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Colorado State Races: Griswold wins Secretary of State race

Denver Post reports

Republican Secretary of State Wayne Williams lost his bid for a second four-year term to Democratic challenger Jena Griswold on Tuesday.

Williams had 47.4 percent and Griswold had 50.3 percent at 9:38 p.m. Tuesday, with an estimated 73 percent of the vote counted, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Williams conceded to Griswold, saying it’s like “John Elway leaving the Broncos after winning a couple of Super Bowls.”



“I just really look forward to serving the people of Colorado in this position,” Griswold said. “We saw a path to victory. We worked hard.”

Griswold, a voter rights attorney for then-President Barack Obama, pitched policies that focused on more transparency in campaign finance and making voting more accessible. She also was a Washington, D.C., liaison for Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s administration.




Secretary of State: Jena Griswold (D) 50.3% vs. Wayne Williams (R) 47.4%

Treasurer: Dave Young (D) 50.5% vs Brian Waton (R) 46.9%

Democrat Dave Young will be Colorado’s next treasurer.

With more than 1.79 million votes recorded, Young held a 50.5 percent to 46.9 percent advantage over Republican Brian Watson at 10 p.m. Tuesday, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office reported. He earned 906,836 votes to Watson’s 842,569.

Young told The Denver Post Tuesday night that he had a conversation with Watson who conceded.

“We’re thrilled to have won and are ready to start working,” Young said.

As the state’s top bookkeeper, the treasurer’s responsibilities include investing state tax dollars and serving on the Public Employee Retirement Association board, which oversees the state pension system for government employees.

Young has represented Greeley-based District 50 in the Colorado House since 2011. He has vowed to treat the office as a full-time job and use effective management to fully fund state pensions.

AG: Phil Weiser (D) 49.2% vs. George Brauchler (R) 48.1%

Democratic candidate Phil Weiser pulled ahead of Republican George Brauchler in a close attorney general’s race Tuesday night after a tight battle focused on experience and the role the office should play in setting policy.

Weiser was slightly ahead with 49.2 percent percent of the vote, according to partial results at 8:55 p.m. with 70 percent of the vote in. Republican candidate George Brauchler had 48.1 percent of the vote.

The lead was tight enough for Brauchler to hold out hope that he can still pull out a win with voters from the state’s conservative corners.

“I feel optimistically cautious,” he said shortly before 9 p.m. “There’s a ton of ballots still out there in the rural parts of the state.”

Weiser, noting that there were still ballots to be counted from Denver and Boulder County, said he’s very optimistic.

“I am not afraid of close races,” he said. “This one looks like the effort we put in is going to pay off.”