Colorado held an election for attorney general on November 8, 2022. The primary was scheduled for June 28, 2022. The filing deadline was March 15, 2022. This was one of 30 elections for attorney general taking place in 2022. All 50 states have an attorney general who serves as the state's chief legal officer, responsible for enforcing state law and offering the state government advice on legal matters. In 43 states, the office was, at the time of the 2022 elections, an elected post. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 27 Republican attorneys general and 23 Democratic attorneys general. Click here for an overview of all 30 attorney general elections that took place in 2022. A state government triplex refers to a situation where the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same political party. Heading into the 2022 elections, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and nine divided governments where neither party held triplex control.

In September 2022, Sabato's Crystal Ball released an analysis of state attorney general election competitiveness. Colorado's attorney general election was rated as at least somewhat competitive: "[Democratic incumbent] Weiser faces Arapahoe County District Attorney John Kellner in November. The well-funded Weiser benefits from the state’s Democratic lean and hasn’t made any major mistakes in office. But a Republican-sponsored poll found the AG’s race in a dead heat. We aren’t convinced it’s that close, but it’s worth keeping an eye on the contest." Click here to read the analysis.^[1]

Incumbent Phil Weiser won election in the general election for Attorney General of Colorado.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Attorney General of Colorado

Incumbent Phil Weiser defeated John Kellner, William Robinson, and Stanley Thorne in the general election for Attorney General of Colorado on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Phil Weiser (D)	54.7	1,349,133
	John Kellner (R)	43.0	1,060,866
	William Robinson (L)	2.2	54,557
	Stanley Thorne (Independent) (Write-in)	0.1	1,772

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,466,328
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Colorado

Incumbent Phil Weiser advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Colorado on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Phil Weiser	100.0	504,071

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 504,071
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Colorado

John Kellner advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Colorado on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Kellner	100.0	504,631

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 504,631
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Voting information

See also: Voting in Colorado

Election information in Colorado: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Nov. 8, 2022
By mail: Received by Oct. 31, 2022
Online: Oct. 31, 2022

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 31, 2022
By mail: Received by Oct. 31, 2022
Online: Oct. 31, 2022

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 8, 2022
By mail: Received by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 24, 2022 to Nov. 7, 2022

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

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John Kellner (R)

FIGHTING COLORADO'S CRIME WAVE - Colorado’s violent crime rate is at a 25 year high. Colorado is #1 in the country for car theft, #2 for property crime, and we have skyrocketing numbers of fentanyl deaths. As Attorney General, I will work to establish tougher penalties for repeat offenders and keep violent criminals behind bars where they belong.

STANDING UP FOR COLORADO’S CITIZENS - I will not stand by as our families are endangered. In addition to Colorado's highest inflation rate in the country, families are being hit with an estimated $31 billion in the annual cost of crime. I will ensure victims and law-abiding citizens are prioritized over offenders.

SUPPORTING THE POLICE - Colorado’s law enforcement put their lives on the line to protect us every day and they deserve to know we support them. We should be funding and supporting the best possible training for our police, rather than demoralizing and delegitimizing them. As a career prosecutor I have built strong relationships with countless police officers, sheriffs, and troopers to promote safer streets and communities.

Phil Weiser (D)

As Attorney General, I’ve gone to court time and again to defend your right to affordable health care, legal and safe abortion care, equal rights, voting rights, and fair treatment as workers, housing tenants, and consumers. I’ve successfully protected the health care of 700,000 Coloradans with preexisting conditions and 400,000 Coloradans on Medicaid by defending the Affordable Care Act. I have defended abortion rights by joining a lawsuit to halt the Texas abortion law, challenging the constitutionality of the “Gag Rule,” and arguing against rules that would have reduced insurance coverage for birth control. And I have protected consumers harmed by irresponsible companies, recovering $230 million for Coloradans defrauded by bad actors.

