Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman will enter the crowded, messy Republican race for governor Wednesday, saying she is the candidate that can bridge the prosperity divide between urban and rural Colorado.
“There are policy issues that I think need to be addressed, and that’s really where my interest lies,” Coffman told The Denver Post in an exclusive interview. “Being a lawyer is great — it’s my calling, it’s my profession, I wouldn’t change it. But I believe having been in government in Colorado for almost 20 years, I know now what it takes not only to be governor, but to lead the state.”
The one-term top prosecutor faces a difficult path to victory in a race against a handful of candidates with big names and more campaign cash, particularly given her more moderate approach on social issues. But she dismissed concerns, citing her recognition among voters in polls, adding: “There’s always room for a smart woman.”
Coffman enters the race about a week after former Republican U.S. Rep.Tom Tancredo jumped in and shook up the contest with his firebrand ideology and association with Steve Bannon, a former adviser to President Donald Trump.
The contest also includes establishment Republicans Walker Stapleton, the state’s treasurer and a Bush family relative; Doug Robinson, an investment banker and nephew of Mitt Romney; George Brauchler, a district attorney and the Aurora theater shooting prosecutor; and Victor Mitchell, a businessman and former state lawmaker who put $3 million into the race.
“I have spent the last three years traveling the state and talking about issues like the ones I’ll be talking about in a race for governor,” Coffman said. “I don’t feel like the money matters as much as the message and the contacts I have made with voters.”
Coffman long considered entering the governor’s race and traveled the country in recent months to raise her profile. One sign that she might not seek re-election as attorney general came in October when reports showed she had raised just $10,600 since July 1 for her attorney general campaign.
Stapleton has already locked down many top Republican donors, but Coffman said she’s confident “money is going to come.”
Sure to surface in the campaign is the unsuccessful attempt Coffman in 2015 helped lead to oust then-Colorado GOP Chairman Steve House in a saga that involved accusations of extramarital affairs and threats. But when asked about the episode, she brushed it aside.
“I don’t think I need to talk about it a lot because I think it’s old news,” she said. “To me, Steve and I resolved that situation several years ago and it’s not something I give a lot of thought to.”
To run her campaign, Coffman hired Clinton Soffer, the former regional political director for the National Republican Senate Committee, where he worked for Colorado U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, whom he helped elect in 2014. Coffman also brought on Caroline Wren, a longtime Republican fundraiser to raise money for the campaign.
Coffman in June announced she is splitting from her husband of 12 years, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, who is seeking re-election in the 6th Congressional District. She won the race for attorney general in 2014 after serving as deputy attorney general, counsel for Republican Gov. Bill Owens and as a top state public health official.
In the past year or so, Cynthia Coffman has taken moderate stances on several hot-button social issues, including LGBT rights and immigration. She is representing the state in its defense of a gay couple denied service by a Lakewood baker in a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court and has worked to protect people living in the U.S. illegally from becoming victims of fraud.
Coffman’s bid for governor opens a vacancy for attorney general, although a slate of conservatives are likely to seek the post. U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Windsor, has expressed interest, as has state Rep. Cole Wist, a Republican from Centennial.
The delay in her decision, however, leaves Republicans with a major fundraising deficit compared with the five Democrats vying for the job.
Democratic candidate Phil Weiser raised more than $700,000 for his campaign heading into October, with the former dean of the University of Colorado Law School continuing to haul in large donations over the past several weeks.
