Colo. Women Are Conquering The Statehouse. Is U.S. Senate Next?

DENVER, CO – By Alex Burness for The Colorado Independent. Colorado has a dismal record when it comes to electing women to high office: It joins Idaho, Indiana, Virginia and Pennsylvania as the five states that have never had a woman governor or senator.

But the 2020 U.S. Senate race is seen as a game changer, say women lawmakers and operatives. In a state where President Donald Trump is deeply unpopular and Democrats now control all state executive offices and the legislature, incumbent Republican Cory Gardner is vulnerable, and, many are asking, what better opportunity for Colorado to make up for lost time and put a woman in the seat?

There are several signs that the tide is turning. For the first time, women are a majority in the Colorado House, where they’ve also held the speakership for the past three sessions. Overall, women make up 47 percent of both chambers in Colorado, second only to Nevada, which this year set historic highs for women in U.S. statehouses.

Nationally, women are more politically active, and Democratic women, in particular, cleaned up in the midterms — women won more than 100 House seats — while women such as Kate Greenberg (Colorado’s first female agriculture chief), Jena Griswold (Colorado’s first female, Democratic secretary of state) and Susana Cordova (the first Latina to lead Colorado’s largest school district) are changing the landscape locally, trailblazing in executive and high-profile political jobs.

And, finally, two millennial women with diverse professional resumes — scientist Trish Zornio and nonprofit boss Lorena Garcia — are running for the Senate, while two other women under 40 with statehouse experience — former House Speaker Crisanta Duran and state Sen. Kerry Donovan — are being encouraged to run. Duran said Thursday she’ll announce her decision “very, very soon,” while Donovan suggested she’s taking more time to mull it over. Others may yet get in the race, which has only just begun to take shape.

READ MORE in The Colorado Independent.