Two elected officials from the Denver suburbs will face off in Colorado’s Democratic primary for secretary of state on June 30: state Sen. Jessie Danielson of Wheat Ridge and Amanda Gonzalez, the Jefferson County clerk and recorder.
The current secretary of state, Democrat Jena Griswold, is term-limited in her current office and running for attorney general.
State Sen. Jessie Danielson, 48, has been a state senator since 2019, after serving two terms in the state House. She was elected speaker pro tem during her second House term. Before serving in the legislature, Danielson worked for liberal political advocacy groups America Votes and NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado.
Amanda Gonzalez, 41, has served as the Jefferson County clerk and recorder since 2023. She’s also an attorney and adjunct law professor at the University of Denver. From 2018 to 2021, she led Common Cause, a left-leaning nonprofit that advocates for government transparency.
The Colorado Sun interviewed the candidates to see where they stand on election security, interference from the Trump administration and other top issues.
Here are their answers.
(Note: There is not a contested Republican primary for secretary of state this year. James Wiley is the de facto GOP nominee.)
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- Democrats and Republicans both perceive our elections as under threat, but for very different reasons. How will you restore trust in elections among voters across the political spectrum?
- President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Colorado’s mail-in voting system. How will you protect the state’s elections from federal interference?
- What will you do to secure state and local election offices from cyberattacks and other security breaches?
- What additional assistance do local elections officials need from the Secretary of State’s Office to prepare for the 2028 election?
- Did you agree with Gov. Jared Polis’ decision to commute Tina Peters’ sentence?
- The commutation drew widespread condemnation from elections clerks in Colorado, who said it would embolden conspiracy theorists. Do you think the governor’s decision will affect future elections? Is there anything the next secretary of state should do to prevent unauthorized access to election equipment in the future?
- Republicans have long accused Secretary of State Jena Griswold of politicizing the office. If elected, how will you approach the role? Will you treat it as more of a nonpartisan position, or use it to advocate for liberal causes?
- The Secretary of State’s Office also handles filings for businesses, nonprofits and lobbyists. How will you manage those responsibilities, and what, if any, changes do you propose to how they currently operate?
- Do you have any other priorities that we didn’t ask about?
ELECTION TRUST
Democrats and Republicans both perceive our elections as under threat, but for very different reasons. How will you restore trust in elections among voters across the political spectrum?
Amanda Gonzalez
Gonzalez pointed to her efforts to engage voters in Jefferson County, such as giving tours of ballot processing facilities. “One of the things that we found in my current office is that trust starts with transparency, which is why I’ve worked really hard to increase transparency in the elections that I run,” she said.
Jessie Danielson
Colorado has an “extremely secure election system,” Danielson said. “We need a secretary of state who will be able to communicate consistently to the electorate their rights, how to access the polls, what is really happening in the face of chaos and misinformation and lies from Donald Trump.”
MAIL-IN VOTING
President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Colorado’s mail-in voting system. How will you protect the state’s elections from federal interference?
Amanda Gonzalez
Gonzalez said she would use “every tool in the toolbox,” including going to court. “That also means getting accurate information out to voters because I believe a lot of what is coming out of our federal government is meant to confuse everyday voters,” she said. “When they hear a headline saying that a voter ID law is changing or mail ballots are under threat, it has a suppressive impact.”
Jessie Danielson
“I’ve been working to Trump-proof Colorado’s elections for years, and I’m going to keep working to Trump-proof it into the future as your next secretary of state,” Danielson said. “He has not made it a secret that he wants to dismantle our election system, precisely because it is so inclusive and accessible.”
CYBERATTACKS
What will you do to secure state and local election offices from cyberattacks and other security breaches?
Amanda Gonzalez
“It’s monitoring what information we’re getting nationally, making sure that infrastructure is modern and up to date, making sure that clerk and recorders have accurate information about the threats that their counties are facing,” Gonzalez said.
