Jena Griswold

{{Short description|American attorney and politician (born 1984)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Jena Griswold

| image = Jena Griswold.JPG

| caption = Griswold in 2018

| office = 39th Secretary of State of Colorado

| governor = Jared Polis

| term_start = January 8, 2019

| term_end =

| predecessor = Wayne Williams

| successor =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|10|2}}

| birth_place = Toledo, Ohio, U.S.

| spouse =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Democratic

| education = Whitman College (BA)
University of Pennsylvania (JD)

| website = {{url|https://www.sos.state.co.us|Government website}}

}}

Jena Marie Griswold (born October 2, 1984) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Colorado. A Democrat, she is the 39th Colorado Secretary of State, serving since January 8, 2019.{{cite web|url=https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/info_center/biography.html|title=Secretary Griswold's Biography|website=www.sos.state.co.us|access-date=January 18, 2019}}

Early life and career

Griswold was born in a Jewish family in Toledo, Ohio,{{cite web |title=Why are so many people riled up by Jena Griswold? |url=https://coloradosun.com/2020/10/19/elections-chief-jena-griswold-fighting-trump/ |access-date=October 25, 2022 |website=www.coloradosun.com|date=October 19, 2020 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/on-love-jena-griswold-and-mohamed-enab/2014/06/19/ca509d40-f57c-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html |title=On Love: Jena Griswold and Mohamed Enab |author=Ellen McCarthy |date=June 19, 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |publisher=WP Company LLC |access-date=March 5, 2024 }}{{cite web |url=https://m.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-711595 |title=Antisemitic incidents in US soar to highest level in two decades |author=Jeremy Sharon |date=April 27, 2023 |website=The Jerusalem Post |publisher=Jerusalem Post Group |access-date=March 5, 2024 }} and moved to Estes Park, Colorado, at the age of 10. She graduated from Estes Park High School in 2002. She graduated from Whitman College magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Spanish Literature in 2006. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School with a Juris Doctor in 2011.{{cite web|author=The Denver Post |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2018/10/10/colorado-secretary-of-state-candidate-questionnaire/ |title=Colorado Secretary of State race Q&A: Wayne Williams, Jena Griswold, Amanda Campbell and Blake Huber |date=October 10, 2018 |publisher=Denverpost.com |access-date=November 7, 2018}} In 2006, Griswold was awarded the Watson Foundation Fellowship,{{cite web|url=https://www.whitman.edu/newsroom/archive/2006/watson-winner-to-dance-across-four-continents |title=Watson Winner to Dance Across Four Continents | Whitman College |publisher=Whitman.edu |date=April 5, 2006 |access-date=March 21, 2019}} and in 2009, the Penn Law International Human Rights Fellowship.

Griswold moved to Washington, D.C. in 2011,{{cite news|last=Lubitz |first=Rachel |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/on-love-jena-griswold-and-mohamed-enab/2014/06/19/ca509d40-f57c-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html |title=On Love: Jena Griswold and Mohamed Enab |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 21, 2014 |access-date=November 7, 2018}} and worked for President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign as a voter protection attorney. In 2013, Governor John Hickenlooper appointed her to be his liaison to the federal government.{{cite web|last=Sherry |first=Allison |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2013/06/19/colorado-gov-john-hickenlooper-opens-office-in-washington/ |title=Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper opens office in Washington – The Denver Post |date=June 19, 2013 |publisher=Denverpost.com |access-date=November 7, 2018}}

Secretary of State of Colorado

In the 2018 general election, Griswold ran for Secretary of State of Colorado.{{cite web|last=Frank |first=John |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/12/jena-griswold-secretary-of-state-colorado/ |title=Jena Griswold launches campaign for Colorado secretary of state |publisher=Denverpost.com |date=July 12, 2017 |access-date=November 7, 2018}} She defeated the incumbent Republican Wayne Williams in the November 6 general election to become the first elected Democratic Secretary of State in Colorado since 1963{{cite web|url=http://www.cpr.org/news/story/secretary-of-state-jena-griswold-on-the-record-whats-to-be-found-on-the-moons-far-side|title=Secretary Of State Jena Griswold On The Record; What's To Be Found On The Moon's Far Side|last=Warner|first=Ryan|website=Colorado Public Radio|date=January 9, 2019 |language=en|access-date=January 18, 2019}} and the first woman from the Democratic Party to ever hold the office.{{cite web|url=https://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/11/07/jena-griswold-history-secretary-state/|title='Breaking Barriers': Jena Griswold Makes History In Secretary Of State's Race|date=November 7, 2018|language=en|access-date=January 18, 2019}}

