Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced Monday morning that she is running to become Colorado’s next attorney general, framing her candidacy and qualifications around her experience pushing back against the Trump administration.
“Colorado needs a strong, proven leader in this critical moment to stand up to Donald Trump, to protect our rights and freedoms,” the Democrat said in an interview. “I’ve always stood up to extremists – and I won’t back down.”
Colorado’s current attorney general, Democrat Phil Weiser, is term-limited. Weiser is running for governor in 2026.
If elected, Griswold said she would work to eliminate the state’s rape-kit processing backlog, push for more gun regulations and protect access to abortion and in vitro fertilization.
“I’m one of the only women in statewide executive office right now,” she said. “Being a woman and a mom – it matters. If we have more women in elected office, frankly, our rights wouldn’t be constantly under attack.”
In terms of her legal background, Griswold is a 2011 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. From 2011 to 2013, she worked at the law firm Paul Hastings in Washington, D.C., where she practiced international anti-corruption law. After that, her legal work was centered on working to protect voting access on campaigns.
As secretary of state, Griswold, who oversees Colorado’s elections, has been a national voice in the opposition to Trump’s unfounded claims about election interference. She backed an effort to block Trump from appearing on Colorado’s 2024 presidential primary ballot. Griswold also served as chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State.
Griswold is one of three Democrats who are running for Colorado attorney general in 2026 – so far. The other two are Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty and former Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran.
Griswold, a proficient campaign fundraiser, is best known of the three, having won the statewide race for secretary of state in 2018 and 2022. She won her reelection bid by 13 percentage points.
Griswold, in an interview with The Sun ahead of her campaign’s launch, called herself “the most qualified person in this race,” citing her tenure as secretary of state, which has been full of clashes with Trump and complex policy fights at the state Capitol.
She said courtroom experience, which Dougherty in particular has much more of, is not necessary for attorneys general, citing how Weiser had little litigation background when he took office. Weiser went on to be a leader among Democratic attorneys general filing lawsuits to halt Trump administration policies.
“This is not a chief prosecutor’s job. It’s not a chief trial attorney’s job,” she said. “It’s a job to oversee and set our legal policy and now hold Trump accountable to the rule of law. And I’m the person in the race that has the most experience there.”
Griswold launched her campaign with the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, 22 state lawmakers, and a host of unions and local elected officials and activists.
Griswold was also considering a 2026 bid to be Colorado’s next governor. But those plans changed in the wake of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s expected gubernatorial candidacy. Griswold also faced scrutiny last year over how a staffer in her office accidentally posted election system passwords online.
She also considered a U.S. Senate bid in 2020.
Griswold said she wants to be attorney general because it will make her “one of the first lines of defense against the Trump administration.”
The Democratic primary for attorney general and other statewide offices will be held in June 2026.
