2022 Colorado Attorney General election

2022 Colorado Attorney General election
	Weiser: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Kellner: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%; Tie: 40–50% No votes
Attorney General before election; Phil Weiser; Democratic	Elected Attorney General ; Phil Weiser; Democratic

The 2022 Colorado Attorney General election was held on Tuesday, November 8, to elect the Attorney General of Colorado. Incumbent attorney general Phil Weiser won re-election to a second term, improving on his 2018 results.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Phil Weiser, incumbent attorney general^[2]

Results

Democratic primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Phil Weiser (incumbent)	504,071	100.0%
Total votes			504,071	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

John Kellner, district attorney for the 18th district court of Colorado^[4]^[5]

Disqualified

Stanley Thorne^[6] (running as independent)

Declined

Jason R. Dunn, former United States Attorney for the district of Colorado^[7]
Mark Waller, former member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 15th district^[7]

Results

Republican primary results^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Kellner	504,631	100.0%
Total votes			504,631	100.0%

Independents

Candidates

Declared

Stanley Thorne, attorney (write-in candidate)^[8]

General election

Debate

2022 Colorado Attorney General debate
No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic
Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn
					John Kellner	Phil Weiser
1	Aug. 2, 2022	Community College of Aurora	Maisha Fields Whitney Taylor	YouTube	P	P
2	Oct. 18, 2022	KUSA (TV)	Kyle Clark Marshall Zelinger	YouTube	P	P

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[9]	Leans D	November 3, 2022
Elections Daily^[10]	Likely D	November 1, 2022

Endorsements

John Kellner (R)

Newspapers

The Gazette^[11]

Organizations

NRA Political Victory Fund^[12]^[13]

Phil Weiser (D)

State officials

Bernie Buescher, former Secretary of State of Colorado (2009–2011)^[14]
Cynthia Coffman, former attorney general (2015–2019) (Republican)^[15]
Rebecca Love Kourlis, former Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court (1995–2006)^[16]
Donna Lynne, former lieutenant governor of Colorado (2016–2019)^[14]
Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado (2019–present)^[14]
Dianne Primavera, lieutenant governor of Colorado (2019–)^[14]
Bill Ritter, former governor of Colorado (2007–2011)^[14]
Roy Romer, former governor of Colorado (1987–1999)^[14]
Dave Young, Colorado State Treasurer (2019–)^[14]

State senators

All 20 Democratic state senators^[14]

State representatives

Don Coram, incumbent state representative for the 6th district (Republican)^[17]
Russell George, former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives (1999–2000) (Republican)^[16]
Cole Wist, former state representative for the 37th district (Independent)^[16]
Rob Witwer, former state representative for the 25th district (Republican)^[16]
All 61 Democratic state representatives^[14]

Organizations

Newspapers

The Denver Post^[21]
Sentinel Colorado^[22]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Phil Weiser (D)	John Kellner (R)	Other	Undecided
Global Strategy Group (D)^[23]^[A]	October 6–11, 2022	800 (LV)	± 3.5%	44%	36%	7%^[b]	12%
Global Strategy Group (D)^[23]^[A]	October 6–11, 2022	800 (LV)	± 3.5%	48%	41%	–	11%
The Tarrance Group (R)^[24]^[B]	August 22–25, 2022	600 (LV)	± 4.1%	44%	44%	–	12%

Results

2022 Colorado Attorney General election^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Phil Weiser (incumbent)	1,349,133	54.70%	+3.12%
	Republican	John Kellner	1,060,866	43.01%	−2.13%
	Libertarian	William F. Robinson III	54,557	2.21%	−1.07%
	Independent	Stanley Thorne (write-in)	1,772	0.07%	N/A
Total votes			2,466,328	100.0%
	Democratic hold

By congressional district

Weiser won 5 of 8 congressional districts.^[26]

District	Weiser	Kellner	Representative
1st	79%	19%	Diana DeGette
2nd	68%	29%	Joe Neguse
3rd	46%	51%	Lauren Boebert
4th	38%	60%	Ken Buck
5th	42%	55%	Doug Lamborn
6th	58%	39%	Jason Crow
7th	56%	42%	Ed Perlmutter (117th Congress)
7th	56%	42%	Brittany Pettersen (118th Congress)
8th	50%	48%	Yadira Caraveo

