Attorneys General should, in theory, work to uphold the law and justice, plus might have a say in shaping law or legal policy into the future.

The Colorado Attorney General (AG) is one of four independently elected statewide offices in Colorado. The AG and the Department of Law, collectively referred to as the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, represents and defends the legal interests of the people of the State of Colorado. The AG exercises the responsibilities given to the office by the Colorado Constitution, statutes enacted by the Colorado General Assembly, and the common law.

The AG has primary authority for issues including enforcement of consumer protection and antitrust laws, prosecution of criminal appeals and some complex white-collar crimes, the Statewide Grand Jury, training and certification of peace officers, and most natural resource and environmental matters. Additionally, the Attorney General’s Office works concurrently with Colorado’s 23 district attorneys and other local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to carry out the criminal justice responsibilities and activities of the office.

The AG is also the chief legal counsel and advisor to the executive branch of state government including the governor, all of the departments of state government, and to the many state agencies, boards, and commissions. The AG or AG’s Office might collaborate with legislators on state bills, and might enter Colorado into lawsuits against the federal government.

Attorneys General are elected to four-year terms, and are limited to two terms in office. The current AG, Phil Weiser, is about to finish his second term and is term-limited, so this seat is open. There are two candidates in this year’s general election race, and whoever gets the most total votes wins.

Jena Griswold, Democratic

Jena Griswold

Jena Griswold is currently completing her second four-year term as Colorado’s Secretary of State. She won her first term in 2018, defeating the last incumbent Secretary of State, Republican Wayne Williams, by 52.7% to 44.7%. She won her 2022 election by about 55% – 42% over Republican Pam Anderson. Griswold became the Democratic nominee for Attorney General by earning about 44% in the four-way June 30 primary, defeating David Seligman, Michael Dougherty, and Hetal Doshi in the process.

Griswold holds a bachelor of arts degree in Politics and Spanish Literature from Whitman College and a juris doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She graduated from Estes Park High School. In 2006, Griswold was awarded an international Watson Fellowship, and in 2009 received a Penn Law International Human Rights Fellowship.

Before assuming office, she practiced anti-corruption law and business law, worked as a voter protection attorney for President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign, and ran her own legal office. Former Governor John Hickenlooper appointed her as his liaison to the federal government in 2013, where she helped bring back hundreds of millions of relief dollars to help the Colorado communities hit by the 2013 flood.

Since being elected Secretary of State, she has overseen a number of statewide elections, including general elections, regular primaries and Presidential primaries. As head of the Department of State, she manages a department with a budget of about $49 million and roughly 175 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees. The state Department of Law that she hopes to oversee as Attorney General has a budget of about $151 million and 667 FTEs.

While the Secretary of State’s office is not strictly a law office, it does deal with law often and on many levels. The Secretary of State is frequently named in legal actions involving elections, although it’s important to remember that some lawsuits might be filed over laws that the state legislature or other bodies passed, and the Secretary of State does not directly pass legislation. However, Secretaries of State might work with legislators to draft, support, or oppose new election-related bills. Secretaries should also do their utmost to make sure their office is operating in compliance with voluminous amounts of state and federal election law.

For just a few examples of legal actions that Griswold was involved with as Secretary of State:

In another action, Republican candidate for Secretary of State James Wiley sued Griswold in 2024 (though Wiley was a Libertarian at the time) over BIOS passwords to voting systems being left accessible. The lawsuit was unsuccessful, but the password situation received much media attention and some criticism from Colorado county clerks who did not receive information about it until late in the election cycle. For more on this issue: https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/local-politics/colorado-voting-system-passwords-changed-leak-public/73-b71a4e3f-7b08-4a4b-89b7-3b77af696d0c

For a brief sample of Griswold’s objectives for serving as AG:

  • Defending Rights: Griswold is committed to standing up for reproductive rights, civil rights, and constitutional rights
  • Defending Coloradans: She intends to protect working Coloradans from unfair labor practices and exploitation, and to protect Colorado’s environment including its air, water, and climate
  • Crime Prevention: Griswold intends to “invest in programs that prevent crime before they happen, improve mental health, and reduce recidivism.”
  • Federal Overreach: Griswold notes that she stood up to the Trump administration as Secretary of State, and intends to continue doing so as AG. She would also “investigate, prosecute, and hold federal officials and ICE accountable if they violate the law.”

