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# The Law Before Politics
- URL: https://www.thecoloradoconservative.com/issue-2-michael-allen/
- Published: 2026-10-20T03:05:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-20T03:26:05.000Z
- Description: Michael Allen’s background in prosecution and public service frames a discussion of Colorado’s attorney general responsibilities.
- Author: Eric Phelan
- Tags: Candidate Profiles, October 2026, Issue 2, #Import 2026-10-19 20:11

From the October 2026 issue of The Colorado Conservative.

Michael Allen and the Responsibility to Protect Colorado

A Navy veteran, longtime prosecutor, and elected district attorney asks voters to judge the state’s next attorney general by experience, constitutional duty, and measurable results.

## The Office That Must Serve Everyone

The attorney general’s office is not a place for slogans alone. Its decisions can affect whether a victim receives justice, whether a consumer recovers money lost to fraud, whether Colorado protects its water rights, and whether state government acts within the law.

That is the setting for Colorado’s 2026 attorney general contest between Republican Michael Allen and Democrat Jena Griswold. Both seek to succeed term-limited Attorney General Phil Weiser. Their professional backgrounds and priorities differ significantly.

Allen approaches the race as a career prosecutor. He argues that the state’s chief legal officer should concentrate on public safety, accountability, consumer protection, and the legal interests of Coloradans regardless of who controls Washington. Griswold, the incumbent secretary of state, emphasizes defending civil rights, reproductive freedom, and Colorado against federal actions she believes are unlawful.

Neither description by itself resolves the election. The more useful question is what experience each candidate would bring to the Department of Law—and how that experience would shape the decisions the office must make.

[![Justice and public-office illustration from the Michael Allen article](https://www.thecoloradoconservative.com/content/files/images/tcc-issue-02/allen-justice-illustration.jpeg)](https://www.thecoloradoconservative.com/content/files/images/tcc-issue-02/allen-justice-illustration.jpeg)

## A Career in Service and Prosecution

Allen grew up in Colorado’s northern and western Denver suburbs and graduated from Arvada West High School. After high school he served in the United States Navy as an aviation electronics technician, receiving an honorable discharge in 1998\. He later earned a degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a law degree from the University of Kansas.

His legal career included prosecutorial positions in Kansas and Colorado. He worked in the Kansas attorney general’s office and then in Colorado’s Fourth Judicial District, where he spent years prosecuting criminal cases before voters elected him district attorney in 2020\. He took office in 2021 and was reelected in 2024.

The Fourth Judicial District encompasses El Paso and Teller counties. Running a large prosecutor’s office requires supervising attorneys and investigators, allocating limited resources, working with law enforcement, managing victims’ needs, and making difficult charging decisions.

Prosecutorial experience is relevant to the attorney general’s criminal-justice work, but the statewide office also handles civil litigation, consumer protection, regulatory matters, and legal advice to state agencies. Allen would need to demonstrate that he can lead specialists across all of those areas—not merely replicate a district attorney’s office at larger scale.

## Public Safety, Victims, and Accountability

Allen has made public safety the centerpiece of his campaign. He argues that violent crime, organized theft, fentanyl trafficking, and repeat offending have human consequences and also impose economic costs through insurance, security expenses, and lost business activity.

His experience includes involvement in the prosecution of the Club Q mass shooting case. That work illustrates the gravity of the cases handled by his office, although individual prosecutions depend on teams of attorneys, investigators, victim advocates, and other professionals.

Allen has also discussed diversion and treatment, particularly through veterans court, as alternatives to incarceration in appropriate cases. This is a more nuanced position than the simple idea that every offender should be imprisoned. Accountability can include treatment, restitution, supervision, and consequences proportionate to the offense.

Claims that particular state policies caused changes in crime rates require careful evidence. Crime trends vary by offense, locality, and year, and correlation alone does not establish causation. Voters should ask

[![Michael Allen portrait from the magazine](https://www.thecoloradoconservative.com/content/files/images/tcc-issue-02/michael-allen-portrait.jpeg)](https://www.thecoloradoconservative.com/content/files/images/tcc-issue-02/michael-allen-portrait.jpeg)

which reforms Allen would pursue, what legal authority he would have, and how success would be measured.

## The Cost of Crime and the Cost of Living

Colorado families experience affordability through housing, groceries, transportation, utilities, and insurance. Allen connects part of that burden to crime: stolen goods, property damage, fraud, and heightened security needs all impose costs that may be borne by residents and businesses.

This argument is plausible, but it is not a complete explanation of inflation or Colorado’s high housing costs. Interest rates, supply constraints, labor markets, national prices, and local regulations also matter. An attorney general can prosecute certain crimes and bring consumer-protection actions; the office cannot independently set mortgage rates or rewrite the state budget.

