Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser won the Democratic nomination for governor of the state Tuesday, beating out the U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in a race partly centered around which candidate was better at challenging President Donald Trump.
Weiser became attorney general in 2019, after serving in the Justice Department under the presidential administrations of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Weiser will be favored to win in November in the blue state.
The question over who has hit President Donald Trump harder may have been a key decider Tuesday, after both Weiser and Bennett struggled to show major differences in their political agendas.
Weiser attacked Bennet for voting for Trump nominees and Bennet lambasted Weiser for not joining state lawsuits against first Trump administration.
“The attorney general says he’s really tough but was completely missing in action in Donald Trump’s first term," Bennet said in a recent debate.
Weiser accused Bennet of a weak response to the president. But he also said Bennet should remain in the Senate instead of running for governor.
“You’ve made some mistakes; you didn’t stand up the way you should. I know you can shape up, use your seniority," Weiser told Bennet during a debate. “With all that experience, to throw it away, would be such a waste for Colorado.”
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With Colorado a blue state, Tuesday's Democratic winner will be seen as the favorite to defeat the winner of the GOP primary and take over from term-limited Gov. Jared Polis.
The three main candidates seeking the Republican nomination included state Rep. Scott Bottoms, a farther right state lawmaker. State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer was considered the more conventional Republican, while Victor Marx was something of a wild card candidate with an eclectic past.