Notes

^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
^ Robinson (L) with 7%

Partisan clients

^ This poll was sponsored by ProgressNow Colorado, a liberal nonprofit organization.
^ This poll was sponsored by the Republican Attorneys General Association

References

^ Luning, Ernest (September 17, 2021). "Attorney General Phil Weiser launches re-election tour". www.coloradopolitics.com. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
^ "Election Night Reporting".
^ ^a ^b "State primary certificate – Statewide Amended Abstract of Votes Cast" (PDF). Colorado Secretary of State.
^ Hindi, Saja (January 27, 2022). "Arapahoe County District Attorney John Kellner, a Republican who was accused of arson while in law school, has announced his decision to run against Democratic incumbent Attorney General Phil Weiser". www.denverpost.com. The Denver Post. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
^ "Election Night Reporting".
^ Porter, Brian (April 12, 2022). "State AG candidate disqualified from GOP ballot". www.fortmorgantimes.com. Fort Morgan Times. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Republicans Can't Find an Attorney General Candidate". www.coloradopols.com. December 17, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^ Luning, Ernest. "Thorne files to run for Colorado attorney general as an independent after failing to make GOP ballot". www.coloradopolitics.com. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
^ "Secretary of State and Attorney General: What to Watch for Next Week in Key Statewide Contests". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
^ Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
^ "ENDORSEMENT: Crime fighter John Kellner for Colorado AG". The Gazette. October 2, 2022. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ "Colorado Grades & Endorsements". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ Fish, Sandra (October 20, 2022). "Where Phil Weiser and John Kellner, Colorado's attorney general candidates, stand on the issues". The Colorado Sun. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2023. The National Rifle Association has endorsed Kellner
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Luning, Ernest (September 24, 2021). "Weiser picks up endorsements from nearly every Democrat holding state office". www.coloradopolitics.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
^ Luning, Ernest (September 15, 2022). "Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser endorsed by Cynthia Coffman, his Republican predecessor". www.coloradopolitics.com. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Colorado AG Phil Weiser endorsed by current, former Republican and independent officials". September 12, 2022.
^ Tackett, Megan (October 17, 2022). "Frisch racks up unlikely endorsements". Aspen Daily News. Retrieved October 17, 2022. Rather than throw his support behind his party's candidate, however, Coram gave his endorsement to Frisch (as well as Democrat Attorney General Phil Weiser) in an Oct. 10 letter cited in a Newsweek article written about the development.
^ ^a ^b Luning, Ernest (August 4, 2021). "Attorney General Phil Weiser lands endorsement from Democratic-aligned election reform group". www.coloradopolitics.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
^ "Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Endorses Jared Polis for Governor, Dianne Primavera for Lieutenant Governor, Phil Weiser for Attorney General, Jena Griswold for Secretary of State". Everytown for Gun Safety. June 24, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
^ "NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Reproductive Freedom Champions for Attorney General in Colorado, Michigan, and Wisconsin" (25 January 2022). www.prochoiceamerica.org. NARAL Pro-Choice America. January 25, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
^ "Endorsement: We need Phil Weiser to protect pregnant women and Colorado doctors". October 19, 2022.
^ "ENDORSEMENT: Weiser makes a winning case for his 2nd term; Kellner raises objections for the wrong job". Sentinel Colorado. October 17, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
^ Global Strategy Group (D)
^ The Tarrance Group (R)
^ "Certificate & Results – General Election Statewide Abstract of Votes Cast" (PDF). Colorado Secretary of State.
^ "State of Colorado Elections Database » 2022 Nov 8 :: General Election :: Attorney General :: State of Colorado". State of Colorado Elections Database. Retrieved August 21, 2024.

External links

Official campaign websites

[Key-23] Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

[26] Robinson (L) with 7%

[PNCO-25] This poll was sponsored by ProgressNow Colorado, a liberal nonprofit organization.

