By Jena Griswold has secured the Democratic nomination to be Colorado’s next attorney general.
Various news outlets called the race at 7:23 p.m. Tuesday.
Results show Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state, with a strong lead over her three opponents, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty, workers rights attorney David Seligman and former federal prosecutor Hetal Doshi.
Griswold was first elected secretary of state in 2018. She was reelected in 2022 and is term-limited.
An outspoken Trump critic, Griswold supported the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to bar Trump from Colorado’s primary election ballot under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment, despite being a defendant in the case filed by six Republican voters in Colorado. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the state court’s ruling.
Her office also led an investigation into former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was convicted for her role in a breach of her own election equipment in an attempt to prove the 2020 election was stolen.
Griswold will face El Paso County District Attorney Michael J. Allen, winner of the Republican primary for attorney general, in November. Allen’s opponent was attorney David Willson.
A Democrat has won the Colorado attorney general race in the previous two races for the office.
Griswold faced intense criticism after she disclosed in 2024 that a document posted to her office’s website included a hidden but accessible worksheet containing passwords to election equipment in counties throughout the state. County clerks said that while election security in the state remained strong following the breach, many were upset that Griswold did not inform them about the breach until after the Colorado Republican Party learned about and announced it.
The three candidates running against Griswold had touted their expansive legal experience throughout their campaigns, contrasting themselves with her relatively limited time in an actual courtroom. All three questioned her qualifications for the role of attorney general at a debate earlier in June. Seligman, Dougherty and Doshi have participated in more than a dozen candidate forums or debates, none of which Griswold attended.
The attorney general heads the Colorado Department of Law and oversees enforcement of consumer protection and antitrust laws, defends state laws in legal challenges, and advocates for law enforcement and community safety.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is term-limited and won the Democratic nomination to run for governor in November.