Griswold has prioritized campaign finance reform and increasing voter registration.{{cite web|url=https://denver.cbslocal.com/2019/01/17/jena-griswold-campaign-finance/ |title=CO's New Secretary of State Pushes For Change to Campaign Finance Laws – CBS Denver |publisher=Denver.cbslocal.com |date=January 17, 2019 |access-date=March 21, 2019}} She filed suit to prevent Tina Peters from being able to oversee elections in Mesa County in 2021 and 2022 due to her attempt to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-30 |title=Colorado secretary of state sues to stop Mesa County clerk from overseeing elections |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2021/08/30/tina-peters-mesa-county-jena-griswold/ |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=The Denver Post |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Birkeland |first=Bente |title=State, Mesa Clerk going to court over whether she can oversee 2022 election |url=https://www.cpr.org/2022/01/18/state-mesa-clerk-going-to-court-over-whether-she-can-oversee-2022-election/ |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=Colorado Public Radio |date=January 18, 2022 |language=en}}

Griswold won a second term in the 2022 election, defeating Republican Pam Anderson, a former county clerk and recorder from Jefferson County, with 55 percent of the vote.{{Cite web |last=Birkeland |first=Bente |title=Democrat Jena Griswold wins second term as Colorado's top election official |url=https://www.cpr.org/2022/11/08/colorado-secretary-of-state-race-results-jena-griswold-pam-anderson-2022-election/ |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=Colorado Public Radio |date=November 8, 2022 |language=en}}

On September 6, 2023, six voters filed a lawsuit in Colorado state district court seeking to prevent Trump from appearing on the state's Republican presidential primary due to his alleged role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, naming Griswold as the respondent in her official capacity as Colorado Secretary of State.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/06/us/politics/trump-colorado-lawsuit-14-amendment.html|title=Colorado Lawsuit Seeks to Keep Trump Off Ballots Under 14th Amendment |date=September 6, 2023 |last=Astor |first=Maggie |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 19, 2023 |archive-date=December 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214115938/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/06/us/politics/trump-colorado-lawsuit-14-amendment.html |url-status=live }} Judge Sarah B. Wallace ruled that Griswold must keep Trump on the ballot but stated that Trump engaged in insurrection by standard of preponderance of the evidence,{{Sfn|Colorado Supreme Court|2023|p=60}} the first time a judge has explicitly stated Trump incited the January 6 Capitol attack,{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/20/judge-says-trump-incited-insurrection-other-judges-have-come-close/ |title=A judge says Trump incited insurrection. Other judges have come close. |date=November 20, 2023|last=Blake |first=Aaron |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 19, 2023 |archive-date=November 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121215032/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/20/judge-says-trump-incited-insurrection-other-judges-have-come-close/ |url-status=live }} The plaintiffs appealed the ruling{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-appeal-colorado-7436a07c9d0259bba9a13136c541cf2c |title=Colorado Supreme Court will hear appeal of ruling that Trump can stay on ballot despite insurrection |date=November 21, 2023 |last=Riccardi |first=Nicholas|publisher=Associated Press |access-date=December 19, 2023 |archive-date=November 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124020230/https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-appeal-colorado-7436a07c9d0259bba9a13136c541cf2c |url-status=live }} and the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in a 4–3 per curiam decision{{Sfn|Colorado Supreme Court|2023|p=6}} that Trump is disqualified from the primary ballot, reversing the district court's ruling.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/trump-colorado-ballot-14th-amendment.html |title=Trump Is Disqualified From the 2024 Ballot, Colorado Supreme Court Rules |date=December 19, 2023 |last=Astor|first=Maggie|work=The New York Times |access-date=December 19, 2023 |archive-date=December 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219232307/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/trump-colorado-ballot-14th-amendment.html |url-status=live }} The Supreme Court of the United States later ruled that individual states cannot prevent a candidate from appearing on a presidential ballot.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/04/us/trump-supreme-court-colorado-ballot|title=Supreme Court Rules Trump Stays on Colorado Ballot|first=Adam|last=Liptak|date=March 4, 2024|accessdate=March 4, 2024|work=The New York Times|archive-date=March 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304151649/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/04/us/trump-supreme-court-colorado-ballot|url-status=live}}

On April 4, 2024, a resolution proposed by Republicans to impeach Griswold was introduced to the Colorado House of Representatives.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-04 |title=Impeachment resolution against Colorado's Secretary of State introduced in state House |url=https://www.cpr.org/2024/04/04/impeachment-resolution-against-colorados-secretary-of-state-jena-griswold-introduced/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=Colorado Public Radio |language=en}} The impeachment articles cited Griswold's comments about Donald Trump leading up to the Supreme Court hearing of Trump v. Anderson, and the incorrect claim that Trump was not on the ballot for the Colorado presidential primary. On April 9, 2024, the impeachment articles failed in the House Judicial Committee.{{Cite web |last=Birkeland · |first=Bente |date=2024-04-09 |title=Republican attempt to impeach Colorado's Secretary of State fails in state House |url=https://www.cpr.org/2024/04/09/republican-attempt-to-impeach-colorados-secretary-of-state-fails-in-state-house/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Colorado Public Radio |language=en}}