[RAGA-28] This poll was sponsored by the Republican Attorneys General Association

[COag-1] Luning, Ernest (September 17, 2021). "Attorney General Phil Weiser launches re-election tour". www.coloradopolitics.com. Retrieved November 22, 2021.

[2] "Election Night Reporting".

[primary-3] "State primary certificate – Statewide Amended Abstract of Votes Cast" (PDF). Colorado Secretary of State.

[4] Hindi, Saja (January 27, 2022). "Arapahoe County District Attorney John Kellner, a Republican who was accused of arson while in law school, has announced his decision to run against Democratic incumbent Attorney General Phil Weiser". www.denverpost.com. The Denver Post. Retrieved February 11, 2022.

[5] "Election Night Reporting".

[6] Porter, Brian (April 12, 2022). "State AG candidate disqualified from GOP ballot". www.fortmorgantimes.com. Fort Morgan Times. Retrieved May 27, 2022.

[repub-7] "Republicans Can't Find an Attorney General Candidate". www.coloradopols.com. December 17, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

[8] Luning, Ernest. "Thorne files to run for Colorado attorney general as an independent after failing to make GOP ballot". www.coloradopolitics.com. Retrieved May 27, 2022.

[Sabato's_Crystal_Ball-9] "Secretary of State and Attorney General: What to Watch for Next Week in Key Statewide Contests". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.

[Elections_Daily-10] Solomon, Zack (November 7, 2022). "Elections Daily Secretary of State Ratings". Elections Daily. Retrieved November 29, 2022.

[11] "ENDORSEMENT: Crime fighter John Kellner for Colorado AG". The Gazette. October 2, 2022. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[NRAPVF-12] "Colorado Grades & Endorsements". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[13] Fish, Sandra (October 20, 2022). "Where Phil Weiser and John Kellner, Colorado's attorney general candidates, stand on the issues". The Colorado Sun. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2023. The National Rifle Association has endorsed Kellner

[pwe-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Luning, Ernest (September 24, 2021). "Weiser picks up endorsements from nearly every Democrat holding state office". www.coloradopolitics.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.

[15] Luning, Ernest (September 15, 2022). "Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser endorsed by Cynthia Coffman, his Republican predecessor". www.coloradopolitics.com. Retrieved October 3, 2022.

[coloradopolitics.com-16] "Colorado AG Phil Weiser endorsed by current, former Republican and independent officials". September 12, 2022.

[17] Tackett, Megan (October 17, 2022). "Frisch racks up unlikely endorsements". Aspen Daily News. Retrieved October 17, 2022. Rather than throw his support behind his party's candidate, however, Coram gave his endorsement to Frisch (as well as Democrat Attorney General Phil Weiser) in an Oct. 10 letter cited in a Newsweek article written about the development.

[pwe2-18] Luning, Ernest (August 4, 2021). "Attorney General Phil Weiser lands endorsement from Democratic-aligned election reform group". www.coloradopolitics.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022.

[19] "Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Endorses Jared Polis for Governor, Dianne Primavera for Lieutenant Governor, Phil Weiser for Attorney General, Jena Griswold for Secretary of State". Everytown for Gun Safety. June 24, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2023.

[20] "NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Reproductive Freedom Champions for Attorney General in Colorado, Michigan, and Wisconsin" (25 January 2022). www.prochoiceamerica.org. NARAL Pro-Choice America. January 25, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.

[21] "Endorsement: We need Phil Weiser to protect pregnant women and Colorado doctors". October 19, 2022.

[22] "ENDORSEMENT: Weiser makes a winning case for his 2nd term; Kellner raises objections for the wrong job". Sentinel Colorado. October 17, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2022.

[24] Global Strategy Group (D)

[27] The Tarrance Group (R)

[29] "Certificate & Results – General Election Statewide Abstract of Votes Cast" (PDF). Colorado Secretary of State.

