Jared Polis
Free universal preschool, reducing the cost of living, income-tax rate cuts, renewable energy goals, and pro-business regulatory streamlining.
Jared Polis has served as Governor of Colorado since January 2019, after five terms representing Colorado’s 2nd District in the U.S. House. A technology entrepreneur before entering politics, he was the first openly gay man elected governor in the United States. He is known for pairing progressive social policy with tax-cutting and deregulatory positions.
The strongest case
Polis positions himself as proof that Democratic governance can also mean lowering taxes and the cost of living, arguing that free full-day kindergarten and universal preschool pay long-term dividends while directly saving families money now. He has backed income-tax rate reductions and regulatory streamlining, contending that affordability and opportunity are bipartisan goals. His pitch is a pragmatic, outcomes-focused liberalism that resists left-right orthodoxy.
And against
His simultaneous embrace of new state programs and income-tax rate cuts invites the question of how expanded services are sustainably funded, particularly under Colorado’s TABOR revenue limits. Critics on his own left flank argue his cost-of-living framing has at times favored deregulation over stronger consumer or labor protections, while fiscal conservatives question the durability of the spending commitments. The fair test is whether the affordability agenda and the program expansions can both hold up across budget cycles.
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On the record
On April 25, 2022, he signed HB22-1295 into law, creating Colorado’s free universal preschool program (10 hours per week for every child the year before kindergarten, starting fall 2023). [source]