Democrat Jena Griswold is projected winner of Colorado attorney general's race
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is projected to become the state's next attorney general. The Democrat led Republican Michael Allen on election night with 59.5% of the vote when she was projected to win.
Current Attorney General Phil Weiser is term-limited. Griswold is the current secretary of state, and Republican Michael Allen is the district attorney for El Paso County in southern Colorado. Both candidates won their respective primaries earlier this year.
Last month, the two candidates met in a debate at the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs at the University of Denver. It was their only debate.
Griswold said she would continue the nearly 90 lawsuits the state has against the Trump administration. Allen said he wanted to see the evidence.
"I don't have access to the evidence in those particular lawsuits, and neither does my opponent. And yet, she wants to be reckless enough to make determinations on whether she would stay in a lawsuit or pull out of a lawsuit without knowing what the evidence is in that particular case," he said.
Allen questioned whether Griswold would enforce laws fairly. She questioned whether he would stand up to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"When we have masked men in unmarked cars grabbing people that may or may not be citizens, not following due process, we are in danger as a democracy," she said.
Allen said he would use state grand juries more.
"I would certainly use the statewide grand jury to go after fentanyl cartel distribution rings, property rings that span jurisdictional boundaries, even human trafficking rings," he said.
Griswold said she would protect people against data centers.
"And I am going to fight to make sure that these companies, when they lay the infrastructure onto the ground, when they start working, they do not push the prices onto you, onto Colorado consumers," she said.
Both said they would uphold Coloradans' rights.
"I will continue to stand strong against the illegalities that we see coming out of the White House," Griswold said.
"If you're hurting Coloradans, and I don't care if you're Donald Trump or any other president, you're going to have to deal with Michael Allen as your attorney general," Allen said.
Both Griswold and Allen said they would enforce the state's new artificial intelligence law and would defend Colorado's water rights.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis congratulated the statewide race winners on Tuesday night, saying, "Congratulations to the winners in Colorado's statewide races, Jena Griswold as Attorney General-elect, Amanda Gonzalez as Secretary of State-elect, Jeff Bridges as Treasurer-elect and Senator John Hickenlooper for their victories and to all the Coloradans who won elections tonight. This year, Coloradans voted in what looks like record numbers for a midterm, highlighting our commitment to making our voices heard. I am grateful to the election officials across our state for once again making sure we have the most secure and accessible elections in the country. Stepping up to serve, whether at the state level or the local level, is part of what makes our democracy so special."
