Over 30 years ago, I came to Colorado for a job interview—and was hooked. Here in Colorado, we root for each other to succeed, we treasure our outdoors, and we bring an independent, innovative spirit to how we live our lives.

Today, I’m proud to announce my candidacy for Governor of Colorado. As your Attorney General, I’ve committed from day one to show up in every county, to listen to you, and to get results. As Governor, I will bring that same commitment to make life better for all Coloradans. 

Together, we have accomplished so much by: 

• Protecting your pocketbooks, stopping a mega grocery store merger that would drive up grocery prices, taking on corporate landlords that illegally colluded to raise rents, and getting back money for tenants that was charged as deceptive “junk fees.”
• Recovering your money, bringing back over $400 million for consumers harmed by fraud or treated unfairly.
• Making us all safer, working alongside law enforcement and community leaders to stand up enhanced recruiting, improving training for our police and sheriffs, pushing for and defending gun safety measures, and prosecuting cartels and crime rings.
• Protecting our land, air, and water, taking on polluters, challenging those who harm our water, and defending clean air protections.
• Standing up for our rural neighbors, farmers, and ranching families, preventing speculators from piping water out of rural Colorado.
• Combating the opioid crisis, taking on irresponsible drug companies that created and supercharged this crisis and making them pay almost $800 million to Colorado that will go to treatment and recovery programs.

And much more.

As your Attorney General, I have taken on big fights for the people of Colorado. And there is more work to do to make Colorado a more affordable, safer place to live, to defend our freedoms, and to protect our land, air, and water.

That’s why, today, I’m announcing my campaign to be your next Governor.

I’m running for Governor because I will be a leader for all of Colorado, taking on big fights for the people of Colorado, and providing a vision for a better future.

I’ve dedicated my life to service. Why? Because I owe my life to others who served—starting with men and women in uniform, like the American Army soldiers in World War II who liberated my mom and grandmother from a Nazi concentration camp, and those who welcomed my family as refugees. 

In our family, just one generation is the difference between that concentration camp and my opportunity as a first-generation American to work at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for President Barack Obama in the White House, and as your Attorney General. My story, like so many others’, is a uniquely American one. 

And that’s why, at my core, I am hopeful and optimistic. It’s why I believe so strongly in our American ideals. And it’s why I am driven to make sure that all who work hard have the opportunity to get ahead.

We must make it more affordable for Coloradans to own or rent a home, protect our freedoms, keep our communities safe, protect our land, air, and water, and create opportunities for our next generation and their future. That last commitment means supporting youth mental health, giving young people the chance to learn the skills they need to get good paying jobs with or without a college degree, and providing an opportunity to take part in a voluntary service program to give back to our state and become part of something bigger than themselves.

These ideas can make our state an even better place to live. And I start this campaign knowing that I will learn from you, the people of Colorado. I will continue listening to Coloradans in every corner of our state, having real conversations about what you’re facing, and what you need from our state government to make it work better for you. If you are interested in joining me for these conversations, please sign up here.

Today, we start on this path together as I formally file to run for Governor. Later this year, we will host a public campaign launch where I will take what I’ve heard from you and share our vision for Colorado.

As we begin this initial listening phase of our campaign, I would be honored to have your support. Here’s one way you can make a real difference right now.

I’m grateful for you, and for the leaders on our team, for joining me. We have important work to do. In Colorado, we take on that work knowing that there’s no challenge we cannot solve if we do it together. Let’s get to work.

Phil