I will continue to protect victims, advance public safety, and combat fentanyl. My office has held accountable those who harm victims—including drug cartels, human traffickers, and clergy who prey on children—and enforced the Victims Rights Act. I also secured over $520 million for Colorado from big pharmaceutical companies to address the opioid crisis. I will continue working to improve police recruitment and retention, providing better mental health services for law enforcement, and improving officer training. And I will continue to advocate for and advance responsible gun safety laws—implementing Colorado’s red flag law, encouraging safe gun storage, and ensuring domestic abusers cannot access firearms.

As AG, I’ve also made protecting our land, water, and air a top priority. This includes fighting against buy-and-dry plans to take water from rural communities to new Front Range suburbs in ways that would harm rural jobs and farming communities. And I made addressing the challenges facing the Colorado River a top priority. We’re also taking on the producers of PFAS (harmful and toxic “forever chemicals”). We have fought to address the threat of climate change by fighting to allow Colorado to have stronger tailpipe emissions standards than the federal government and defending the national Methane Rule that restricts harmful emissions.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

John Kellner (R)

Tackling the fentanyl crisis - Over the last few years we've seen more than a 400% increase in fentanyl-related deaths, in large part due to drug cartels setting up shop in Colorado. We've lost over 900 lives to this deadly drug last year alone, and 29 children between the ages of 10-18 in the last school year.

As a District Attorney, I have worked hand-in-hand with federal and state law enforcement partners to go after the drug traffickers peddling this poison. We have charged dozens of drug traffickers, seized over 30 firearms, and hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills destined for our streets. I have also prosecuted dealers for murder and child abuse. As Colorado's next Attorney General I will use our statewide grand jury to aggressively investigate and prosecute the cartels that are destroying so many lives across our state.

While dealers must be held accountable, we must also provide effective drug treatment resources for those struggling with addiction. Over the last decade I have helped establish drug diversion and problem-solving courts that actually work, with much higher success rates than we see with traditional parole programs. As Attorney General, I will advocate for funding to ensure people struggling with addiction have access to counseling and treatment all across our state.

Phil Weiser (D)

Youth mental health is one of my top priorities. Since 2018, my office has invested almost $1 million to prevent suicide by increasing help-seeking behaviors and promoting connections between peers and caring adults. My office also runs the Safe2Tell program, an anonymous tip line created in the wake of the Columbine tragedy. While initially conceived of as a way for students, teachers, and communities to anonymously report threats and to stop school violence, teen suicide has emerged as our number one tip in recent years. Over the last two years, reflecting sustained efforts to raise awareness of this program, overall tips rose to more than 20,000 reports, ranging from threats of suicide to students bringing guns to school to the sale of drugs. We have also launched investigations of TikTok and Instagram for the adverse impact of their actions on teen mental health, steering youth towards harmful content. To support those who have suffered trauma, I have proudly continued my Republican predecessor Cynthia Coffman’s initiatives in school safety, domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, substance abuse treatment, and childhood sexual abuse recovery. I was honored when she recognized my commitment to this work and crossed party lines to endorse my reelection.

Past elections

2018

See also: Colorado Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of Colorado

Phil Weiser defeated George Brauchler and William Robinson in the general election for Attorney General of Colorado on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Phil Weiser (D)	51.6	1,285,464
	George Brauchler (R)	45.1	1,124,757
	William Robinson (L)	3.3	81,733

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,491,954 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Colorado

Phil Weiser defeated Joseph Salazar in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Colorado on June 26, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Phil Weiser	50.4	301,354
	Joseph Salazar	49.6	296,551

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 597,905
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Colorado

George Brauchler advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Colorado on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		George Brauchler	100.0	418,713

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 418,713
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Colorado attorney general election, 2014

Attorney General of Colorado, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Cynthia Coffman	51.4%	1,002,626
	Democratic	Don Quick	42.4%	826,182
	Libertarian	David K. Williams	6.2%	120,745
Total Votes				1,949,553
Election results via Colorado Secretary of State

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

	← 2018
Colorado Attorney General
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 15, 2022
	Primary: June 28, 2022; General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Phil Weiser (Democratic)
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Voting in Colorado
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Colorado; executive elections
	Governor; Lieutenant Governor; Attorney General; Secretary of State; Treasurer; State Board of Education (4 seats); State Board of Regents (4 seats)

