When we started seeing articles that suggested Judicial District 18 District Attorney George Brauchler was thinking about thinking about hopping out of the Governor’s race and into the race for Attorney General, we knew it was only a matter of time before Brauchler made the switch. Today’s the day. Brauchler officially has jumped into the AG race.
Even better – with current Republican Attorney General Cynthia Coffman switching to the Governor’s race and Rep. Cole Wist demurring, Brauchler might just find himself in a race for a statewide office without a primary – a huge benefit to anyone running for office. Coffman congratulated Brauchler on the switch. Running without a primary would leave him less bloodied and bruised than his Democratic counterpart, who will have (as of today) gone through a primary with four other candidates. Right now, the man to beat is Phil Weiser, who has inexplicably raised almost three-quarters of a million dollars for his race. To that we say, Phil, who? Nonetheless, the eventual winner will have to come out of a primary that includes Boulder D.A. Stan Garnett, Rep. Joe Salazar, Phil Who?, Michael Dougherty, and Brad Levin.
The move also could benefit Brauchler in the long-run. It gives him a platform from which he can build name ID and bolster his reputation as more than just the guy who tried James Holmes, the movie theater shooter. It would give him a front-row seat to tackling some of the state’s largest issues should he want to run for Governor in the future. All-in-all a fairly shrewd move for Brauchler, who appears to be playing the long game.
While it appears as though Brauchler’s switch is good for Brauchler, there are some who are not thrilled with his switch – at least, not thrilled with his comments he made as he walked out the door.
In announcing the change, Brauchler said:
“Any day now, I expect John Elway, Todd Helton, Wonder Woman, and Santa Claus to jump into this race. In fact, if you’re reading this, you have a 1-in-7 chance of running for Governor of Colorado.”
So, it’s a little snarky about the race he just left. But, it’s also a little true – the race for Governor is crowded on both sides of the aisle.