Messenger: Republican Governors Association

Candidate: Jared Polis

Contest: Governor

Affiliation: D

Date delivered: July 24, 2018

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Message type: tv ad

Message tone: negative

About the message: The Republican Governors Association comes out swinging against Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Congressman Jared Polis in this first TV ad, albeit with a Scrabble board. Colorado voters can expect to hear a lot about California in the runup to Nov. 6, when Polis and GOP Treasurer Walker Stapleton square off.

Here's the script via the RGA: "Radical. Now add this. RadiCalifornia? That’s what you get when you bring radical left-wing policies to your state. Ah. Policies that already failed in California. Yeah. Jared Polis wants to turn Colorado into Rad-i-cal-i-for-nia. Polis wants higher taxes. Polis wants to put tens of thousands of energy jobs at risk. And you can forget fixing our traffic problems. Hmm. Don’t let Jared Polis turn Colorado into California."

A couple of initial points: The governor of Colorado can't raise taxes without getting voter approval. And voters likely will get a chance to vote on two different measures to address transportation funding this fall. 9News offers a (maybe snarky?) truth test of the ad (and its adherence to Scrabble rules).

Here's the statement emailed from the Polis campaign: “It's disappointing that Walker Stapleton and his dark money allies are choosing to launch negative attacks instead of focusing on the issues that matter to Colorado families," said Jenn Ridder, campaign manager for Polis for Colorado. "It’s only July, but Washington special interests are already trying to rescue Walker Stapleton's flailing campaign. This false ad is a desperate attempt to distract from Stapleton’s sad record of catering to special interests and lobbyists at the expense of Colorado families.”

About the messenger:

The Republican Governors Association is a political nonprofit, or 527, that advocates for GOP candidates and against Democratic candidates around the nation.

The messenger's money:

The state RGA is supported by the national group, which has contributed $1.3 million through August. The national group reports quarterly to the IRS. Among its large Colorado donors are Encana Corp. at $101,350, Whiting Petroleum at $100,450 and the Anschutz Corp. at $100,000