June 27, 2016 01:13 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Monday (June 27)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Remember, friends: If you still have a ballot at home, it is too late to put it in the mail. It’s time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► Colorado’s Primary Election is tomorrow, which means it is too late to put your ballot in the mail if you haven’t voted already (ballots must be received by your county clerk before 7:00 pm on Tuesday; postmark dates are irrelevant). For ballot drop-off locations and other voter information, go to JustVoteColorado.org.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s office has updated voting turnout results as of 8:00 am on Monday.

► The Supreme Court had a busy morning as it works on finishing up its to-do list before Justices begin their annual summer break. The Washington Post reports on the ruling that captured the most attention:

The Supreme Court on Monday struck down Texas abortion restrictions that have been widely duplicated in other states, a resounding win for abortion rights advocates in the court’s most important consideration of the controversial issue in 25 years.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy joined the court’s liberals in the 5 to 3 decision, which said Texas’s arguments that the clinic restrictions were to protect women’s health were cover for making it more difficult to obtain an abortion.

The challenged Texas provisions required doctors who perform abortions at clinics to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and said that clinics must meet hospital-like standards of surgical centers.

Similar restrictions have been passed in other states, and officials say they protect patients. But the court’s majority sided with abortion providers and medical associations who said the rules are unnecessary and so expensive or hard to satisfy that they force clinics to close.

In a separate ruling that was also announced today, the Supreme Court overturned a corruption conviction for former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. Critics worry that the court’s decision in the McDonnell case could make it harder to prosecute public officials for criminal wrongdoing.

► The five Republican candidates seeking their party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate race continue to straddle the fence on their support of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump. As John Frank writes for the Denver Post:

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Darryl Glenn made clear for months that he supported Donald Trump for president. He even called Trump “a patriot.”

But with Ted Cruz in Denver last week, Glenn added an “if” caveat that didn’t go unnoticed in the state that is driving the #DumpTrump effort ahead of the convention.

“Right now, we have a presumptive nominee,” Glenn started. “And if he remains our presumptive nominee, we have a responsibility, a responsibility, to get in line and support that candidate.”

(He also landed Cruz a standing ovation for this line: “If he cannot be our next president of the United States of America, I am personally going to lead the charge to make sure he’s our next Supreme Court justice.” Cruz demurred politely.)

Frank’s entire story is worth a read, as he tries to understand the meaning behind some of Glenn’s more cryptic comments on the GOP Presidential race.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► A once-coveted speaking role at the Republican National Convention is now harder to sell than your old Thighmaster. As Politico reports:

With the convention less than a month away, POLITICO contacted more than 50 prominent governors, senators and House members to gauge their interest in speaking. Only a few said they were open to it, and everyone else said they weren’t planning on it, didn’t want to, or weren’t going to Cleveland at all — or simply didn’t respond.

► Two-time Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez is messing around in several Republican Primary contests, which isn’t making him any new friends.

► Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado Springs) is sweating out yet another Primary challenge, as Megan Schrader reports for the Colorado Springs Gazette. Could Republican challenger Calandra Vargas do what four others have failed to accomplish in kicking Lamborn out of a safe GOP seat?

Congressman Doug Lamborn is defending himself from yet another primary opponent, but the race has been quiet – perhaps by design…

…But 32-year-old Calandra Vargas’ supporters don’t see it that way.

They point to her victory at the State Republican Assembly, where she upset Lamborn to get her name first on the ballot after getting 58 percent of the vote from hundreds of GOP delegates chosen at caucuses across the district.

Lamborn, vying for a sixth term in Congress, said he was “ambushed” at the assembly and not prepared to head off her attack. He was first elected in 2006 with 27 percent of the primary vote and has faced a primary opponent every year except for 2010. Election day is Tuesday.

In a separate story in the Gazette, Lamborn applauds the Brexit vote last week that saw England voters approving a departure from the European Union.

► The Grand Junction Sentinel profiles 28-year-old Alex Beinstein, who is trying to defeat incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Cortez) in a GOP Primary in CD-3.

► Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Denver) is calling on Congress to re-instate an assault weapons ban in the United States. Denver7 has more on a gun safety rally held Sunday at the State Capitol in Denver.

► Donald Trump will visit Colorado on Friday for the first time as a Presidential candidate (we’re not counting last fall’s GOP debate in Boulder as a “visit”). As part of the Trump festivities, several big name Republicans are hosting a fundraiser for His Hairness.

► Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is scheduled to be in Denver on Tuesday for a tour of Galvanize Denver and at least one private fundraising event.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► A woman who lost her arm in a vehicle collision with a cow (yes, you read that correctly)  is suing the Colorado Department of Transportation.

► As the New York Times reports, Senate Republicans’ refusal to even hold a hearing to appoint a new Supreme Court justice has created a split court that is consistently ruling to the left on significant political issues.

ICYMI

► An investigative report from Rocky Mountain PBS finds that Colorado taxpayers are losing out on at least $23 million each year because of companies that dodge payments for unemployment insurance premiums.

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