Jessie Danielson
Danielson said she would take the lead from county clerks and respond to their needs. “They are the ones who are most well-equipped to advise the Secretary of State’s Office on how best to protect them at the local level,” she said.
LOCAL OFFICIALS
What additional assistance do local elections officials need from the Secretary of State’s Office to prepare for the 2028 election?
Amanda Gonzalez
Gonzalez said she planned to use her office to provide training, IT and communications help to smaller counties that don’t have the staff they need to combat cybersecurity threats and misinformation. “I am really excited to utilize the office to make sure that the clerks have what they need,” she said.
Jessie Danielson
Danielson said it would be “at least a 64-point list for 64 different counties.”
“What they need is a secretary of state who will prioritize the voters in every single part of the state, and respond to the needs of the clerks and other administrators — rapidly in an genuine way — and not just Zoom in from Denver,” she said.
TINA PETERS
Did you agree with Gov. Jared Polis’ decision to commute Tina Peters’ sentence?
Amanda Gonzalez
“Absolutely not,” Gonzalez said. “Primarily because I know the threats that election officials experience.”
Jessie Danielson
“Absolutely not,” Danielson said. “I find what he did extremely disturbing on a number of levels, and I think it’s a very dangerous thing to have done.”
ELECTION SECURITY
The commutation drew widespread condemnation from elections clerks in Colorado, who said it would embolden conspiracy theorists. Do you think the governor’s decision will affect future elections? Is there anything the next secretary of state should do to prevent unauthorized access to election equipment in the future?
Amanda Gonzalez
“It just communicates to other election deniers or people who are going to make threats, that threatening our democracy might not have real consequences,” Gonzalez said. She said the next secretary of state will need to monitor threats and give county clerks resources to combat future attacks.
Jessie Danielson
“I think it puts our clerks at risk. It puts our elections at risk, and not just here in Colorado, but it’s going to have national implications,” Danielson said. She said she is already in “constant communication” with the Colorado County Clerks Association about how to respond to future attacks on elections.
NONPARTISANSHIP
Republicans have long accused Secretary of State Jena Griswold of politicizing the office. If elected, how will you approach the role? Will you treat it as more of a nonpartisan position, or use it to advocate for liberal causes?
Amanda Gonzalez
“It is pretty straightforward to run nonpartisan elections,” Gonzalez said. “We want to make sure that every eligible voter is able to have their ballot counted regardless of party or how you see the world. And no matter how fiercely I guard that, there will continue to be conspiracy theorists and people who who simply don’t believe facts.”
Jessie Danielson
“My approach will be defending the election system in Colorado and serving the needs of the voters, no matter if they’re Democrat, Republican, or independent. That’ll be my primary purpose,” Danielson said. “I will in no way shy from fighting against the Trump administration when I need to to defend those systems and protect Coloradans’ right to vote.”
STATE FILINGS
The Secretary of State’s Office also handles filings for businesses, nonprofits and lobbyists. How will you manage those responsibilities, and what, if any, changes do you propose to how they currently operate?
Amanda Gonzalez
Gonzalez said it was too early to say what changes she would make, but she promised to be responsive to constituents. ”My guiding principle on this is that government should never make you feel stupid,” she said. “It should make you feel welcome.”
Jessie Danielson
“We need to break down some of those less user-friendly aspects of how they interface with the department,” Danielson said, such as filing documents or using the department’s website. She said she also wants to crack down on fraudulent business filings.
OTHER PRIORITIES
Do you have any other priorities that we didn’t ask about?
Amanda Gonzalez
Gonzalez said she planned to make the state’s campaign finance website (TRACER) easier to use. “This is the office where people get information about who is trying to influence their vote,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a very transparent system when people feel like they need a college degree to understand where money is coming from and where it’s going.”
Jessie Danielson
“I’m really excited about working with the community to investigate new and innovative ways of increasing our turnout even further,” Danielson said. “How do we better engage young voters? How do we address problems that still persevere in terms of accessing the ballot for underserved communities? I know there’s still a lot of good that can be done.”