(The Center Sqaure) - The Colorado gubernatorial primary winners have picked their running mates to serve alongside them in the state’s executive office.
Democratic candidate Phil Weiser picked a career county commissioner, and Republican candidate Victor Marx chose a retired Marine. The two candidates alongside their lieutenant governor picks will face each other on Nov. 3 during Colorado’s general election.
The Colorado attorney general and Democratic candidate for governor, Phil Weiser, named Jefferson County commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper as his running mate in late July. If the Democratic ticket wins the general election, Dahlkemper will take the oath of office to serve as lieutenant governor alongside Weiser.
Weiser said he picked her because he saw her as a “governing partner” that would have the capabilities to serve Colorado in the event something happened to him.
Dahlkemper was elected to serve a second four-year term as county commissioner in 2022. She previously worked for a nonprofit, the Colorado Education Initiative. There she served as the vice president of strategic engagement, supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, emotional developmental tools for students, and family and community partnerships.
Prior to Dahlkemper’s work at the nonprofit, she was an education reporter with CPR News. She received her master’s degree in journalism and said her prior work with CPR “laid the foundation” for her later career as county commissioner.
Dahlkemper is married to Mike Feely, a former Democratic state senator. Feely also worked for the Denver-based firm law and lobbying firm, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, which has given significant amounts of donations to various Colorado Democratic candidates – including Weiser.
One of the lieutenant governor's main duties is chairing the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs. Weiser’s campaign said its decision in choosing her signaled to local Native American governments that they will have a seat at the table.
Dahlkemper did not indicate whether she would take salaries both for lieutenant governor and any additional work in Weiser’s administration. This remains a current controversy with Colorado’s active lieutenant governor, Dianne Primavera, who receives a salary for both roles as Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’s chief deputy and her leadership in the Office of Saving People Money on Healthcare.
Weiser’s campaign site describes Dahlkemper’s experience as doing what she loves most: “helping people, solving complex problems, and giving back to her community.”
The Republican gubernatorial primary winner, Victor Marx, also announced his running mate in late July. Marx is a former Marine and nonprofit leader who has little to no prior experience in politics. His running mate, George Markert, is also a former Marine and relatively new to politics.
Markert moved to Colorado just three years ago, whereas Dahlkemper moved to Colorado in 1989. Markert's most recent venture into politics came when he ran for a U.S. Senate seat this year but failed to make it on the GOP primary ballot.
He said his focus as lieutenant governor will be in affordability, crime and public safety, and government transparency and accountability. He also noted that he looks forward to the opportunity to make a “positive change” in Colorado’s economic, political and social climate.
Marx’s campaign is currently under investigation over illegal campaign contributions, and some say this puts his “pro-government accountability” message at risk.
The current chair of the Colorado Democratic party, Shad Murib, criticized Marx’s pick, saying he “could not have made a more toxic pick for lieutenant governor.” He claims this is because Markert has “closely tied himself” with President Donald Trump and other “far-right figures …”
Meanwhile, Republican Dick Wadhams, the former press secretary for Colorado’s 40th governor, Bill Owens, labeled Dahlkemper as a mainstream left-of-center Democrat. He also indicated that he was “far more interested” in whom Weiser will choose to serve in his cabinet.
