Days before the election, Ana and Deep welcome Logan Davis, investigative columnist at the Colorado Times Recorder and author of The Red Print, the award-winning map of Advance Colorado’s money, to explain who built the longest ballot in state history and why. Logan walks through how Advance emerged in 2020 to deliver for Phil Anschutz after the Colorado GOP made itself unelectable, how a Democratic legislature anointed Michael Fields by negotiating property tax cuts with him in 2023, and how $14 million moved in 2024 from family foundations and donor-advised funds through a dozen groups with the same officers and the same compliance person. Then the whole shop: Anschutz funds the groups that write the measures, the think tank that blesses them, and the newspapers that endorse them, and this month his companies told employees at the Broadmoor, Xanterra, and Anschutz Exploration to follow the Gazette’s voter guide. Also: why the Colorado Democratic Party is holding election night at an AEG venue, why eight of this year’s measures are built to win lawsuits later, and a twenty-minute argument between Deep and Logan over Amendment 85 that neither of them wins. Tea Time with Logan: predictions on every statewide race and all fourteen measures, Boebert, CD-8, Talarico, El-Sayed, and whether 134 and 135 pass. Last episode of the election cycle.
Who Is Advance Colorado? whoisadvancecolorado.org
The Red Print, Colorado Times Recorder: https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2025/08/the-redprint-how-advance-colorado-and-anonymous-donors-shape-the-political-landscape/72168/
Colorado Times Recorder: coloradotimesrecorder.com
Check our our new substack: leftintheattic.substack.com/
The LITA November 2026 Ballot Guide: leftintheattic.com/voterguide
Chapters
00:00 A Nice Little Propaganda Machine
00:49 Halloween Weekend And The Party Bus
02:57 Meet Logan Davis
03:37 “I Found A Candidate’s Second Family”
07:05 The Political Workers Guild
10:17 Advance Colorado Fills The GOP Vacuum
15:59 The Property Tax Blackmail
25:29 Reading The 990s Backwards
30:13 The Award-Winning Flowchart
35:34 Twelve Groups, One Compliance Person
39:25 MAGA Or Chamber Of Commerce?
41:43 Who Anschutz Funds In Washington
45:37 Batting .500 With Eight On The Ballot
49:05 Courts, Power, And North Carolina
51:26 Initiatives, Think Tank, Newspapers
52:52 The Broadmoor Emails
54:43 Election Night At An Anschutz Venue
57:54 Money Is Speech. Why The Mask?
59:12 Eight Measures Built To Sue Later
01:03:47 The Amendment 85 Fight
01:16:42 Plain Language vs. Legalese
01:19:48 Constitution Or Statute?
01:22:12 Michael Fields DM’d Ana
01:25:21 Tea Time: Predictions
01:30:51 The Measures, Pass Or Fail
01:35:15 Talarico, El-Sayed, Mejía
01:37:47 Call To Action
01:39:01 Wrap And Outtakes
Meet Your Hosts
Ana Mitchell, Ph.D., is a former CDC scientist who was swept up in federal cuts and is now reinventing herself as a civic coach and creator. After a decade reducing disparities in health and education, she’s building Civically Fit (see civicallyfit.org) to make civic engagement accessible, authentic, and sustainable. A proud Latina and Colorado native, Ana is focused on helping people build community and power through everyday civic action.
Deep Singh Badhesha is an attorney, political strategist, and the founder of Lamp Strategies, a public affairs firm, with more than a decade of experience shaping campaigns and policy in Colorado. A former public school math teacher, Colorado Supreme Court clerk, Colorado House Democrats staff, and Capitol lobbyist for Denver Public Schools, he now works across campaigns, ballot initiatives, and legislative fights, and turns up on TV and radio to argue about all of it. He's the son of Punjabi immigrants, a Colorado Springs kid, a new dad, and a longtime organizer who believes community, not saviors, will rebuild the Left. He also has way too many hot takes on everything from food and sports to politics.
Links:
Website: www.LeftInTheAttic.com
Instagram: @leftintheatticpod
TikTok: @leftintheattic
Email: LeftInTheAtticPod@gmail.com
Voicemail: (303) 416-2846
