Nearly one week after voters went to the polls in Colorado, the state's Democratic Party settled on a nominee for attorney general ending a divisive campaign that exacerbated divisions between the party's progressive and establishment wings.
State representative Joe Salazar, a progressive insurgency candidate endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), conceded his quest for the Democratic nomination for Colorado attorney general on Saturday after official results showed him losing to Phil Weiser, a former Obama and Clinton administration official, by under one percent of the vote.
The election, which took place on June 24, remained too close to call with the secretary of state's office being forced to count thousands of additional ballots before being able to determine a winner. Salazar, who trailed Weiser by a small margin after election night, refused to concede until Saturday, arguing every voter deserved "to have their voice heard."
Final vote tabulations showed Weiser defeating Salazer by only 5,136 votes out of 590,960 cast, well above the 1,500 vote threshold required by Colorado law to trigger an automatic recount.
The race, which turned ugly in recent weeks, highlighted the ideological struggle raging within the Democratic Party between progressive activists and the moderate-leaning establishment.
Weiser, a first-time candidate for elective office and former dean of the University of Colorado Law School, was backed by an overwhelming majority of the state's Democratic Party brass. His primary campaign was premised on standing up to President Donald Trump, whose election Weiser claims motivated him to run for office.
Salazar, on the other hand, has long been a fixture in Colorado politics as both an elected official and civil-rights lawyer. During the 2016 presidential primaries, he was one of a handful of elected officials to openly back Sanders over former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. The senator repaid Salazar by enthusiastically supporting his campaign for attorney general.
During the primary, Weiser and Salazar sparred more over style than substance. Both genuinely agreed on expanding the attorney general's office to cover social justice issues, protecting Colorado's recreational marijuana laws, and fighting Republican policies emanating from Washington, D.C.
The two men, however, sharply diverged on who had the best professional and ideological qualifications to serve as attorney general. Salazar was the most stringent in his attacks, calling Weiser a "paper tiger," labeling him as inexperienced, and asserting that being a "moderate doesn’t" automatically result in winning "Colorado anymore." Weiser's supporters responded by attempting to paint Salazar as too liberal to win an office that has been in Republican hands since 2005.
Polls taken during the primary showed Salazar consistently leading by double digits, even though Weiser led in fundraising by a margin of 10-to-1. In the final weeks of the race, Weiser invested over $500,000 in television advertising in hopes of preventing a Salazar victory. Weiser was also aided by the last minute endorsement of incumbent governor John Hickenlooper, who chose to intervene in the race in order to prevent an upset by Salazar.
The sore feeling elicited by the primary were on display Saturday when each man issued their response to the final outcome.
Weiser attempted to strike a tone of unity by heaping praising on his vanquished opponent.
"I am humbled and honored by this win. I had a great call with Joe Salazar earlier today, and we are excited to work together to ensure Colorado has a Democratic attorney general in 2018," Weiser said. "Joe is a fierce advocate for social justice and a true fighter for those less fortunate, from the homeless to those treated unfairly by our criminal justice system."
The nominee added that he had emerged as a "far better" general election candidate from having fought such a competitive primary challenger.
"I am a far better candidate because of the experience running against him in this primary and share his commitment to listening to those who are not often heard."
In comparison, Salazar used his concession to focus on the positive impact his campaign had on the Centennial State's political landscape.
He offered a lone congratulations in passing and stopped short of offering Weiser a full endorsement.
"I want to sincerely congratulate our nominee, Phil Weiser," Salazar said. "He ran a great campaign in a tough race."
Instead of declaring his unbridled support, the Sanders-backed progressive extolled the success his campaign had in fostering discussions on the "future" of the Democratic Party and the role Colorado's attorney general could play in alleviating the pressing social problems of the day.
"Today is a victory for grassroots power," Salazar said. "We’ve started a lot of conversations about the importance of the attorney general’s office, how to ensure equity and justice are priorities of our elected officials, and about the future of the Democratic party."
Perhaps tellingly, Salazar ended his concession by calling for his supporters to rally alongside himself—not Weiser—in the battle for "equity and justice."
"We have accomplished an incredible feat together, and I hope you'll keep fighting alongside me for equity and justice in our communities," Salazar said.
Neither the Weiser or Salazar campaigns responded to requests for comment on this story.
The Republican nominee is George Brauchler, the district attorney for Colorado's 18th judicial district, which has an estimated population of over one million. Brauchler was unopposed for his party's nomination. The Republican rose to prominence for successfully prosecuting James Holmes, the individual convicted of perpetrating the 2012 mass shooting at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater that resulted in 82 casualties.
Weiser's experience and public service pale in comparison. The former law school dean has only tried six cases in the 24-year timespan since passing the bar exam in New York. Despite lacking adequate prosecutorial experience, Weiser has garnered the endorsement of two prior Colorado attorneys general, J.D. MacFarlane and former U.S. secretary of the interior Ken Salazar.
The experience issue is likely to grow in importance as the general election heats up. This strategy was on display last week when the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) launched a statewide television ad buy touting Brauchler's record of keeping communities safe.
In a statement announcing their ad buy, Scott Will, RAGA's executive director, lauded Brauchler as a candidate who would be ready on "day one" to jump into the role of attorney general.
"If you know George Brauchler, you know he is full of energy—always ready to go," Will said. "Bottom line, George Brauchler is a tough-on-crime prosecutor who will protect families; he will be ready on day one to serve as Colorado’s attorney general."
Brauchler has promised to enforce the rule of law, tackle Colorado's illegal marijuana black market, and stand up to federal overreach. His campaign lists the opioid epidemic, human trafficking, victims' rights, and curtailing fraud in social spending as top initiatives he would undertake if elected. Brauchler has also lambasted the increasing politicization of attorneys general across the country. In that regard, he has refused to use the office to "accomplish by lawsuit that which the legislature refuses to enact."
Weiser, meanwhile, has asserted he is running because America's democracy is at risk. The Democrat, if elected, has promised to strengthen voters "faith in" their system of government.