Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ latest comments about the prison sentence of Tina Peters are "worrisome," his Democratic colleagues said, and any attempt to commute the former Mesa County clerk’s prison sentence would be “a big mistake” as well as a “gross injustice.”
Colorado Democrats, as well as the Republican district attorney who prosecuted Peters, issued a flood of statements in response to Polis’ latest musings. That included the top Democrats vying to replace the term-limited governor, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and Attorney General Phil Weiser.
“Tina Peters knowingly broke the law, undermined our elections, and was rightfully convicted by a jury of her peers,” Bennet said. “At a moment like this, we can’t capitulate to a lawless Administration.”
Weiser, whose office helped prosecute Peters, securing her conviction on seven counts, said: “Reducing the sentence of convicted former clerk Tina Peters for tampering with election equipment would be a grave miscarriage of justice and dangerous for free and fair elections.”
If Polis does not address her sentence in some way, Peters may have to serve her term, as Bennet and Weiser are the two Democratic frontrunners to replace Polis.
The outcry from public officials comes after a social media post from Polis on Tuesday evening that compared the sentence Peters received with that of former Colorado legislator Sonya Jaquez Lewis. Last week, Jaquez Lewis received a sentence of community service and probation after being found guilty of one count of attempting to influence a public servant and three counts of forgery for her role in trying to mislead the Colorado Senate Ethics Committee, which was investigating her alleged mistreatment of her aides.
Polis said he was glad that Jaquez Lewis would not serve prison time.
“But it is not lost on me that (Jaquez Lewis) was convicted of the exact same felony charge as Tina Peters — attempting to influence a public official — and yet Tina Peters, as a non-violent first-time offender, got a nine-year sentence,” Polis said.
A Mesa County jury convicted Peters of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, along with four other charges for her role in permitting unauthorized access to county voting equipment in her effort to prove voter fraud in the 2020 election.
“Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly, you never know when you might need to depend on the rule of law. This is the context I am using as I consider cases like this that have sentencing disparities,” Polis continued in his social media post.
Polis has been facing pressure for months from President Donald Trump to release Peters, with many Democrats speculating that federal budget cuts aimed at Colorado and denying federal disaster aid for parts of the state were directly downstream of the Peters issue.
Though Peters was sentenced to nine years, it’s unlikely she would serve that full amount of time. Peters is parole eligible on Nov. 26, 2028, a date that will move up for every month served in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Per the Department of Corrections policies, nonviolent offenders are referred to community corrections 19 months before their parole eligibility date.
As governor, Polis has clemency power. That can include a pardon, which would absolve her of the crime, or a commutation, which would lessen the sentence by freeing her from jail earlier or making her eligible for parole sooner than the original sentence imposed. A spokesperson for the governor’s office said Polis is not considering a pardon, but commutation remains on the table.
The comments from the governor inspired a series of responses and quickly garnered some bipartisan pushback within the state.
The Republican 21st Judicial District Attorney, Dan Rubinstein, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement that sentencing ranges are intentional so that crimes could be addressed differently depending on the circumstances. For the felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant, sentencing can range from probation to up to six years per count. Peters received three-and-a-half years for each of her convictions.
“The suggestion that everyone convicted under the same statute should receive the same sentence overlooks why the Legislature created a sentencing range in the first place: no two crimes and no two defendants are the same,” Rubinstein said. “While the governor has the legal authority to modify that sentence, doing so here would be a gross injustice to the affected citizens I represent.”
Weiser suggested in a statement that it would send the wrong message following Trump’s pressure campaign.
“Clemency should be based on remorse, rehabilitation, and extenuating circumstances—not on political influence, favor, or retribution,” Weiser said in the statement. “Tina Peters has not only demonstrated no remorse, but she has also doubled down on the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen. I have no doubt that she will continue her campaign of deception and conspiracy theories — and will only be emboldened to do so — if she is released from prison early.”
Democratic Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said Peters’ actions are being used to try to undermine the 2026 election.
“She should get no special treatment by the Governor, and his statement is shocking and worrisome,” Griswold said in a statement.
Griswold also said the comparison Polis made between Jaquez Lewis and Peters was misguided.
“Beyond one count in common, it is not accurate to suggest that Peters’ and Sonya Jaquez Lewis’ actions or impacts are the same.”
Democratic Senate President James Coleman from Denver said he did not think Peters’ sentence was unfair compared to his former Senate colleague. He also said members of his caucus have expressed concerns about the entire discussion around Peters receiving clemency.
“And a lack of clarity and understanding on what the governor's thought process is or his ultimate goal will be.”
Under the context of Trump’s comments seeking to nationalize elections in 15 states and a potential emergency order on elections, Coleman said he wants Colorado lead with integrity in its election process
“Especially now in this year. And I think anyone that is a threat to that, whether it's an individual or it's a system or it's an administration, we got to speak out against that and defend what we've built here in Colorado for people to have access to a fair voting process.”
Polis’ post also reverberated among Colorado lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
Jason Crow, a Democrat representing the state’s 6th Congressional District, said Peters had not demonstrated the contrition that would warrant clemency.
“She is not the type of case that I think you would normally — as a governor, as a president — would look towards pardoning or granting clemency,” Crow said.
Rep. Joe Neguse, a Democrat representing Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, echoed sentiments from other state lawmakers, telling CPR News, “I do not believe that Ms. Peters’ sentence should be modified in any way.”
Former governor and Sen. John Hickenlooper said while he wouldn't criticize a sitting governor of the state, he told reporters in D.C. that Peters does not seem repentant.
But not all lawmakers criticized the idea.
GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert retweeted Polis’s post with a simple message, “Free Tina!”
Discussion of the severity of Peters’ sentence has raged for months, and her legal team has made numerous attempts to free her, including a presidential pardon that is not considered applicable to state charges.
Matthew Barrett, the 21st Judicial District Court Judge who sentenced Peters, remarked at the time that Peters had shown no remorse for her crimes and that he was “convinced you would do it all over again if you could.”
Barrett was appointed to his district court position in 2019 by the governor at the time, Jared Polis.
CPR’s Caitlyn Kim contributed reporting.
