Colorado Secretary of State Democratic Primary: Candidate Comparison

Amanda Gonzalez vs. Jesse Danielson

Compiled from publicly available sources (CPR News voter guide, The Colorado Sun issue guide, Ballotpedia, campaign coverage) plus the candidates’ own interview remarks. Entries reflect each candidate’s own stated positions; cells are left blank where the candidate did not address that issue on the record.

Issue	Amanda Gonzalez	Jesse Danielson
Education & experience	Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder since 2023, overseeing elections, five motor vehicle offices, and public records for roughly 600,000 residents. Licensed attorney (J.D., University of Denver) and adjunct law professor; B.A. from Occidental College. Former executive director of Colorado Common Cause; previously a policy analyst/staff attorney and led the state’s largest Latino organization. Says she is the only candidate in the race who has run an election and the only attorney and notes the last four secretaries of state were attorneys.	State senator since 2019 after two terms in the state House, where she was elected speaker pro tem; wrapping up a second Senate term. Grew up on a family farm north of Greeley. Earlier worked for NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado (now Cobalt) and as state director of America Votes, doing coalition and electoral organizing. Frames her central qualification as a long legislative record of building coalitions and passing laws.
Why running	Says democracy is on the line and that the 2028 presidential election is no time for on-the-job training; wants a secretary of state who is a “firewall, not a figurehead.” Notes she would be the first Latina and first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve as Colorado secretary of state and says representation and what you fight for both matter.	Says she is running to defend a democracy under threat and to stand up for the election workers who keep voting free and fair. Says Democrats need someone who understands Colorado outside Denver, and that the role requires a proven progressive who has stood up to power.
Election security & integrity	Says trust starts with transparency; in Jefferson County she gives public tours of the ballot-processing facility and points to bipartisan teams, chain-of-custody, and 24/7 surveillance. On the 2024 BIOS-password release, says she learned of it from the news while in her tabulation room; argues the layered security (air-gapped machines, restricted access, separate SOS and clerk credentials) meant the passwords could not actually be misused, but that the communication around it should have been more transparent to clerks.	Calls Colorado’s system “extremely secure” and says the next secretary must consistently communicate to voters what is real amid misinformation from Donald Trump. Says she has been “Trump-proofing” Colorado’s elections for years and will continue to; emphasizes that elections are audited, bipartisan, and backed by paper records and the ballot-tracking system she helped create. Would respond to a breach with immediate notification to clerks and stronger cybersecurity.
Federal interference & countering Trump	Says she would use “every tool in the toolbox,” including going to court, and would get accurate information to voters because federal messaging is meant to confuse and suppress. On her own preparations: cross-training DMV staff in case mail delivery is disrupted, over-recruiting election judges, and training with local law enforcement for the possibility of intimidation at voting sites.	Says Trump wants to dismantle Colorado’s system precisely because it is inclusive and accessible, and that she will not shy from fighting the administration to protect the right to vote. Points to legislation she sponsored or helped pass to protect Colorado residents from ICE, and says she has marched and spoken at rallies on the issue around the state.
Voter access & turnout	Says having the right to vote is different from being able to vote; passed a law-making Colorado the first state to require in-person voting in county jails for eligible voters,and wrote the law expanding ballot translation in more counties. Credits community-engagement staff, a community advisory committee, and outreach at schools, laundromats, and dispensaries with producing the highest turnout in Jefferson County’s history.	Says she helped pass the 2013 all-mail-ballot law and sponsored automatic voter registration (SB19-235) and ballot access for voters with disabilities; wants to keep expanding turnout. Says she is excited to work with communities on engaging young voters and improving ballot access for underserved communities.
Independent / unaffiliated voters	Says most Coloradans are unaffiliated and that the system must let them participate, especially since primaries are often decisive; wants high turnout and wide margins.	Says she helped change the system so unaffiliated voters can participate in primaries, reflecting a state where many do not identify with a party. Suggests reforming the assembly process and lowering the cost of the petition route and revisiting the rule barring unaffiliated voters from signing party petitions.
Redistricting	Was one of the authors of the amendments that created Colorado’s independent redistricting commissions; says politicians should not choose their constituents and that gerrymandering erodes trust. Ran an open, public process for county-commissioner redistricting in Jefferson County (partnering with MIT on public mapping software) and supports a national approach, including countering gerrymandering in other states. Believes in independent redistricting but also that Colorado needs to respond to the red-state gerrymandering because blue states cannot play fair while red states rig the game.
Business & lobbyist filings (TRACER)	Says she would make the campaign-finance system (TRACER) easier to use, arguing people should not feel they need a college degree to see who is influencing their vote; “government should never make you feel stupid.” Points to her record running motor vehicle, recording, and licensing services in Jefferson County (including after-hours passport appointments) as a model of responsive service.	Says she would make the department’s filing systems and website more user-friendly and crack down on fraudulent business filings. Says she sponsored a lobbyist-transparency bill that the governor vetoed, and frames improving TRACER and disclosure as consistent with her broader transparency record.
Campaign funding & PAC money	Says she takes no corporate PAC money and is not affiliated with the One Main Street PAC; average donation around $60 and 72% of donations from within Colorado. Says the only PAC money accepted so far is from the teachers’ union (CEA), which has endorsed her.	Says her campaign is powered by more than 5,000 individual donors and that she accepts PAC and small-donor-committee money only from labor and progressive organizations, plus individual legislator PACs. Notes she earns about $40,000 a year as a legislator and points voters to her public filings; emphasizes labor endorsements, many made before she was formally a candidate.
Endorsements & coalition	Says she ran as the grassroots rather than institutional candidate and got about 63% at the state assembly; endorsed by the Colorado Education Association and a number of local Indivisible groups.	Points to endorsements from multiple county clerks (including the past Clerks Association president), the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, the Denver Post, and numerous labor unions. Frames the clerk endorsements—many from Republicans she worked with since 2013—as evidence of cross-partisan trust in election administration.