If you’ve never heard of Hetal Doshi before, you’re probably not alone. But the Democrat with a deep well of experience at the U.S. Department of Justice is running in a crowded primary field to be Colorado’s next attorney general.
The stakes of the race to replace term-limited Attorney General Phil Weiser, which so far also feature Secretary of State Jena Griswold, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty and consumer rights attorney David Seligman, are high. His successor will take over a growing number of lawsuits against the Trump administration and lead the state’s response to actions taken by the White House.
That’s not to mention the attorney general’s state-level responsibilities, including consumer protection and investigation of statewide criminal rings.
Doshi, who grew up in Alabama and moved to Colorado with her husband about 13 years ago, announced her campaign last week, quickly raising lots of cash in a show that despite her lack of political experience she shouldn’t be counted out.
Doshi joined the Justice Department in 2014 as an assistant U.S. attorney in Colorado, where she worked on criminal cases and helped investigate banks that ignited the 2008 global financial crisis. In 2022, she became a deputy assistant attorney general working on antitrust cases against tech giants like Google, Apple and Ticketmaster and overseeing a staff of more than 800 while still based in Colorado.
She was a finalist to be appointed by President Joe Biden as Colorado’s top federal prosecutor, but lost out to Cole Finegan.
Doshi hopes her resume helps her stand out in the big primary field. “I think that something that I bring to the table is a really complete and holistic set of experiences that allow us to meet this particular moment,” she said. “This moment requires someone who knows how to fight the hardest, most consequential fights and also to win, and I believe that my experience and track record shows that.”
But Doshi’s problem is that voters don’t know who she is, whereas they know someone like Griswold, who has won two statewide races, and Dougherty, who has prosecuted the Boulder King Sooper’s shooting gunman and is now handling the Pearl Street Mall firebombing case.
Doshi, a first-generation American, has never held or run for elected office. Her solid campaign fundraising start will help, but her plan to win support “room by room and space by space” will be tough in a statewide contest.
Another Democratic candidate in the attorney general’s race facing a similar challenge is Seligman, who is executive director of the nonprofit Towards Justice. He got off to a hot fundraising start, but he’s a relative unknown to voters.
Weiser had the same problem. He overcame it in the primary during his first bid for attorney general in 2014 — but by a small margin.
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DOSHI ON WEISER AND TABOR
Doshi said she would continue Weiser’s legacy if elected attorney general.
“I think it’s more of an expansion and refinement as opposed to a wholesale change,” she said of her plans when asked how she might do things differently from Weiser.
We also asked Doshi if she would defend the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights if a lawsuit is brought challenging the 1992 constitutional amendment. She didn’t offer a “yes” or “no” answer.
“I would be reluctant to give you an advisory perspective now,” Doshi said, “because I don’t know the facts and circumstances of that. But I think that you should hear me loud and clear: What’s important to Coloradans is really important to me as the attorney general. I am not someone who’s just going to act first, think later. I’m going to be thoughtful about the issues and complexities that TABOR represents.”
WHAT TO WATCH IN THE WEEK AHEAD
YOU HEARD IT HERE
Jones was speaking to lawyers for Gov. Jared Polis and a whistleblower who is suing Polis over allegations the governor ordered his administration to violate state law and comply with a subpoena from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The whistleblower is Scott Moss, who leads the Colorado Division of Labor Standards and Statistics.
The case hinges on whether the subpoena was issued by ICE as part of an investigation into criminal activity. That’s because Colorado law allows state agencies to comply with federal immigration agents’ information requests only when it’s for criminal investigations.
The governor’s office said the ICE subpoena was issued as part of a human trafficking probe. Moss’ attorneys don’t find that explanation plausible.
“There’s been a lot of statements in the press by the governor that these (subpoenas) are being used to prevent human trafficking. There’s an amplitude of evidence and many, many news articles about the fact that that is not true,” said Laura Beth Wolf, an attorney for Moss.
Wolf asked Jones to order Polis to turn over the names and dates of his staff’s communications with the news media. Attorneys for Polis said that request was ridiculous.
“This is clearly a fishing expedition,” said Trey M. Rogers, an attorney representing the governor. “They want to make this a circus about the deportation of kids and not what it is on its face, which is a pretty straightforward case about an administrative subpoena, the likes of which the state responds to on a regular basis.”
The back and forth prompted Jones’ remark about trying the case in the press.
The governor’s office has agreed not to comply with the subpoena until at least June 23 while the lawsuit plays out. (ICE ordered the state to comply by May 26). Meanwhile, Moss’ attorneys have requested that a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction be issued prohibiting the state from complying with the subpoena pending the lawsuit.
A preliminary injunction hearing in the case is scheduled for June 23.
POLIS IS BEING REPRESENTED BY PRIVATE COUNSEL
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office, which normally represents the governor in litigation, opted out of this case because of a conflict of interest: the office also provides counsel to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, where Moss works.
The office appointed Rogers and Rachel Banks, another lawyer, from his firm, Recht Kornfeld, to represent the governor as special assistant attorneys general, according to a spokesperson for the office.
