Last-minute voters have only hours left to decide among the four candidates for Colorado attorney general if they choose the Democratic ballot, or two if they pick Republican.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, leads the field in name recognition as the only candidate currently holding a statewide office. She also has raised the most money, with close to $1.9 million in donations as of late May.
Griswold’s candidacy has focused on opposing what she calls illegal acts by the Trump administration, but fellow Democrats said she lacks courtroom experience and is using the attorney general’s office as a “stepping stone” toward other ambitions.
Other contenders for the Democratic nomination include former assistant U.S. Attorney Hetal Doshi, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty and David Seligman, executive director of Towards Justice, a nonprofit law firm focused on labor rights.
Seligman said he will focus on reining in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, going after “oligarchs” contributing to Colorado’s affordability problems and stepping in when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not do enough to protect people’s health. He listed the Suncor oil refinery in Commerce City as one business he wants to investigate.
Dougherty touted his nearly 30-year prosecutorial career and said he is best positioned to decide which cases the state can win against the Trump administration. He said his other priorities include prosecuting hate crimes, holding businesses accountable for pollution, protecting workers’ rights and stopping scams.
Doshi, who previously oversaw the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division, said she wants to focus on environmental protection, health care fraud and holding ICE accountable when it overreaches. She said she is comfortable suing the Trump administration, but would balance that with in-state work.
On the Republican side, voters are choosing between El Paso County District Attorney Michael J. Allen and former U.S. Army Attorney David Willson. The two previously faced off in the county district attorney race.
Allen, who has been a prosecutor for more than 20 years, created units focused on election integrity and organized crime. He said he wants to ensure criminal justice reform doesn’t go too far, because without accountability, people will commit more crimes, contributing to the state’s high cost of living.
Willson is running to Allen’s right, saying that he would focus on ensuring Islamic Sharia law never comes to Colorado and that schools remove books parents deem inappropriate. He said he would defend laws he believes are constitutional but has not detailed what laws those are — and aren’t. He opposes the state’s protections for abortion rights and legal marijuana.
