Weiser names JeffCo commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper as running mate in Colorado governor race

Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper is Attorney General Phil Weiser’s running mate in the race for Colorado governor, he announced Wednesday. 

Dahlkemper, who has served as a county commissioner in Jefferson County since 2019, would serve as Colorado’s lieutenant governor if Weiser, the race’s heavy favorite, wins the election in November. Dahlkemper previously served on the Jeffco Public Schools board of education, the Colorado Fire Commission, as chair of the Gateway to the Rockies Opioid Council and on the board of directors of Colorado Counties Inc.

“I know local leaders across the state have worked with Lesley, and what they have said about her and what she has done speaks volumes, that we’re not getting someone who’s going to need a long learning curve,” Weiser said at a press conference at the Colorado Democratic Party’s office in Denver. “We’re getting someone who is seasoned, who knows a range of issues inside and out, including wildfire risk reduction, including how we manage and conserve water, how we make housing more affordable, keep our communities safe, address the opioid crisis, support more effective early childhood education, and so much more.”

Weiser won the Democratic primary election for Colorado governor in June, defeating U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. He faces Republican nominee Victor Marx in the November election. The winner will succeed Gov. Jared Polis, who is term-limited.

In a press conference Wednesday, Dahlkemper and Weiser both highlighted each other’s work on the opioid crisis. Weiser developed a framework to distribute opioid settlement funds to help communities across the state. Dahlkemper helped build trust among counties surrounding Jefferson County, which is what led to the formation of the Gateway to the Rockies Opioid Council, Weiser said. 

The lieutenant governor serves as governor in the event the elected governor is not available and chairs the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs. Outgoing Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera has stepped in to sign bills into law when Polis has been out of the state or country. 

Dahlkemper and her family have lived in Jefferson County for 30 years. While she is a commissioner for a county in metro Denver, she said she has worked with county commissioners from all regions of the state, and the issues they work on are all connected, like water and wildfire prevention, she said. 

“It may look different from community to community in terms of what those issues are, but when it comes to county commissioners, we roll up our sleeves, we get the work done, we listen to each other, and we work with some of our statewide organizations as well,” Dahlkemper said. 

Colorado has only elected one Republican governor since 1975, and with Democrats are widely expected to hold on to the governorship and other statewide offices in a favorable midterm election this year.

Marx, who lives in El Paso County, is the founder of All Things Possible Ministries, a nonprofit that purports to do humanitarian work around the globe. Throughout his primary campaign, he declined to answer questions about the organization’s specific activities and scope of work. He also dodged questions about whether he’s killed people or how many.

Greg Lopez, a former Republican congressman who also ran for the Republican governor nomination in 2022, is seeking a spot on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate. He submitted petition signatures to the secretary of state’s office last week.