Published on May 19, 2026, at FOX31
Days after Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ decision to commute election conspiracy theorist Tina Peters’ sentence, the candidates to replace Polis in November’s election have called it both “mind-boggling” and “not enough,” and the decision has even divided the Republican candidates.
Polis faced pressure from President Donald Trump to commute Peters’ sentence after she was convicted in a scheme to make a copy of her county’s election computer system. Peters has been a prominent Republican and Trump talking point since the 2020 election, and the president praised the Friday decision that will release Peters on June 1, saying in a Truth Social post, “FREE TINA!”
The decision was faced with instant backlash from Democrats, and more than 400 have signed a complaint to state party leaders seeking to censure Polis.
Now, the five candidates for the Democratic and Republican party primaries have all responded to Polis’ decision. Here’s what they have said:
Bennet says Polis ‘will not be considered’ for Senate seat; Weiser calls decision ‘mind-boggling’
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet has made several X posts condemning Polis for his decision and called Peters a “stone-cold election denier” on CNN.
If Bennet were to become Colorado’s next governor, his Senate seat would open up for an appointment. Bennet told CNN’s Kaitlin Collins he views Polis’ decision as “disqualifying” of a potential appointment to that seat.
“If I have the honor of becoming Colorado’s next governor, Jared Polis will not be considered in my place,” Bennet said in an X post with a clip of his interview with Collins.
The other Democrat running in the primary election, current Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, also condemned the decision to commute Peters’ sentence.
Weiser said it would only embolden the Trump administration to bully Colorado more.
“Gov. Polis’ commutation of Tina Peters’ sentence is mind-boggling and wrong as a matter of basic justice,” Weiser said in a statement. “She was convicted by a jury and sentenced for tampering with election equipment and undermining our elections.”
Republican candidates divided on Peters decision
The Republican candidates, meanwhile, were split on the decision.
Two of the candidates, current state Rep. Scott Bottoms from El Paso County, and veteran and non-profit founder Victor Marx, at least partially praised Polis’ decision. State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer of Weld County, on the other hand, said it was the wrong move.
Speaking on 710KNUS‘ The Peter Boyles Show, Kirkmeyer pointed out a decision by an appeals court in April to have Peters resentenced, saying Polis should have let that process play out.
“I can understand that maybe he thought the sentence of Tina Peters was harsh, and he thought something should be done, “Kirkmeyer said. “The appellate court remanded it back to the lower court and said, ‘Hey, you need to look at what happened here with the First Amendment and readdress the sentencing of this individual.’ I think that should have taken place. That should have happened first.”
The Colorado Court of Appeals in April upheld Peters’ conviction but said the sentence was too harsh and that the judge who sentenced her did so with bias about Peters’ election denial claims. The appeals court had sent the sentence back to the lower court for resentencing.
Boyles then asked Kirkmeyer if she believed Peters did something wrong, to which she said yes.
“She was convicted in court in Mesa County, by a district attorney who is a Republican in a county that is pretty much Republican,” Kirkmeyer said. “She committed a crime.”
Bottoms, meanwhile, in an X post after Polis’ decision, did say he believed Peters did nothing wrong, and that Polis’ decision to grant clemency was “not enough.”
“When I am governor, I will issue a full pardon on day one,” Bottoms said. “Tina Peters did nothing wrong. She broke no law. She only tried to protect election integrity.”
Marx, in an X post after the decision, posted a screenshot of a news headline of the announcement of Peters’ release and simply said, “June is going to be a great month!”