Allen has identified scams targeting vulnerable residents and anticompetitive behavior as priorities. Consumer protection and antitrust enforcement are among the office’s direct tools, making these proposals particularly relevant to the position he seeks.

A useful accountability measure would be not simply the number of cases filed but whether enforcement returns money to harmed consumers, deters misconduct, and withstands judicial review.

## Colorado’s Water Rights Are a Legal Responsibility

Water is not only an environmental question in Colorado. It is a legal and economic resource central to agriculture, cities, industry, and the future of communities throughout the state.

Allen has identified the Colorado River Compact and interstate water disputes as priorities for the attorney general. The state needs legal representation that understands water rights, federal law, and the long-term effects of agreements among states.

He has emphasized certainty for farmers, ranchers, municipalities, and businesses that depend on reliable water supplies. Protecting those interests requires specialized water-law expertise and cooperation with state water officials, not merely an aggressive courtroom posture.

The attorney general can represent Colorado in litigation and negotiations, but water shortages cannot be solved by lawsuits alone. Conservation, storage, infrastructure, climate conditions, and interstate agreements all influence outcomes.

[![Water-policy illustration from the magazine](https://www.thecoloradoconservative.com/content/files/images/tcc-issue-02/allen-water-illustration.jpeg)](https://www.thecoloradoconservative.com/content/files/images/tcc-issue-02/allen-water-illustration.jpeg)

## The Constitution, Even When Politics Disagree

One of Allen’s more consequential statements concerns the duty to defend laws with which he personally disagrees. Allen has said that, although he opposes abortion personally, he would defend the abortion protections written into Colorado’s Constitution.

He has likewise said he would challenge unlawful conduct by a Republican presidential administration when Colorado’s rights are at stake. In a recent interview, he described concerns over federal grant funding withheld for political reasons and said the governing law and evidence — not party affiliation — should determine the state’s response.

These positions deserve examination because the attorney general’s oath is not an oath to a party platform. The office must represent the legal interests of Colorado under both the state and federal constitutions.

That does not mean an attorney general has no discretion. Legal judgments about which cases to bring, defend, settle, or appeal can be consequential. The important standard is whether those decisions are supported by law, evidence, and a defensible understanding of the public interest.

## What Would Allen Change After Phil Weiser?

Attorney General Phil Weiser’s tenure provides the clearest benchmark for judging what Michael Allen proposes to do differently. Weiser has used the office to pursue consumer-protection and antitrust litigation, opioid-related settlements, water-rights advocacy, and a large number of legal challenges to federal policies. His supporters see those lawsuits as a necessary defense of Colorado’s interests and constitutional boundaries. Critics question whether some cases reflect partisan priorities and whether the office has devoted sufficient attention to problems closer to home.

Allen argues that the attorney general should decide whether to bring or maintain a case by examining the facts, governing law, and likely benefit to Coloradans—not by beginning with an opinion about the president or political party involved. In an October 15 interview, he declined to identify specific Weiser cases he would abandon without first examining their records. He also agreed with Weiser’s premise that withholding federal funds from states for political reasons can be unlawful. Those qualifications matter: Allen is proposing a different decision-making emphasis, not an automatic refusal to sue a Republican administration.

[![Constitution-themed illustration from the magazine](https://www.thecoloradoconservative.com/content/files/images/tcc-issue-02/allen-constitution-illustration.jpeg)](https://www.thecoloradoconservative.com/content/files/images/tcc-issue-02/allen-constitution-illustration.jpeg)

## A More Prosecutorial Emphasis

Allen would bring a career spent investigating and prosecuting criminal cases to an office with broad civil and criminal authority. As district attorney for El Paso and Teller counties, he has overseen cases involving violent crime, fentanyl trafficking, vehicle theft, domestic violence, and the Club Q mass shooting. His campaign cites an organized crime unit, a dedicated motor-vehicle-theft effort, and public-facing performance dashboards. Those initiatives offer a record voters can investigate, although claims about reductions in crime should be checked against independent data and broader trends.

The Attorney General does not replace local district attorneys. The office also serves as counsel to state agencies, enforces consumer and antitrust laws, handles significant civil litigation, and protects state legal interests. Allen’s trial experience could inform decisions about evidence and litigation strategy, but running the Department of Law also requires administrative judgment, civil-law expertise, and effective delegation.

