Mike Stratton talks about getting his start with Jimmy Carter
Plus: Stratton confirms Ken Salazar is considering a gubernatorial bid. Sonya Jaquez Lewis campaign finance complaint advances.
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One of Colorado’s most prominent Democratic strategists got his start in politics thanks to Jimmy Carter.
Mike Stratton was student body president at Colorado State University in 1976 when he was tapped by then-state Rep. Wellington Webb to rally support on college campuses for Carter’s first presidential bid that year. When Carter was elected, Stratton became a part of the administration, serving as spokesman for the National Alcohol Fuels Commission.
“My real task was advancing the president and people in the cabinet — and the first lady, Rosalyn — in and around Washington,” he said.
When Carter ran for reelection in 1980, Stratton helped the president fend off a Democratic primary challenge from U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy. Stratton said he even whipped delegate votes for Carter on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in New York that year.
After Carter won the primary, Stratton was in charge of running the campaign’s general election operation in St. Louis. The president ended up losing his reelection bid to Republican Ronald Reagan.
“I had a pretty good run with Jimmy Carter in a lot of different places,” Stratton told The Unaffiliated this week, just after Carter died Sunday at age 100. “What a remarkable guy.”
Stratton said he remained involved with Carter through the Carter Center, attending events in the 1980s and 1990s. Most recently, he attended one of the nonprofit’s functions in Vail about eight or nine years ago.
Stratton said his takeaway from Carter’s legacy is: “We are best united from our many similarities than we are divided by our few dissimilarities.”
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STRATTON ON KEN SALAZAR
Stratton has been a longtime ally of Ken Salazar, who currently serves as the U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Stratton ran Salazar’s 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, which he won.
Salazar, who served as secretary of the Department of the Interior under President Barack Obama, is rumored to be mulling a 2026 campaign to be governor of Colorado. Stratton confirmed that there’s substance behind those rumors.
Salazar, who turns 70 this year, will almost certainly lose his ambassador job once Donald Trump becomes president.
“I do, frankly, know that he has been thoughtful about the potential of running for governor and is open to it,” Stratton said. “But I don’t know that he has solicited anybody — including me — to do anything about it.”
Stratton said he’s not working to persuade Salazar to run, but if Salazar did launch a gubernatorial bid he would expect to have a role in that effort.
ELECTION 2026
Phil Weiser on his gubernatorial bid
We caught up with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Thursday after he announced his 2026 bid for governor. Here’s what he had to say.
The following has been edited for clarity and length.
The Unaffiliated: Why do you want to be governor of Colorado?
Phil Weiser: The most meaning I get in my life is through service. Serving as Colorado attorney general has been a true honor of my lifetime. I have had the chance to go to communities like the San Luis Valley, learn about the challenges of the opioid crisis and bring back close to $800 million to Colorado and set up what is a nationally recognized framework to address this crisis. That’s just one example of the way I’ve been able to make a contribution that starts with listening to the people of Colorado and working together on solutions. I want to do that as governor on a range of issues.
Unaffiliated: People are going to be looking for how you’d be similar and different from Jared Polis if elected governor. Do you have some kind of top lines in terms of similarities and differences?
Weiser: I’ve had the benefit the past six years of working very closely with Gov. Polis. He’s been able to make important strides on issues like housing affordability, full-day kindergarten and pre-K. And there’s more of that work to be done, so, obviously, I want to carry that through. I’m a different person. I’m going to focus in this campaign on who I am, what my record is and what my approach is going to be. We’re an innovative state. Jared Polis has been an innovative governor, and I plan to also be a bold, innovative governor.
Unaffiliated: How about one way you’re similar to him and one way you’re different?
Weiser: I am similar in terms of being committed to innovation and leading in a bold way. I’ll be different in that I won’t be trying any Yoda imitation in my State of the State.
Unaffiliated: How are you going to balance your ongoing responsibilities as attorney general with campaigning for governor, which is itself kind of a full-time job?
Weiser: I’m the people’s lawyer. That comes first. I’m going to do what’s right for Colorado as attorney general, and the political consequences will be what they will be. For me, there’s no conflict.
Unaffiliated: You and Ken Salazar are quite close. He helped you in your first bid for attorney general. If he gets in this race, would you stay in? Is there anyone who could jump into the race who would prompt you to exit?
Weiser: I’m in this race. I’m in it to hear from the people of Colorado. I’m in it to develop solutions. I’m in it to win. I expect that I will be friends with people who might be running, and that’s OK. I’ve been through a primary before. My view is primaries can help us be the best candidates we can be. I’m going to focus on what I want to offer. I’m going to operate in a way that will always be authentic to me and will come through this with my head high.
THE NARRATIVE
Campaign finance complaint against Sonya Jaquez Lewis advances
State elections officials have advanced a campaign finance complaint filed last month against state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis that was prompted by The Colorado Sun’s reporting.
The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said the complaint filed by a conservative activist against the Longmont Democrat “identified one or more potential violations of Colorado campaign finance law, and alleged sufficient facts, that if later found true, would support a factual and legal basis for the alleged violations.”
