Apparently Attorney General Phil Weiser made a New Year’s resolution to get a head start on the 2026 election cycle. Weiser became the first off the line to run for Colorado governor a day after the calendar flipped over to 2025.
So much for auld offices being forgot and never brought to mind.
Jumping in this early has its pros and cons. Weiser must have believed that the benefits for his path to the state’s highest office had to begin early. However, his announcement ensures he will not be lonely for long.
According to a Magellan Strategies poll released a few weeks ago, Weiser was tied with “Other” at the back end of preferences. Three other Democrats — U.S. Representative Joe Neguse, Secretary of State Jena Griswold, U.S. Ambassador (and former U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Interior) Ken Salazar — finished ahead of Weiser in the poll.
That is not surprising. Weiser is eminently capable and extraordinarily smart. He has performed admirably as the attorney general and has a resume that includes serving as dean of the state’s flagship law school and as clerk for a liberal icon, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There is little question Weiser would be an excellent governor.
But the American electorate has shown time and again that it does not rank competence near the top of its preferred characteristics for public office. Look no further than our once-and-future president.
That is likely what spurred Weiser to act so swiftly. He needs to get a jump on fundraising, consolidate his supporters and begin introducing himself to persuadable primary voters. If he can demonstrate enough strength, he may change the calculus for potential candidates like Neguse and Salazar.
Neguse is already a rising star in Congress. As I wrote last summer when his name was bandied about for governor, I thought he would be best served to stay where he was and keep climbing. If he helped Democrats win a majority in 2026, he would be in line for one of the inner circle spots under future Speaker Hakeem Jeffries.
Furthermore, representing a district based around Boulder, Neguse does not need to worry about engaging in a tough campaign. He is a lock to hold that seat as long as he wants. He can concentrate on working against the worst impulses of the Trump Administration and winning friends for the future.
Yet, every politician feels the pull of what might be next.
Salazar, on the other hand, has been there and done that. Weiser was only a few years out of law school when Salazar became the attorney general in 1998. It was not a well-kept secret that he had his eyes on the governor’s office back then. But sometimes the path we walk is not the one we planned. As the Democrats’ best hope for flipping the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell — a seat sought by Pete Coors — Salazar sacrificed his personal ambition for party allegiance. After winning, he subsequently earned a place in the Obama cabinet.
But some itches have to be scratched.
Regardless of what Neguse and Salazar decide, Weiser is almost certainly headed for confrontation with Griswold. Griswold harbors the most naked political ambition of all the potential candidates. She is a lightning rod who cannot pass up an opportunity to get on television. While a bit craven, those characteristics have served her well in creating a national donor base and rabid supporter group.
While Griswold may be satiated with running to replace Weiser, don’t count on it. She does not have the same love of the law that he does. Simply running a bigger, more high-profile office may not be enough lure when the biggest and most high-profile is up for grabs.
Those are the obstacles before we even begin to consider dark horses or long-shots.
All told, this was almost certainly the right move for Weiser. He could not sit back and hope to clear a weak field a year from now. With better known, potentially better financed opponents in the wing, he had to be a first mover. If he can raise a respectable war chest and win some unexpected endorsements in the next couple of months, that might be the narrow path he must navigate.
I do not envy him, though. Campaigning more than a year before caucuses, and nearly 18 months before the primary, is not enjoyable. It means saying a lot of the same things over and over, leaving family behind for evening meetings, and dialing for dollars with every free minute. It is the type of experience that makes a marathon look like an easy stroll.
If it pays off, though, Weiser could win. Republicans do not have anyone on their bench who can challenge the Democratic primary winner at the top of the ticket. Given the defeat of ranked choice voting last year, November 2026 will be as much a coronation as an election.
And if Weiser’s gamble pays off, that could mean Gov. Weiser could be sworn in a little over two years from now.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on BlueSky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
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