Fundraising: As of Oct. 6, the Griswold campaign had reported $2,483,186.22 in monetary contributions, and $25,772.77 in non-monetary contributions.

Campaign website: https://www.jenaforcolorado.com/

Michael Allen, Republican

Michael Allen

Michael Allen is the current District Attorney for Colorado’s 4th Judicial District, spanning El Paso and Teller counties. He was first elected in 2020, defeating former state legislator Mark Waller in the Republican primary by about 54% – 46% and defeating Democrat Jeremy Dowell by about 61% – 39% in the general election. He was re-elected in 2024, defeating Republican challenger David Willson in the Republican primary by about 66% – 34%, and then running unopposed in the general election. Allen’s win in 2024 means he would still have two years left in his second term if he is defeated in the 2026 AG’s race.

Allen defeated Willson again in the June 30, 2026 Republican AG primary by about 60% – 40% to earn the GOP nomination for the general election.

Per the 4th Judicial District website, Allen graduated from Arvada West High School. He enlisted in the Navy after high school and served as an Aviation Electronics Technician until he was honorably discharged in 1998. He then earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a law degree from the University of Kansas.

He interned with the Johnson County (Kansas) District Attorney’s Office before accepting a position with that office as a prosecutor. Next, he served as a prosecutor for the Kansas Attorney General’s Office before moving over to the Douglas County Kansas District Attorney’s Office.

He returned to Colorado where he joined the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in 2011. Before becoming the DA, he managed the district’s Veterans’ Trauma Court docket, and was named Homicide Prosecutor of the Year for the district in 2015 and 2017. Today, he manages about a $14 million annual budget and a staff of about 260 employees.

For a few notable pieces of news from his tenure as DA:

For a few of Allen’s objectives or opinions relevant to this AG’s race:

  • (First four points were given to Colorado Politics) Aggressively prosecuting fentanyl trafficking, cartels and organized crime
  • Reversing legislation that he argues weakened accountability for repeat and violent offenders
  • Strengthening consumer protection against scams targeting vulnerable residents
  • Reducing costs by reducing crime, which he frames as the most direct economic relief the attorney can deliver
  • He told the Grand Junction Sentinel that he intends to reduce the size of the Attorney General’s office.
  • He is critical of the current Democratic-dominated state legislature’s “justice reform policies,” some of which might include mandatory sentence reductions, alternate sentencing, or other measures, per a Denver Gazette opinion piece.
  • Allen criticized a recent climate lawsuit filed against Exxon and Suncor by the City and County of Boulder, saying it’s “the wrong fight, in the wrong place, at the wrong time for working families.” https://www.eenews.net/articles/climate-fight-before-supreme-court-emerges-as-issue-in-colorado-ag-race-2/

Fundraising: As of Oct. 6, the Allen campaign had reported $409,270.36 in monetary contributions, and $11,756.52 in non-monetary contributions.

Campaign website: https://michaelallenforcolorado.com/

Richard’s Take

I’ll recommend voting Griswold, in part because I believe this “blue state” deserves progressive/liberal direction where it’s appropriate from its Department of Law. Plus, in my opinion Colorado is facing unjust treatment or unwise policies from the Trump administration – things that must be challenged. However, I do see Allen as a candidate with relevant experience for the job – unfortunately not that common among this current crop of Republican candidates for statewide office.

The three other Democratic candidates for AG in the 2026 primary election cycle frequently emphasized their qualifications, and in some cases claimed that the probable political front-runner Griswold couldn’t match their resumes or records of relevant experience. Duly noted, and there’s a picture of me somewhere holding a sign for Boulder County’s Michael Dougherty during the primary cycle. But Griswold is not inexperienced in law. As I’ve mentioned above, Secretaries of State are named as part of legal challenges quite often (usually no matter who holds the office). They must follow state, and federal election laws, of which there are many. A Secretary of State may choose to draft or suggest laws for state legislators to carry, and sometimes these proposals are based on nationwide considerations. And Griswold holds a law degree plus some direct legal experience.

