DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has again signaled that he thinks Tina Peters’ prison sentence was too harsh as he considers granting some form of clemency — though not a full pardon, his office confirmed Wednesday.

In a social media post Tuesday night, Polis — who has also faced months of pressure from President Donald Trump to release Peters — compared the disgraced former Mesa County clerk’s punishment to a state senator recently convicted on the same charges.

Polis wrote on the social platform X that the former lawmaker, Sonya Jaquez Lewis, was sentenced to probation and community service last week after being convicted of attempting to influence a public servant earlier this year. The former senator, a Democrat, was charged last year with that crime as well as forgery after falsifying letters of support in an effort to fight a legislative ethics probe.

Peters, a Republican clerk who collaborated with discredited election conspiracy theorists and provided access to secure voting equipment, was also convicted of attempting to influence a public servant, along with other charges. She was sentenced to nine years in jail and prison.

Polis said it was “not lost on me” that one of their felony charges was the same.

“Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly, you never know when you might need to depend on the rule of law,” Polis wrote. “This is the context I am using as I consider cases like this that have sentencing disparities, which is why I have extended the deadline for clemency applications until April 3rd.”

The comments, which Polis’ office defended Wednesday morning, drew a caustic response from Democratic lawmakers.

“Without discounting at all what Sen. Jaquez Lewis did, there is a material difference between submitting false documents to a tribunal, and aiding in the attempted insurrection and overthrow of the duly elected president of the United States,” said Rep. Steven Woodrow, a Denver Democrat. “Tina Peters fanned the flames of Trump’s big lie. And that is materially different than anything even approaching what Sen. Jaquez Lewis did. I hope the governor thinks long and hard about that material difference before he decides to do (anything).”

“I am astonished that one would make such a comparison,” added Rep. Emily Sirota, also of Denver.

Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Dan Rubinstein, the Mesa County district attorney who led Peters’ prosecution, both similarly drew a distinction between Jaquez Lewis’ conduct and that of Peters. Rubinstein wrote in a statement that there was a reason the legislature had given judges a range of sentencing options, even for people convicted of the same crime.

He acknowledged that Polis had the authority to reduce Peters’ sentence but wrote that doing so “would be a gross injustice to the affected citizens I represent.”

“Peters’ … actions are still 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 separate statement.

Several other Democratic lawmakers expressed disappointment or concern with Polis’ comments Wednesday. Sen. Robert Rodriguez, the Senate’s majority leader, said he didn’t think Polis should intervene, and he noted that Peters has shown no remorse for trying to undermine the state’s election systems.

The X post was the latest signal that Polis may commute Peters’ sentence, which he earlier called “harsh” and “unusual.” Though his post leaned on Jaquez Lewis’ recent conviction, Polis’ interest in reducing Peter’s sentence predates the former lawmaker’s January trial.

A number of public officials — Griswold, Rubinstein, Attorney General Phil Weiser and a coalition of county clerks — have repeatedly urged the governor not to reduce Peters’ sentence, and similar efforts have been made behind the scenes.

The Colorado Court of Appeals is weighing the length of Peters’ sentence, and its judges have indicated they may reduce it.

In October 2024, she received three-and-a-half years in prison on two counts of attempting to influence a public official and another three-and-a-half years on a third count of the same charge, according to a filing from the attorney general’s office. The rest of her sentence was for other charges. She could be eligible for parole in less than two years.

In a statement Wednesday, Polis spokeswoman Shelby Wieman said he was not considering a pardon for Peters but was weighing clemency.

“The governor has expressed skepticism around this inmate’s sentence and was noting the difference in sentencing for two people, both public officials, with the same charge,” she wrote.

The governor did find support from one federal lawmaker.

“So a former Democrat State Senator here in Colorado was charged and convicted of the SAME THING as Tina Peters,” U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican, wrote on X. “She was given PROBATION. Tina Peters was sentenced to 9 YEARS in prison. FREE TINA PETERS.”

Lawmakers have already weighed how to voice their displeasure with the governor’s position. Senate Democrats have discussed sending the governor a letter opposing any change to Peters’ sentence (though no letter has been sent). Democrats in the House have discussed a legislative response. While lawmakers are still discussing how to proceed, the available options also include an effort to censure Polis.

“I’d be surprised if there were not (a response from the legislature),” Woodrow said. “Everything’s on the table. There are ongoing conversations amongst colleagues. We are taking a wait-and-see approach.”

The former Mesa County clerk’s prison term has become a cause celebre among election-deniers allied with Trump. The president has repeatedly blasted Polis for not releasing Peters, and he issued a pardon for her late last year. But the move was essentially symbolic — because Peters was convicted of state charges, only Polis can reduce or end her sentence.

But for months, the Trump administration has targeted Colorado repeatedly through federal funding cuts, closures or relocations of federal facilities in the state, and the veto of a bill providing financing for a drinking water pipeline in southeastern Colorado. Trump suggested a link to Peters for some of the decisions.

Pressed by reporters earlier this year, Polis refused to say if he’d had conversations with the Trump administration about Peters. He denied that he’d discussed releasing her as part of a trade for restored federal funding or other benefits from the federal government.

But that hasn’t slowed criticism from lawmakers.

Rodriguez said he didn’t know if Polis’ interest was driven by legitimate policy concerns or by “outside pressures.” Rep. Lorena Garcia, an Adams County Democrat, argued that Polis’ interest in Peters’ sentence was evidence that the governor was “trying to continue to do favors for the administration.”

In a statement Wednesday morning, Weiser noted the president’s “pressure campaign” to release Peters. Commuting her sentence after that campaign, he said, “would be a serious injustice and send the wrong message to those who would attempt to tamper with our elections — if you are wealthy or politically connected, you can escape justice. Worst of all, releasing her early would erode confidence in our system of justice as based on fairness, equity, and the law.”

House Speaker Julie McCluskie declined to comment on Polis’ latest Peters post. But a spokesman said her position on Peters has not changed.

In her opening day speech in January, McCluskie argued that “this administration will target Colorado no matter what we do,” and state officials should “do what’s right.”

Those comments, she later told The Denver Post, were in reference to Peters.

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