## Where Continuity May Be Appropriate

A change in leadership need not mean rejecting every initiative of the previous administration. Allen has specifically supported Weiser’s expansion of legal resources devoted to Colorado water disputes. He has also discussed antitrust enforcement, wage theft, scams involving artificial intelligence, and protection of vulnerable consumers. The useful test is not whether an initiative originated with Weiser, but whether it has a sound legal basis and produces results for Colorado.

The contrast is therefore less absolute than a partisan slogan might suggest. Weiser emphasizes the value of litigation against federal actions he believes unlawful; Allen emphasizes reviewing each action on its legal merits and redirecting more attention toward public safety and everyday economic harm. The question for voters is which approach would best fulfill the office’s many responsibilities.

## Michael Allen and Jena Griswold: Different Experience, Different Priorities

Griswold has served as Colorado secretary of state since 2019\. Her office has administered statewide election-related functions, business registrations, and other responsibilities. She argues that the next attorney general must vigorously protect voting rights, reproductive rights, and the state against federal overreach.

Allen has spent more than two decades in prosecution and presents his criminal-justice experience as the central qualification for the office. He criticizes what he sees as an excessive focus on national political disputes at the expense of Colorado’s everyday safety and affordability concerns.

The contrast is meaningful but should not be exaggerated. An attorney general has legitimate duties in both public safety and civil litigation involving federal actions. A lawsuit against Washington is not automatically partisan, just as a criminal prosecution is not automatically effective. Each must be assessed on its legal merits and results.

The candidates also differ in their records. Griswold has experience managing a statewide administrative office, while Allen has experience making prosecutorial decisions and supervising a major district attorney’s operation. Neither background covers every responsibility of the Department of Law.

Griswold’s office faced scrutiny after confidential voter information was temporarily exposed following a software change in 2026.

Her office acknowledged the problem and reported corrective action. Allen criticized the incident and called for independent investigation. The episode is relevant to administrative accountability and data security, but conclusions about legal responsibility require evidence beyond campaign statements.

Voters should examine each candidate’s proposed priorities, managerial record, and willingness to apply consistent legal standards even when those standards are politically inconvenient.

## Two Lawyers, Different Qualifications for Colorado’s Top Legal Office

Both Michael Allen and Jena Griswold are attorneys. It would be inaccurate to suggest that only Allen has a legal education or that Griswold has no relevant experience. The meaningful difference is the kind of legal and executive work each has performed.

## Allen: Courtroom Experience and Criminal Justice Administration

Allen studied at the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Kansas School of Law. He previously served in the U.S. Navy and worked as a prosecutor, including as a Kansas assistant attorney general. He was elected district attorney of Colorado’s Fourth Judicial District in 2020 and reelected in 2024\. His prosecutorial work involves evaluating evidence, applying criminal statutes, managing attorneys, dealing with victims, and making charging and plea decisions that can profoundly affect people’s lives.

His office’s prosecution of the Club Q shooter illustrates the gravity of those responsibilities. His work with veterans treatment court also complicates any simplistic characterization of his approach as punishment alone: Allen has described treatment, accountability, and rehabilitation as appropriate in some cases. This is direct experience with the criminal justice system, although the state attorney general’s portfolio is much broader than prosecution.

## Griswold: Civil Legal Work and Statewide Executive Management

Griswold practiced law in international anti-corruption matters and worked in the Colorado governor’s Washington, D.C., office before winning election as secretary of state in 2018\. She has led a statewide executive department responsible for elections, business registrations, and other statutory functions.

She argues that experience managing an agency and defending election administration prepares her to oversee the Department of Law, which employs hundreds of people.

Her tenure includes expanded ballot drop-box access and ballot-tracking measures. It has also drawn scrutiny following election-system security incidents, including the public exposure of voting-system passwords and a separate incident involving confidential voter information. A fair evaluation should examine

the circumstances, corrective actions, and independent findings rather than assume that either controversy proves intent or incompetence.

## What the Office Actually Requires

The attorney general is Colorado’s chief legal officer, not simply its chief prosecutor. The department advises the governor and agencies, defends state laws, brings consumer-protection cases, represents Colorado in multistate litigation, and works on environmental and water matters. An effective attorney general needs legal judgment, leadership of a large professional staff, and the ability to separate statutory obligations from personal preference.

Allen offers deeper direct prosecution and trial-related experience. Griswold offers longer experience leading a statewide executive office and legal work outside criminal prosecution. Neither résumé alone settles who would be more effective. Voters should ask how each would staff civil divisions, prioritize cases, manage conflicts with other elected officials, and report outcomes to the public.

