Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty announced Tuesday that he will run in 2026 to be Colorado’s next attorney general.
Dougherty, a Democrat, ran for attorney general in 2018, but exited the race before the primary to pursue appointment by then-Gov. John Hickenlooper as Boulder County’s top prosecutor. He got the job and was then elected in November 2018 to a full, four-year term in the role and reelected in 2022.
Colorado’s current attorney general, Democrat Phil Weiser, is term-limited and can’t run for reelection in 2026. Instead, Weiser is running to be Colorado’s next governor.
As Boulder’s district attorney, Dougherty led the successful prosecution of the man accused in the mass shooting at a King Soopers store in 2021. His office also helmed the probe into the cause of the Marshall fire.
Dougherty also previously served as head of the criminal division at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office under then-Attorney General John Suthers, a Republican, and held a leadership position in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
In his campaign launch video, Dougherty cited his work on those cases. He also framed his candidacy around pushing back on the Trump administration’s policies.
“I will use my decades of experience in the courtroom and leading offices to protect our values against Donald Trump and anyone who endangers Colorado,” he said in the video.
Dougherty, in an interview with The Colorado Sun, said that as attorney general he would also focus the attorney general’s office on investigating public corruption and public safety.
“I’ve seen firsthand the important role the attorney general can and must play when it comes to public safety, consumer protection, protecting water and environment,” said Dougherty.
“Colorado should not be in the bottom 10 in the country in substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment being available in the community,” he said. “Until we invest in efforts to help people with underlying challenges, we’re not going to see the improvements to public safety that we all want to see.”
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Other Democrats rumored to be interested in running for attorney general in 2026 are former House Speaker Crisanta Duran and Adams County District Attorney Brian Mason.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is also weighing whether to run for governor or attorney general in 2026.
There are no Republicans running in 2026 for attorney general yet. But the winner of the Democratic primary is likely to become the state’s next top law enforcement officer given the leftward shift of Colorado’s electorate. There hasn’t been a Republican elected to statewide office in Colorado since 2016.
Weiser won his 2022 reelection bid by nearly 12 percentage points.