Jena Griswold

Griswold grew up in a working-class family in rural Colorado and was the first person in her family to attend a four-year college and then law school.[4] She graduated from Estes Park High School, earned a bachelor's degree in politics and Spanish literature from Whitman College and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and received a Watson Fellowship in 2006 and a Penn Law International Human Rights Fellowship in 2009.[1][4]

Before running for office, Griswold practiced international anti-corruption law and worked as a voter-protection attorney.[1][4] She also served as director of Gov. John Hickenlooper's Washington, D.C. office, advocating on Colorado's behalf, and ran her own small business.[1][4]

Griswold was first elected Secretary of State in 2018, becoming the youngest elected Secretary of State in the United States, and was reelected in 2022.[4] Her office biography lists among her work launching statewide ballot tracking, increasing mail ballot drop boxes by more than 70 percent and leading automatic voter registration reform.[4] She won the Democratic primary for attorney general on June 30, 2026, defeating three challengers, and faces Republican Michael Allen in the November general election for the seat now held by the term-limited Phil Weiser.[1][3] Her campaign website says she has stood up to the Trump administration, including by declining a Department of Justice request for Coloradans' voter information.[2]