Other political ventures

In 2019, it was reported that Griswold was considering a bid for United States Senate in the 2020 election against Republican incumbent Cory Gardner.{{Cite web |last=Luning |first=Ernest |date=July 16, 2019 |title=Democrat Jena Griswold exploring U.S. Senate bid against Cory Gardner |url=https://gazette.com/news/democrat-jena-griswold-exploring-u-s-senate-bid-against-cory-gardner/article_edcc8996-a828-11e9-943f-079e7df9a5b8.html |access-date=2023-01-25 |website=Colorado Springs Gazette |language=en}} She launched an exploratory committee for the position in July 2019. Griswold ultimately declined to run.{{Cite web |last=Wingerter |first=Justin |date=2019-08-09 |title=Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is not running for U.S. Senate |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2019/08/09/jena-griswold-senate-colorado-gardner-2020/ |access-date=2023-01-25 |website=The Denver Post |language=en-US}}

Since 2019, Jena Griswold has chaired the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State.{{Cite web |last=Luning |first=ERNEST |date=2023-02-02 |title=Jena Griswold reelected to head Democratic secretaries of state group |url=https://www.coloradopolitics.com/elections/jena-griswold-reelected-to-head-democratic-secretaries-of-state-group/article_bb4b91a0-a325-11ed-9a1c-333b450976d4.html#google_vignette |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927172057/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/elections/jena-griswold-reelected-to-head-democratic-secretaries-of-state-group/article_bb4b91a0-a325-11ed-9a1c-333b450976d4.html |archive-date=27 September 2024 |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=Colorado Politics |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Leadership |url=https://demsofstate.org/leadership/ |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=Democratic Association of Secretaries of State {{!}} DASS |language=en-US}} The group notably helped bolster Democratic Secretary of State candidates in battleground states in 2022 in a successful attempt to defeat Republicans that were election deniers.{{Cite web |last=Paz |first=Christian |date=2022-11-19 |title=Democrats' quietly effective strategy for defeating election deniers |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23465033/democrats-secretary-of-state-strategy-election-deniers |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=Vox |language=en-US}}

2026 Colorado Attorney General campaign

Griswold was term-limited from running for re-election as secretary of state in 2026. On April 7, 2025, she announced that she would run for Colorado Attorney General in 2026, seeking to succeed Phil Weiser, who is also term-limited.{{cite news |last1=Paul |first1=Jesse |title=Jena Griswold is running to be Colorado's next attorney general |url=https://coloradosun.com/2025/04/07/jena-griswold-colorado-attorney-general/ |access-date=April 7, 2025 |work=The Colorado Sun |date=April 7, 2025}}

Personal life

Griswold is Jewish.{{Cite web|last=Bianchi|first=Chris|date=2018-11-30|title=Led by a Desire to Help the World, Jewish Politicians Take Charge in Colorado|url=https://www.westword.com/news/after-2018-midterms-prominent-democratic-jewish-politicians-now-control-colorado-11031184|access-date=2021-07-18|website=Westword}} In May 2024, she married her fiancé, Mario Cañedo.{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/jenagriswold/p/C7FkhTYLidj/?img_index=1 |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=www.instagram.com}} Griswold and Cañedo have one son, who was born in August 2024.{{Cite web |last=Klamann |first=Seth |date=2024-09-13 |title=Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold takes maternity leave, says election preparations on track |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2024/09/13/colorado-jena-griswold-maternity-leave-elections/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913210901/https://www.denverpost.com/2024/09/13/colorado-jena-griswold-maternity-leave-elections/ |archive-date=2024-09-13 |access-date=2024-09-20 |website=The Denver Post |language=en-US}} Griswold lives in Louisville, Colorado.

Electoral history

class="wikitable"

! colspan="4" |Colorado Secretary of State Election, 2018{{cite web|url=https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CO/91808/Web02-state.222648/#/s/secretary%20of%20state|title=Election Night Reporting|website=results.enr.clarityelections.com|access-date=January 18, 2019}}

Party

|Candidate

|Votes

Democratic

|Jena Griswold

|1,313,716

|52.70

Republican

|Wayne Williams

|1,113,927

|44.69

Constitution

|Amanda Campbell

|51,734

|2.08

Approval Voting

|Blake Huber

|13,258

|0.53

class="wikitable"

! colspan="4" |Colorado Secretary of State Election, 2022

Party

|Candidate

|Votes

Democratic

|Jena Griswold

|1,369,040

|55.1

Republican

|Pam Anderson

|1,045,582

|42.1

Libertarian

|Bennett Rutledge

|36,485

|1.4

American Constitution

|Amanda Campbell

|17,602

|0.71

Unity

|Gary Swing

|11,458

|0.46

Approval Voting

|Jan Kok

|4,591

|0.18

References

Sources

{{anchor|CITEREFColorado_Supreme_Court2023}}[https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/Supreme_Court/Opinions/2023/23SA300.pdf Anderson v. Griswold] (No. 23SA300) (Colo. Dec. 19, 2023).