{"id":132607,"date":"2026-06-10T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/our-view-primary-choices-attorney-general-and-secretary-of-state\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T11:00:00","slug":"our-view-primary-choices-attorney-general-and-secretary-of-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/our-view-primary-choices-attorney-general-and-secretary-of-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Our view: Primary choices \u2013 attorney general and secretary of state"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attorney General \u2013 Democratic Party Primary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jena Griswold <\/strong>is an attorney serving her second term as Colorado secretary of state after winning election in 2018. As secretary of state, she expanded voter access, increased ballot drop boxes, implemented automatic voter registration, and championed laws protecting election workers and voting equipment. Her campaign centers on defending democracy, protecting civil rights and protecting Colorado from actions by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

David Seligman<\/strong> is a consumer-rights, labor-rights and antitrust attorney who serves as executive director of Towards Justice. A Harvard Law School graduate, he has built his campaign around workers\u2019 rights, consumer protection and corporate accountability.<\/p>\n

Hetal Doshi<\/strong> is a former federal prosecutor and deputy assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice. She helped lead antitrust cases against Google, Apple and Ticketmaster and has emphasized consumer protection and voting rights.<\/p>\n

Michael Dougherty<\/strong> has spent nearly three decades as a prosecutor and serves as Boulder County district attorney. He previously served as Colorado\u2019s deputy attorney general, supervising units responsible for public corruption, election-related crimes, environmental crimes and financial fraud.<\/p>\n

Dougherty led the prosecution of the King Soopers mass shooter and played a pivotal role in securing justice in the Mark Redwine murder case, helping secure Redwine\u2019s conviction more than a decade after his 13-year-old son, Dylan, disappeared from Vallecito. He has earned endorsements from Democratic and Republican prosecutors, sheriffs and law-enforcement leaders across Colorado.<\/p>\n

All four Democrats bring strengths to the race. But the attorney general\u2019s office demands courtroom experience, management ability and legal judgment. Dougherty\u2019s nearly 30 years as a prosecutor, service as deputy attorney general and record in some of Colorado\u2019s most significant criminal cases make him uniquely qualified for the job. Advancing Dougherty to November would give Democrats their strongest candidate and Colorado a proven legal leader.<\/p>\n

Attorney General \u2013 Republican Party Primary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Allen<\/strong> is the district attorney for El Paso and Teller counties, where he is serving a second term. A Navy veteran, Allen points to his role in creating an organized crime unit and the state\u2019s first vehicle theft task force. He is best known for prosecuting the Club Q mass shooting case. Allen argues that local governments should not dictate national energy policy and has criticized Boulder County\u2019s climate-related lawsuit against energy companies.<\/p>\n

David Wilson<\/strong> spent 20 years in the U.S. Army\u2019s Judge Advocate General\u2019s Corps as both a prosecutor and defense attorney. He later advised the National Security Agency and now consults on cybersecurity and fraud issues. He recently participated in efforts to exclude unaffiliated voters from Colorado primaries and has been a vocal supporter of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, saying, \u201cWhat happened to Tina Peters is disgusting.\u201d He has criticized Attorney General Phil Weiser\u2019s lawsuits against the Trump administration, and faulted Democrats for funding medical care for undocumented immigrants and pursuing policies he believes threaten TABOR.<\/p>\n

Both candidates bring legal credentials and military service to the race. Allen, however, has demonstrated success leading a major prosecutorial office and handling some of Colorado\u2019s most consequential criminal cases. Republicans would be better served advancing Allen.<\/p>\n

Secretary of State \u2013 Democratic Party Primary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amanda Gonzalez<\/strong> is Jefferson County\u2019s clerk and recorder, overseeing elections for more than half a million residents. She previously served as executive director of Colorado Common Cause.<\/p>\n

Jessie Danielson<\/strong> served two terms in the Colorado House and is completing her second term in the Senate. Raised on a Weld County farm, she has been a leading voice in expanding voting access and strengthening Colorado\u2019s election system.<\/p>\n

Both candidates have defended Colorado\u2019s election process, opposed federal efforts to obtain confidential voter information and advocated for broad voter access, including for eligible voters held in county jails. Either would serve the state well at a time when election administration faces constant attacks. Danielson earns the nod because of her rural roots, record of reelection and active role in successful legislative efforts to make voting in Colorado more accessible.<\/p>\n

Support from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Chairman Melvin J. Baker, Council Member Andrew Gallegos, La Plata County Clerk Tiffany Lee and county clerks from both parties underscores her credibility across Colorado’s political and geographic landscape. Advancing Danielson to November would be the better choice.<\/p>\n

Republican<\/h3>\n

James Wiley<\/strong> is unopposed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Attorney General \u2013 Democratic Party Primary Jena Griswold is an attorney serving her second term as Colorado secretary of state after winning election in 2018. As secretary of state, she expanded voter access, increased ballot drop boxes, implemented automatic voter registration, and championed laws protecting election workers and voting equipment. Her campaign centers on defending […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6344,6345],"tags":[125],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-132607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorials-2","category-editorials-2-opinion","tag-newsletter-opinion"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132607"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=132607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}