Amanda Gonzalez running for Colorado Secretary of State

Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Amanda Gonzalez will run for Colorado secretary of state in 2026, she announced Monday morning.

Gonzalez, a Democrat, is the first major party candidate to announce her intention to seek the state’s top elected office. Current Secretary of State Jena Griswold, also a Democrat, is term-limited and cannot run again.

In an interview, Gonzalez said she would focus on voting access and building trust in elections. She cited her experience running elections for one of the state’s largest counties and her previous experience leading Colorado Common Cause, a voting rights organization.

“You have to be able to trust the people you choose to make good decisions, even in unforeseen circumstances, and I want people to know who I am,” Gonzalez said. “And this is someone who has fought tirelessly for the right to vote for a very long time.”

She also noted the date of her announcement – ​​the four-year anniversary of January 6, 2021, when a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election. It reminds us that ” our democracy is fragile and we must fight for it,” Gonzalez said.

The fourth anniversary also comes as members of Congress prepare to certify Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, returning him to the White House later this month.

“We know that another Trump presidency is looming, and we also know the kind of damage his policies can cause,” Gonzalez said. “But I think what gives me hope is that we also know that Colorado has and can continue to lead the way. That we can choose democracy and that we have seen Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters here choosing to support policies that contribute to very good elections.”

Gonzalez was elected to the Jefferson County office in 2022. She manages the county’s motor vehicle offices, marriage licenses, public real estate records and elections.

In this role, she also advocated for changes to state election law. She highlights changes that required prisons to offer in-person voting to inmates, many of whom have not been convicted of any crime and are eligible to vote, and to increase the number of ballot drop boxes and other measures accessibility.

Gonzalez also publicly defended Griswold against accusations that the outgoing secretary is too polarizing. In March, Gonzalez described the position as “defender-in-chief of democracy.”

Before that, Gonzalez led Colorado Common Cause, a democracy advocacy organization. There, Gonzalez helped write Amendments Y and Z, which created independent Colorado redistricting commissions after voters passed the measures in 2018.

If elected, Gonzalez would be the first Latina to hold the position, according to her campaign.

All statewide officeholders are term-limited, making all four positions — governor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer — open to competition. Attorney General Phil Weiser announced his candidacy for governor last week, making him the first high-profile figure to declare for next year.

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Originally published: January 6, 2025 at 9:23 am MST