Spokesperson for the governor, Shelby Wieman, said in a statement that bringing on outside counsel is not uncommon.
“As is usual practice and required by statute when outside council is warranted, the attorney general designated the SAAG to represent the state on this matter, and did so in a fiscally responsible manner,” she said. “We hope this is resolved quickly.”
POLLING
What voters in the 8th Congressional District think of Gabe Evans
Forty percent of voters in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District had a favorable view of their representative in the U.S. House, Republican Gabe Evans.
That’s compared with 42% who said they had an unfavorable view of Evans. Seven percent said they had no opinion of him while 11% said they have never heard of him.
The numbers came from a recent poll conducted by Magellan Strategies, a conservative-leaning firm, on behalf of the liberal nonprofit Healthier Colorado. Magellan polled 675 registered voters statewide from May 29 to June 4, including 404 in the 8th District.
The statewide results had a 3.77 percentage point margin of error while the 8th District results had a 4.87 percentage point margin of error.
In the 8th District, 35.5% of unaffiliated voters said they had a favorable view of Evans, compared with 45% who said they have an unfavorable view of him.
Forty-five percent of 8th District voters said they had a favorable view of President Donald Trump, while 55% said they had an unfavorable view of Trump. That dropped to 41% favorable and 59% unfavorable among unaffiliated voters in the district.
Trump’s decent approval numbers in the district may explain why Evans feels so comfortable tacking close to the president.
According to the poll, Trump’s approval numbers in the district are better than those of Gov. Jared Polis (41%), U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (29%) and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (18%).
Something to keep in mind: When former U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo’s campaign released polling results last month showing her leading the crowded Democratic primary field, the results didn’t include data on how she or other Democrats would fare against Evans in November 2026.
The campaign only offered up a polling memo, not the full results — top lines and cross tabs. Caraveo’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for the full results or questions about whether they asked voters about a hypothetical rematch in 2026.
The campaign may not have polled on that question, but it also may have decided not to release the results because it didn’t like what they showed. Since they didn’t release the full results, we may never know.
STATEWIDE
Magellan also asked voters across the state their opinions of top politicians. Here’s what they found:
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THE POLITICAL TICKER
COLORADO GOP
Darrel Phelan has resigned as vice chair of the Colorado GOP less than three months after being elected to the role.
“I cannot, in good conscience, continue to lend my name or reputation to an organization whose leadership refuses genuine collaboration with the state Central Committee,” he wrote in a letter to Republican activists. “We have merely swapped one figurehead for another, and the dysfunction has only deepened under this new regime.”
Phelhan complained that Chair Brita Horn hasn’t accepted his input and that he was told “to be seen, not heard.”
Horn said she respected Phelan’s decision and thanked him for his service.
“Transitions within any organization, especially one as dedicated as the Colorado Republican Party, can be challenging, but they also present opportunities for growth and renewed strength. We are confident that our party’s future is bright, with a steadfast commitment to our conservative values and a united front to serve Colorado voters,” she said in a written statement.
The Central Committee will have to convene to select a new vice chair.
PROPERTY TAXES
Colorado is searching for a new state property tax administrator.
JoAnn Groff, who has held the role for more than 19 years, plans to retire when her current term ends Dec. 31.
The administrator leads the Division of Property Taxation and is responsible for coordinating and implementing property tax law across each of Colorado’s 64 counties.
GOVERNOR’S RACE
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet on Thursday released a list of 130 endorsements for his bid to become Colorado’s next governor, including a handful of Democrats who switched their allegiance to him from Attorney General Phil Weiser.
Gunnison County Commissioner Jonathan Houck, La Plata County Commissioner Marsha Porter-Norton, Chaffee County Commissioner Gina Lucrezi, Lakewood City Councilman Roger Low, and former Eagle County Commissioner Kathy Chandler Henry pivoted to support Bennet.
While none of those five are household names and their endorsements are unlikely to change the trajectory of the contest, their decision to change who they are backing the race highlights the political complexity of the race between Bennet and Weiser. Democrats are struggling to decide which candidate to back.
8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
State Sen. Katie Wallace, D-Lafayette, is backing state Rep. Shannon Bird’s bid in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District.
The endorsement is notable because Wallace served as the district director for then-U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, whom Bird faces next year in the Democratic primary in the 8th District. (Caraveo is running to reclaim her seat.)
”Shannon is a collaborative, thoughtful leader who knows how to bring people together and understands the unique needs of our rural communities. She will lead with integrity and make all of us proud,” Wallace said in a written statement.
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DO THE MATH
657
The total number of bills introduced in the legislature this year.
Of all those measures, 487, or 74% of the total, passed. Just over a quarter, or 170, were rejected by lawmakers.
The governor vetoed 11 of the bills that made it across the finish line.
The legislature debated many more measures — 705 — last year, but the percentage that passed and failed was the same, while the governor’s veto count was only six.
Thanks to Axios Denver reporter John Frank and Legislative Council Staff for sharing these figures with us.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
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