## The Disagreement Over Federal Lawsuits

Griswold has said she would continue the litigation strategy pursued by Weiser, including challenges to federal actions she considers unlawful. She argues that those cases protect voting rights, federal funding, and Colorado residents. Allen has criticized what he sees as an excessive political focus but says he would sue any administration when the law and evidence support doing so. That is a genuine difference in emphasis, not a choice between enforcing the law and ignoring it.

Both candidates should be pressed for concrete standards: when is a lawsuit warranted, what public interest does it protect, what does it cost, and how should the office explain its decisions when the outcome is unfavorable? Colorado’s top lawyer should be answerable to those questions regardless of party.

## Can He Lead the Department of Law?

The Colorado attorney general oversees lawyers working on criminal matters, civil rights, consumer protection, environmental issues, state-agency representation, and other specialized areas. The role requires more than courtroom experience; it requires executive judgment and the ability to recruit capable professionals.

Allen’s management of a large district attorney’s office is a substantial qualification. His experience with victims, investigators, complex cases, and legal ethics provides a foundation for the role.

His greatest challenge would be demonstrating that his campaign priorities can be carried out within the authority and resources of the office. He would need to balance enforcement with prevention, civil litigation with criminal priorities, and independence with accountability to the public.

The same standard applies to Griswold. Both candidates should be asked how they would evaluate staff performance, safeguard confidential information, prioritize cases, and report outcomes in a way Coloradans can understand.

## The Standard Colorado Should Expect

The next attorney general will inherit serious responsibilities in a politically divided state. Coloradans do not all agree about crime, abortion, immigration, federal power, or the appropriate reach of government. Yet every resident is entitled to the protection of the law.

Allen’s candidacy offers a distinct proposition: that a career prosecutor and Navy veteran can bring a public-safety focus, managerial experience, and legal independence to Colorado’s top legal office. Griswold offers a contrasting record of statewide administration and an emphasis on civil rights and federal litigation.

Whether either approach produces better results should be judged by the quality of legal work, the protection of rights, the treatment of victims and consumers, and the integrity with which the office serves people of every political persuasion.

Colorado’s attorney general must be willing to defend the state when it is right, challenge misconduct when the evidence demands it, and explain difficult decisions without hiding behind party labels. That is the responsibility voters are choosing to entrust to one of these candidates.

## Editorial Disclosure

This independent candidate profile is prepared for The Colorado Conservative and does not constitute a formal endorsement. No personal encounter with Michael Allen is asserted in this draft. Candidate statements are identified as such, and reported facts are distinguished from editorial analysis. No payment or campaign authorization is asserted.

Research note: This profile does not claim that the publisher has met Michael Allen. Comparisons of candidate qualifications and proposed priorities rely on public records, campaign statements, and reported interviews; claims made by campaigns are identified as such.

## Sources for Fact-Checking

Colorado Secretary of State, 2026 candidate filing: [https://tracer.sos.colorado.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/CandidateDetail.aspx?SeqID=66520](https://tracer.sos.colorado.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/CandidateDetail.aspx?SeqID=66520&ref=thecoloradoconservative.com)

Michael Allen campaign: [https://michaelallenforcolorado.com/](https://michaelallenforcolorado.com/?ref=thecoloradoconservative.com)

Colorado Public Radio, October 15, 2026 interview: [https://www.cpr.org/2026/10/15/republican-attorney-general-candidate-michael-allen/](https://www.cpr.org/2026/10/15/republican-attorney-general-candidate-michael-allen/?ref=thecoloradoconservative.com)

Colorado Public Radio, September 25, 2026 voter guide: [https://www.cpr.org/2026/09/25/vg-2026-michael-allen-voter-guide/](https://www.cpr.org/2026/09/25/vg-2026-michael-allen-voter-guide/?ref=thecoloradoconservative.com)

Colorado Politics, September 23, 2026 profile: [https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/09/23/michael-allen-colorado-attorney-general-focus/](https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/09/23/michael-allen-colorado-attorney-general-focus/?ref=thecoloradoconservative.com)

Colorado Politics, August 31, 2026 confidential voter incident: [https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/08/31/da-calls-out-election-opponent-over-confidential-voter-breach/](https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/08/31/da-calls-out-election-opponent-over-confidential-voter-breach/?ref=thecoloradoconservative.com)

Colorado Public Radio, October 15, 2026: interviews with Michael Allen and Jena Griswold.

Colorado Politics, September 23, 2026: Michael Allen on Colorado-first legal priorities, water rights, and consumer protection.

Colorado Newsline, October 15, 2026: Allen–Griswold attorney general debate and qualifications.

Colorado Public Radio, September 24–25, 2026: attorney general voter guide and candidate profiles.

Colorado Newsline 2026 candidate profiles; Michael Allen campaign biography (claims require independent verification).

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