{"id":1395,"date":"2026-06-09T12:03:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1395"},"modified":"2026-06-09T12:03:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:03:50","slug":"two-jeffco-women-compete-for-democratic-nomination-for-colorado-secretary-of-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1395","title":{"rendered":"Two Jeffco women compete for Democratic nomination for Colorado secretary of state"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Democratic primary for Colorado secretary of state features two Jefferson County women who have spent their careers strengthening voting rights and who vow to protect the state\u2019s mail-in ballot system from attacks by President Donald Trump and his allies.<\/p>\n

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The race pits state Sen. Jessie Danielson, 48, of Wheat Ridge, against Amanda Gonzalez, 41, the Jefferson County clerk and recorder. They are seeking to replace Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who is term-limited.<\/p>\n

The Libertarian Party also has a contested primary race with 33-year-old Alex Astley , an engineer from Holyoke, running against Sean Vadney, a 25-year-old entertainer and music DJ from Highlands Ranch.<\/p>\n

The Republican primary is uncontested. The Democratic and Libertarian winners in November will face James Wiley, who calls himself the \u201cRed Flame of Liberty\u201d and is a self-described \u201cDark MAGA\u201d candidate \u2014 a nod to Elon Musk.<\/p>\n

While the secretary of state cannot single-handedly change Colorado\u2019s election system, the position is increasingly under scrutiny because of Trump\u2019s attacks on vote-by-mail states, and his insistence on nationalizing elections rather than leaving the states to decide how to administer them. As the top state executive responsible for elections, the person holding the office sits on the frontline of Trump\u2019s actions to challenge mail voting.<\/p>\n

On the campaign trail, Danielson and Gonzalez have touted their backgrounds in advocating for voters\u2019 rights as both worked for political interest groups before running for office. Both said any claims about a stolen 2020 election are lies, and both said they want to keep Colorado\u2019s vote-by-mail system.<\/p>\n

Danielson\u2019s political involvement began at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she volunteered as a student for NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado. She eventually became the abortion-rights group\u2019s state political director.<\/p>\n

From there, she moved to America Votes, a progressive voter-rights organization, where she served as state director for Colorado and Minnesota. In that role, Danielson helped write Colorado\u2019s mail-in ballot laws, fundamentally changing how people in the state make their voices heard.<\/p>\n

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As a two-term state senator, Danielson sponsored several voter-rights bills at the state Capitol, including one that ensured people who are blind or physically unable to write can vote in private by filing out electronic ballots. She also worked with other Democrats to create an automatic voter registration system in Colorado.<\/p>\n

Danielson said she is the best candidate because she has worked on voting rights as the leader of a nonprofit and as a state senator. In those roles, she has earned the trust of county elections officials of all parties.<\/p>\n

Trump has threatened Colorado\u2019s vote-by-mail elections, and the next secretary of state must defend the state\u2019s system, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have worked to Trump-proof these elections for years, and I\u2019m going to keep doing it when I\u2019m the next secretary of state,\u201d Danielson said. \u201cWe need someone with experience and knowledge of our voting system to defend against these attacks from Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gonzalez was elected in 2022 as the Jefferson County clerk and recorder \u2014 a role that puts her in charge of running elections in a county with 430,000 active voters. As county clerk, she also supervises the county\u2019s motor vehicle offices, issues marriage and liquor licenses and records real estate transactions.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou have to know the system in order to protect it,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cI\u2019m the only person in this race from any party who has experience running secure elections and fending off interference from outsiders. This job is not legislative. It\u2019s operational. It\u2019s an executive position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzalez, who has a law degree from the University of Denver\u2019s Sturm College of Law, became involved in election law as executive director for Colorado Common Cause, another voting rights group. Gonzalez said she pushed Colorado\u2019s elections administrators to translate ballots into other languages so people who do not speak English as a first language could better understand their Blue Books and ballots.<\/p>\n

While the secretary of state\u2019s role as an elections supervisor takes center stage, the job also comes with the responsibility of managing business filings for companies and tracking charitable nonprofits. The office also licenses notaries.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez said her experience running the Jefferson County clerk\u2019s office puts her in the best position to manage all the roles the secretary of state plays.<\/p>\n

The secretary of state\u2019s election is the first contested statewide race for the Libertarian Party since 2020, when two men competed for Sen. John Hickenlooper\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n

Neither Libertarian candidate running for secretary of state has elected experience.<\/p>\n

Vadney said he chose to run because of a lifelong interest in politics and that voting is an important issue for him. He does not believe the 2020 election was stolen, but would urge Colorado lawmakers to return the state to in-person voting.<\/p>\n

Vadney has a criminal record that he says was connected to a mental health breakdown and alcohol abuse. He pleaded guilty to third-degree assault of a police officer and criminal mischief in connection with a December 2021 incident. He served three years on probation, and the criminal mischief charge was expunged after he finished his sentence. Vadney told The Denver Post he no longer drinks alcohol and has received counseling.<\/p>\n

Astley said he would neither affirm nor deny the inaccurate claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Instead, he said that, as an engineer, he needs to see proof before he decides.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not able to speak to that because I haven\u2019t seen any documents about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Astley said he would push for a hybrid mail-in voting system. Voters would receive ballots by mail but would need to return them in person and show a government-issued ID, he said.<\/p>\n

Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more After suspected arson, City Park bandstand must be destroyed, mayor says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colorado state Sen. Jessie Danielson is running against Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Amanda Gonzalez for the Democratic nomination for Colorado secretary of state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Jeffco women compete for Democratic nomination for Colorado secretary of state - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1395\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two Jeffco women compete for Democratic nomination for Colorado secretary of state - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Colorado state Sen. 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