured speaker, as an officially recognized participant or as an honored guest at party functions.

“Marlon and the kids were thrilled because they thought it meant I’d be home earlier because, instead of going to three events a night, they thought I’d be going to two a night,” Polis joked, referring to his husband, first gentleman Marlon Reis.

Polis, who is term-limited from running again this year, pardoned noted election conspiracist Tina Peters on Friday, halving the former Mesa County clerk’s original sentence of nine years and ordering her release on parole June 1.

He faced immediate, intense backlash from a raft of fellow Democrats, who accused him of buckling to President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign, making light of an existential threat to American democracy and sidestepping two coequal branches of government.

Polis countered that he felt Peters was being unduly punished for protected free speech — even if he vehemently disagreed with her conspiracy theories about Colorado’s elections. He has maintained that he didn’t consider outside political pressure in granting Peters clemency.

On Thursday, he said he hadn’t spoken to Trump or anyone in the president’s administration since commuting Peters’ sentence late last week.

He also invoked the 50-year-old landmark legal ruling in National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, in which a Jewish lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union successfully defended the First Amendment rights of a Nazi group to demonstrate in the northern Chicago suburb.

“We’d very much be sacrificing who we are if we suppress the free speech of any individuals,” Polis said. “… I think it’s very important that we protect people in this moment of time, and in every moment of time, as we fight against the overreach of the Trump administration.”

Others in his party and involved in the criminal prosecution of Peters have rejected Polis’ characterization of Peters’ sentencing. They argue her lack of remorse for her crimes and the threat she posed to election integrity demanded a harsh sentence.

Peters was convicted in 2024 of several felonies related to using another person’s security badge to give a third-party access to state election systems following the 2020 election. That third person, an affiliate of noted election denier Mike Lindell, then made images of the election system’s hard drive.

Nearly 90% of the state Democratic Party Central Committee voted Wednesday to condemn Polis “for conduct inconsistent with the Colorado Democratic Party’s commitment to democratic institutions, election integrity and public accountability.” The central committee has hundreds of members, though it’s not clear how many voted Wednesday night.

“Colorado Democrats will continue standing up for the rule of law, secure elections and the democratic values Coloradans expect us to defend,” Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib said in a statement after the vote. “That’s the difference between us and the cult of Donald Trump that is the Republican Party and we look forward to doing our part to take our country back this November.”

Polis didn’t fight the party’s decision Thursday, but used it to draw contrast to the state Republican Party. The GOP has been embroiled in an ongoing fight to close its primary election to unaffiliated voters, even as that voting bloc has grown to include more than half of Colorado’s voters.

“I’m really proud to be a Democrat because when I see the Republican central committee trying to abolish primaries, I’d much rather be in a party that’s talking about who can speak at different events and how they’re treated,” Polis said.