PUEBLO — Colorado Democrats set up a one-on-one primary fight for the U.S. Senate and governor’s race and picked their treasurer nominee Saturday, setting the field for the three-month dash of campaigning before the June 30 primary.
More than 1,600 Democratic faithful filled Memorial Hall in Pueblo on Saturday, even as thousands of Coloradans joined protests against the Trump administration as part of the national No Kings movement, to cast their lots for their party’s candidates for some of the state’s top offices. The event doesn’t completely settle the field, but it helps winnow out candidates and determine which candidate’s name will appear at the top of the primary ballot. Republicans will hold their state assembly to do the same thing, also in Pueblo, in two weeks.
Attendees at the assembly heard from more than a dozen candidates total seeking Colorado’s top statewide offices: treasurer, attorney general, secretary of state, governor and U.S. Senate. Candidates who won 30% support or more from the delegates in Pueblo won a spot on the June 30 primary ballot, and the overall winner will hold the top spot in the list of nominees when ballots go out.
State Sen. Julie Gonzales, a progressive from Denver, will hold the top-line spot in the primary election against U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper after she boxed out two other Democrats seeking the nomination. Attorney General Phil Weiser, meanwhile, won more than 90% of the delegates at the Colorado Democratic Party’s state assembly in his bid for governor. He will face U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. Hickenlooper and Bennet skipped the assembly in favor of petitioning onto the ballot.
And in the treasurer’s race, state Sen. Jeff Bridges was the only candidate to clear the 30% threshold necessary to qualify for the primary ballot. His competitors, state Rep. Brianna Titone and John Mikos, fell just short of qualifying for the primary ballot.
The other races, however, ended the day in approximately the same spot as they were at the start. Secretary of State Jena Griswold edged out attorney David Seligman to win the top slot on June’s primary ballot for Colorado attorney general, with 42% of delegates to Seligman’s 41%. Democrats Michael Dougherty and Hetal Doshi have submitted petitions for that race.
The race for the nomination for secretary of state, between state Sen. Jessie Danielson and Jefferson County Clerk Amanda Gonzalez, will go forward with both candidates still in it. Gonzalez won the top-line spot with 63% of the assembly vote to 37% for Danielson.
As notable as the candidates on stage were, the people not there were equally notable. Neither Hickenlooper, who is seeking reelection, or Bennet, who is running for governor, appeared at the event. Both opted to petition onto the ballot vs. relying on party activists to win a spot in the primary.
Recent Colorado history shows victory at the state assembly may not matter much. Bennet in 2010 and Hickenlooper in 2020 lost the assembly vote before going on to win the party’s nomination at the primary and eventually a seat in the U.S. Senate. Gov. Jared Polis likewise lost the assembly in 2018 before going on to win two terms as the state’s chief executive.
The assembly hall also represented a small fraction of people who ultimately will determine the nomination. Some 1 million Democrats and 2 million unaffiliated voters will be eligible to vote in the primary.
Bennet’s and Hickenlooper’s decision, however, meant the Memorial Hall auditorium was stacked with supporters for their opponents. Gonzales, one of three candidates who challenged Hickenlooper and the only one to win a spot on the ballot at the assembly, walked onto the nomination stage to some of the loudest applause of the day and led raucous call-and-response of “when we fight, we win” as she walked off.
In her speech, she acknowledged long odds in her bid to unseat Hickenlooper, who was Denver mayor and governor before he turned to Washington, D.C.
“I am not going to outraise the John Hickenlooper incumbent protection program,” Gonzales said in an interview after her speech. “That’s fine. I’m not trying to. We’re going to outwork him. And the energy and fire you saw reflected in this room tonight, from Coloradans all across the state, is a testament and demonstration — exhibit A — in terms of what we will do.”
Other races, however, featured the candidates taking veiled shots at their competition and navigating outside political attacks.
Griswold faced new allegations Saturday morning from a disgruntled former employee who accused her of creating “a hostile and volatile workplace” and a “climate of fear of retaliation” as secretary of state. The statement didn’t derail her assembly showing, as she still won the top-line spot.
“I am speaking on behalf of those who we abused, bullied and ultimately discarded by Secretary Griswold,” Reese Edwards, the former employee, said in the statement. The statement was sent through the NMFAction Fund. According to the letter, Edwards worked as Griswold’s director of government and public affairs in 2019 and 2020. “I am speaking for them because they fear retaliation and retribution for their jobs and their careers. They fear what she might try to do to them if she gets her hands on the most powerful judicial position in Colorado.”
NMFAction Fund did not respond to a request for comment from The Denver Post. Its statement did not name employees other than Edwards. Griswold’s campaign also did not respond to a request for comment about the letter Saturday. When approached by a Denver Post reporter at the assembly, a staffer for Griswold simply said “no” and walked away.
But Griswold, who’s held a commanding fundraising advantage, alluded to other attacks she’s faced during the campaign.
“A candidate in this race has decided that his best shot is to launch misleading attacks on me,” Griswold said during her nomination speech. Her campaign later singled out Dougherty. “Let’s call it what is is: Desperation … If your focus is on bringing me down, and not on the racist lunatic in the White House, then you’re not ready for this job.”
Updated at 12:08 p.m. Sunday, March 29: After publication, Griswold’s campaign clarified she was referring to attacks from Democratic rival for Attorney General Michael Dougherty, not responding to accusations made Saturday by former staffer Reese Edwards.