The office has given Jaquez Lewis until Monday to reply to the complaint by either curing the alleged violations or refuting them.
The complaint, filed by Cory Gaines, alleges that Jaquez Lewis used campaign contributions for personal purposes not reasonably related to her campaign, made a prohibited contribution to another candidate committee and failed to report contributions and expenditures.
Gaines said he learned about the possible violations through a Dec. 5 story in The Colorado Sun about Jaquez Lewis’ alleged mistreatment of her Capitol aides. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office wrote in a Dec. 19 letter that the story “could establish that (Jaquez Lewis) violated Colorado campaign finance law.”
The Sun reported in early December that two of Jaquez Lewis’ most recent Capitol staffers filed a workplace misconduct complaint in November claiming she used one of them to do chores like yard work and bartending at a party at her home, and paid the staffer with a check from her campaign’s bank account. She also allegedly used campaign money to pay the same aide for knocking on doors on behalf of an Adams County commissioner candidate who was running in the Democratic primary against the wife of one of Jaquez Lewis’ intraparty legislative rivals.
The payments, documented in the workplace misconduct complaint with copies of checks written by Jaquez Lewis from her “Sonya For Colorado” campaign bank account, weren’t reported at the time on TRACER, the state’s campaign finance website. Colorado law requires candidate committees to report and itemize expenditures of $20 or more, including the name and address of the payee and the purpose of the expense.
After being contacted by The Sun, Jaquez Lewis amended her campaign finance reports to disclose the payments.
Still, Colorado candidates are prohibited from using campaign funds for “personal purposes not reasonably related to the election of the candidate.” They also are barred from using their campaign accounts to donate to other campaigns, either directly or through in-kind contributions.
In a written statement Thursday, Jaquez Lewis denied any wrongdoing. She said the July 6 event her aide bartended at was a campaign fundraiser, not a personal event.
Jaquez Lewis’ campaign reported one donation July 6 — a $200 contribution from a Jamestown woman. But her leadership committee, Sonya for Dems, reported 11 donations on that day.
“I have substantially complied with Colorado campaign law,” she said in her statement Thursday. “I never used campaign funds for personal purposes. The allegations suggesting otherwise are wrong and all work performed was to set up a fundraising event at my home. I had no intent to mislead the electorate or any election officials. When I learned of the mistake from a reporter, I took corrective action.”
Jaquez Lewis has been barred from having state-paid legislative aides. She has also been stripped of her committee assignments. Finally, Jaquez Lewis faces an ethics complaint that could lead to a recommendation that she be expelled from the legislature.
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THE POLITICAL TICKER
ENDORSEMENTS
Jefferson County Treasurer Jerry DiTullio, a Democrat who is running in 2026 to be state treasurer, has picked up a handful of interesting endorsements from state lawmakers.
He boasts the backing of House Majority Leader Monica Duran, state Rep. Sheila Lieder and state Sen.-elect Lindsey Daugherty.
The early endorsements are interesting given how a handful of Democratic state lawmakers — state Rep. Brianna Titone and state Sen. Jeff Bridges — are also eyeing the job.
CONGRESS
Nick Bayer will serve as chief of staff for U.S. Rep.-elect Jeff Hurd, R-Grand Junction. He was a consultant for Hurd during the 2024 campaign.
Delanie Bomar, who served as a regional spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee during the 2024 campaign, will serve as deputy chief of staff and communications director for U.S. Rep.-elect Gabe Evans.
MEDIA
Elliott Wenzler is joining The Denver Post to cover Denver politics and city government.
She is a former Colorado Sun political reporter who most recently was covering state governments and politics for Swift Communications, which owns a group of newspapers in Colorado’s high country.
Robert Tann will be filling Wenzler’s spot at Swift. He comes to the Capitol from the Summit Daily.
READ MORE
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CONGRESS
Colorado Republicans in the U.S. House will back Mike Johnson for speaker
All four Colorado Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are poised to support House Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to keep his job.
The Louisiana Republican is up for reelection today in the chamber. U.S. Reps.-elect Gabe Evans, Jeff Hurd and Jeff Crank say they will back him. U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert appears poised to support him, too, although tepidly.
“We don’t have time to waste. We cannot put in jeopardy President Trump’s inauguration or the Electoral College results,” Boebert told Heidi Ganahl on 630KHOW talk radio Tuesday. “We cannot slow down any momentum that President Trump has.”
When we asked Boebert earlier this week if she planned to back Johnson’s reelection as speaker, her office declined to comment.
Evans, Hurd and Crank are, by comparison, enthusiastic supporters of Johnson.
“We were elected to deliver results and uniting behind @MikeJohnson for speaker helps us do just that without delay,” Evans, who benefited greatly from Johnson’s attention during the 2024 election, said on social media. “That’s why I will be voting for him for speaker on Jan. 3.”
Hurd and Crank also got help from Johnson in their 2024 bids.
“President @realDonaldTrump supports @MikeJohnson for speaker. Mike Johnson supports President Trump and his agenda,” Crank posted on X. “The American people elected us to lead, not squabble. I will be voting for Mike Johnson on Jan. 3. Let’s not blow this opportunity.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
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