[30] "State of Colorado Elections Database » 2022 Nov 8 :: General Election :: Attorney General :: State of Colorado". State of Colorado Elections Database. Retrieved August 21, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[a]

[23]

[A]

[b]

[24]

[B]

[25]

[26]

v t e (2021 ←) 2022 United States elections (→ 2023)
U.S. Senate	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Missouri Nevada New Hampshire New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oklahoma (special) Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Utah Vermont Washington Wisconsin
U.S. House (election ratings)	Alabama Alaska at-large sp American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California 22nd sp Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida 20th sp Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois 1st Indiana 2nd sp Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota 1st sp Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska 1st sp Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York 19th sp 23rd sp North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas 34th sp U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Governors	Alabama Lt. Gov Alaska Arizona Arkansas Lt. Gov California Lt. Gov Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Lt. Gov Guam Hawaii Idaho Lt. Gov Illinois Iowa Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nebraska Nevada Lt. Gov New Hampshire New Mexico New York Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Lt. Gov Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Lt. Gov South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Lt. Gov U.S. Virgin Islands Vermont Lt. Gov Wisconsin Wyoming
Attorneys general	Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nebraska Nevada New Mexico New York North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Texas Vermont Wisconsin
Secretaries of state	Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nebraska Nevada New Mexico North Dakota Ohio Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Vermont Washington (special) Wisconsin Wyoming
State treasurers	Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Maryland Massachusetts Nebraska Nevada New Mexico New York Ohio Oklahoma Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Utah (special) Texas Vermont Wisconsin Wyoming
Other statewide elections	Arizona Corporation Commission State Superintendent Arkansas Land Commissioner Auditor California Board of Equalization Controller Insurance Commissioner State Superintendent Colorado Board of Education University Regents Connecticut Comptroller Florida Agriculture Commissioner Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Insurance Commissioner Labor Commissioner State Superintendent Illinois Comptroller Indiana Auditor Minnesota Auditor Missouri Auditor Nevada Controller New Hampshire Executive Council New Mexico Auditor Land Commissioner North Carolina Judicial Ohio Auditor Supreme Court Oklahoma Auditor Corporation Commissioner Labor Commissioner State Superintendent Oregon Labor Commissioner Texas Agriculture Commissioner Appeals Court Board of Education Land Commissioner Railroad Commissioner Supreme Court Vermont Auditor
State legislatures	Alabama House Senate Alaska House Senate Arizona House Senate Arkansas House Senate California Assembly Senate Colorado House Senate Connecticut House Senate Delaware House Senate Florida House Senate Georgia House Senate Hawaii House Senate Idaho House Senate Illinois House Senate Indiana House Senate Iowa House Senate Kansas House Kentucky House Senate Maine House Senate Maryland House Senate Massachusetts House Senate Michigan House Senate Minnesota House Senate Missouri House Senate Montana House Senate Nebraska Nevada Assembly Senate New Hampshire House Senate New Mexico House New York Assembly Senate North Carolina House Senate North Dakota House Senate Ohio House Senate Oklahoma House Senate Oregon House Senate Pennsylvania House Senate Rhode Island House Senate South Carolina House South Dakota House Senate Tennessee House Senate Texas House Senate Utah House Senate Vermont House Senate Washington House Senate West Virginia House Senate Wisconsin Assembly Senate Wyoming House Senate
Mayors	Anaheim, CA Auburn, AL Austin, TX Charlotte, NC Columbia, MO Denton, TX Gainesville, FL Greensboro, NC Henderson, NV Irvine, CA Laredo, TX Lexington, KY Little Rock, AR Long Beach, CA Los Angeles, CA Louisville, KY Lubbock, TX Milwaukee, WI (special) Newark, NJ Newport News, VA Norman, OK North Las Vegas, NV Oakland, CA Oklahoma City, OK Pensacola, FL Providence, RI Raleigh, NC Reno, NV San Bernardino, CA San Jose, CA Santa Ana, CA Shreveport, LA Tallahassee, FL Washington, DC
Local	Anne Arundel County, MD Baltimore County, MD Cook County, IL Cuyahoga County, OH Frederick County, MD Harford County, MD Hennepin County, MN Howard County, MD Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles County, CA Maricopa County, AZ Montgomery County, MD Navajo Nation Orange County, CA Board of Supervisors District Attorney Philadelphia, PA Portland, OR Prince George's County, MD San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA Board of Education (recall) District Attorney recall special Shelby County, TN Tulsa, OK Washington, DC Wicomico County, MD
Statewide	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Other	ballot measures