See also: Presidential voting trends in Colorado and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Colorado, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Colorado's 1st	Diana DeGette	Democratic	D+29
Colorado's 2nd	Joe Neguse	Democratic	D+17
Colorado's 3rd	Lauren Boebert	Republican	R+7
Colorado's 4th	Ken Buck	Republican	R+13
Colorado's 5th	Doug Lamborn	Republican	R+9
Colorado's 6th	Jason Crow	Democratic	D+9
Colorado's 7th	Open	Democratic	D+4
Colorado's 8th	New Seat	N/A	Even

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Colorado^[2]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Colorado's 1st	79.5%	18.2%
Colorado's 2nd	68.7%	28.8%
Colorado's 3rd	44.7%	52.9%
Colorado's 4th	39.5%	58.0%
Colorado's 5th	43.1%	53.2%
Colorado's 6th	60.6%	36.8%
Colorado's 7th	55.7%	41.5%
Colorado's 8th	50.8%	46.3%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 60.4% of Coloradans lived in one of the state's 21 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 34.5% lived in one of 36 Solid Republican counties. Overall, Colorado was Solid Democratic, having voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2012, Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, and Joe Biden (D) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Colorado following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Colorado county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Democratic	21	60.4%
Solid Republican	36	34.5%
Battleground Democratic	2	3.2%
New Democratic	1	1.1%
Trending Republican	3	0.5%
New Republican	1	0.3%
Total voted Democratic	24	64.7%
Total voted Republican	40	35.3%

Historical voting trends

Colorado presidential election results (1900-2020)

13 Democratic wins
18 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	D	R	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	D

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Colorado

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Colorado.

U.S. Senate election results in Colorado
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	53.5%	44.2%
2016	49.9%	44.3%
2014	48.2%	46.3%
2010	48.1%	46.4%
2008	52.8%	42.5%
Average	50.5	44.7

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Colorado

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Colorado.

Gubernatorial election results in Colorado
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	53.4%	42.8%
2014	49.3%	46.0%
2010	51.1%	36.4% (Constitution Party)
2006	57.0%	40.2%
2002	62.5%	33.7%
Average	54.7	39.8

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Colorado's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Colorado, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	4	6
Republican	0	3	3
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	7	9

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Colorado's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Colorado, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Jared Polis
Lieutenant Governor	Dianne Primavera
Secretary of State	Jena Griswold
Attorney General	Phil Weiser

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Colorado General Assembly as of November 2022.

Colorado State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	21
	Republican Party	14
	Vacancies	0
Total		35

Colorado House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	41
	Republican Party	23
	Vacancies	1
Total		65

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Colorado was a Democratic trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Colorado Party Control: 1992-2022
Ten years of Democratic trifectas • Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D
House	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Colorado and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

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Demographic Data for Colorado
	Colorado	United States
Population	5,773,714	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	103,636	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	81.5%	70.4%
Black/African American	4.1%	12.6%
Asian	3.2%	5.6%
Native American	0.9%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.2%	0.2%
Two or more	5.9%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	21.7%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	92.1%	88.5%
College graduation rate	41.6%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$75,231	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	9.8%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

External links

Footnotes

[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball, "The Attorneys General: A Dozen Races Dot the Competitive Landscape," September 14, 2022

[2] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[1]

[2]

Colorado	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis

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Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2024 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
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Colorado Attorney General election, 2022

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Attorney General of Colorado

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Colorado

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Colorado

Voting information

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Past elections

2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of Colorado

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Colorado

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Colorado

2014

Election analysis

Presidential elections

Cook PVI by congressional district

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2012-2020

Historical voting trends

Statewide elections

U.S. Senate elections

Gubernatorial elections

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

State executive

State legislature

Colorado State Senate

Colorado House of Representatives

Trifecta control

Demographics

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2024 Elections

2024 Election analysis

2025 Elections

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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