I’m not crazy about this next part, but it’s possible for AGs to incorporate some type of political direction into some of their actions, even though in my opinion a very large percentage of what an AG’s office does ought to be as dispassionate arbiters of the law. At this point, my Boulder-area readers might wish to consider whether they’d rather have progressive/liberal actions or conservative/hard-right actions when things reach value-based decisions and not just deciding on how a situation applies to codes or statutes. And inaction can function as a form of action – for example, if an AG lets a harmful act from the federal government slide without challenge.

One of the easiest ways to understand this is through which legal actions an AG might take up against the federal government. Weiser frequently joined in on actions to protect voting rights or the environment, while his Republican predecessor Cynthia Coffman signed Colorado onto an action challenging the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, and another challenging federal fracking regulations. Coffman also sued Boulder County over a moratorium on oil and gas exploration. I expect Griswold to basically continue in Weiser’s footsteps on this front.

Allen has claimed in the press that he would not spend the same type of resources in actions against the federal government as Weiser has, but he’s a Republican running at a time in which we have a hard-right administration and conservative majorities in Congress. Who’s to say his tune wouldn’t change in 2 years if there’s a Democratic trifecta or even just a Democratic president making executive orders? I’ve seen more than my share of campaign promises and positions that change based on circumstances. And beyond politics, as a Coloradan, I absolutely want our state to take action if we’re being wronged.

Griswold took very strong stances while Secretary of State against the Trump administration, and frankly, in my opinion she opposed some reprehensible anti-democratic proposals or actions. I see no reason to doubt that Griswold would continue to oppose this administration – which has taken some really bad recent actions against Colorado in general – as our Attorney General. I don’t doubt her bravery, her commitment to the State of Colorado’s interests, her moral standings on issues many of us care about, or her tenacity.

Top roles like the AG or Secretary of State are to some extent supervisory, and staff members who rank below the top officer will handle much of the day-to-day work of an operation. Griswold’s eight years of experience as Secretary of State is a good attribute because she oversaw a large staff and a large budget (though not as big as the Department of Law). I must say, however, that I’ve seen statements from some people displeased with her management of staff as Secretary of State. I can’t say these statements were substantiated, but I can say workplaces can get mighty visceral. So, I don’t want to make a big deal out of this, but must say I haven’t seen these types of reports about other candidates in this race.

Meanwhile, Allen oversees a decent-sized staff and budget with the 4th Judicial District, so even if he hasn’t worked at the State of Colorado level, he wouldn’t be making his first staff or budgetary decisions for a public law office if he wins the AG’s race.

Griswold has faced bad press several times during her administration. Even though I’m recommending her in this AG’s race, the BIOS password leak episode bothered me, probably more for the delay in letting county clerks and the public know about it than for the exposed passwords. Mistakes happen and I’m forgiving about that as a normal human being who also makes mistakes, but if people (especially county clerks) have the chance to know about them and deal with them, there’s a much better chance of minimizing or managing the impacts. I’ll guarantee that readers who watch TV or streaming video will see negative ads on this issue.

Allen has probably not generated the same quantity of negative press as Griswold, but news came out recently that seems pretty bad. Readers might take this with a grain of salt because the info came from the Colorado Dems, but the political blog Colorado Pols posted a transcript of comments Allen made in January about the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a person with ICE:

“The reality is that once a person starts firing, it’s hard to then pick up on new stimulus that’s coming in and then amend your reaction time from that point going forward in a split second fashion. So I actually think what I would call trigger discipline of the officer was pretty impressive to only fire off three rounds. I’ve seen officer involved shootings where an officer actually empties a magazine in certain situations because of the reaction to whatever they’re facing in a particular situation. That officer did not do that. He exercised trigger discipline, fired three rounds. It’s again, unfortunate that she lost her life…”

Yes, unfortunate. But Allen lost any support from me that I might have offered. This statement showed tremendous insensitivity, and indicated to me where his support might lie should a similar incident happen in Colorado.

My recommendation to vote Griswold could have been stronger without a few pieces of news I’ve seen over the past 8 years. Still, I want an AG’s office that will stand up to federal abuse or overreach. Allen’s statements that he wouldn’t spend as much time on actions against the feds concern me, because it indicates some unwillingness to defend the state’s interests – and I can’t help feeling that it might be somewhat partisan since the GOP has a trifecta in Washington and that’s where and from whom the actions against Colorado are coming from. This issue is quite big to me, and to a large extent it’s why I’ll be voting Griswold.