Current Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is running for Colorado governor in the Nov. 3 election. He faces Republican Victor Marx and a number of independent candidates.
The Intermountain Jewish News recently spoke with Weiser about his vision for the state. The IJN interview with Marx was published Oct. 16.
The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
IJN: Colorado is facing major issues regarding drought, cost of living and affordability. What is in the governor’s purview to address them?
Phil Weiser:
My ability to lead on water is one of the most important issues that I’m going to face. If we can handle this the right way, we are going to have water management strategies rooted in innovation, collaboration, and shared problem-solving. If things were not to go the right way, we’ll be fighting with one another within Colorado, rural and urban.
We’ll be fighting with surrounding states. There are strategies rooted in innovation, collaboration, that include how we better conserve water. We can be putting solar panels on reservoirs, reducing evaporation loss by as much as 50%.
We can make sure that we’re supporting farmers who might shift to less water-intensive crops. We can be reusing water. We can xeriscape our lawns.
We can be smart about how we store water, and we need that type of commitment, viewing water as a precious resource and protecting all users in a smart way. I don’t want to see buy-and-dry schemes. We’ve seen this before, like in Crowley County, rural communities shifting water to urban areas.
We need to make sure that we are doing this together, thinking about what everyone’s needs are, and that’s how we can do it in a way that protects rural communities and urban communities, and protects this precious resource.
Speaking to the IJN, Republican candidate for AG Michael Allen highlighted the interstate Colorado River Water Compact. Have you created relationships with the affected states?
I’m very familiar with the law of the river and how this compact works. I’m very familiar with the different basin states. Part of what will help me come to an agreement to solve this is how much I know the law and know the players and know the issues.
If you come into water having never worked on this at all, you’re at a huge disadvantage. But I’m going to come at this having worked on this issue intensely over the last eight years, being able to lead on these issues and be able to have a commitment across my administration, approaching water with a level of seriousness and commanding issues that I believe it requires. That’s part of why the Grand Junction Sentinel and the Durango Herald both endorsed me, because they know I can be a leader on this issue and protect the Western Slope.
As AG, have you travelled the state the way you would need to as governor?
Yes. The Herald said about me “that as Attorney General, Phil Weiser has crisscrossed all 64 counties with uncommon regularity.
By contrast, Victor Marx hasn’t even shown up at the Club 20 debates in Grand Junction during this campaign, where water was the big issue we talked about. If you’re thinking about [that] as a test who to vote for, who has shown up across state, I’ve both shown up in this campaign, but more importantly, as Attorney General.
The DSA-influenced wing is gaining traction in the Democratic party. Some of their ideologies don’t make room for everybody that the Democratic Party has traditionally made room for.
I’m concerned both about the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, because we’re at a time of rising hate. In this campaign, I’ve been depicted as having horns and as a greedy Jewish money lender by Republicans who are practicing a form of politics that Tucker Carlson or Nick Fuentes may practice.
I don’t want to see Democrats practicing a form of politics that Hasan Piker might practice.
Having these rising influencers encourage hating scares me. What I can do is show up as someone who is authentic to who I am, about my faith, about my background, and is making clear that I believe in inclusion. I believe America is the land of E pluribus unum — out of many, we’re one.
We’re at a tough time right now, because these forces — and it’s not just the Jewish community, the LGBTQ community, immigrant communities are feeling this rising division, rising hate.
What I have been as Attorney General is committed to building solidarity, connection and making sure that we’re welcoming everybody.
Back to policy: How would you make sure that Coloradans get what they need from the federal government, such as funds for responding to a natural disaster?
Lik understanding the law of the river, I understand the Constitution. And I have, as Attorney General, been very effective protecting the money that we’re owed. Over $1.2 billion we have today because of my work.
As governor, I won’t be the lawyer [for the state], I’ll be the client. Which means if the federal government is breaking the law, trying to intimidate us, I’m not going to give in. I’m going to fight back.
And I’ve shown I know how to do that, and that we can win.
What can the governor do when events like the June 1, 2025 Boulder firebombing happen, while also ensuring First Amendment rights such as freedom of speech and worship?
I spoke about this at the annual Babi Yar commemoration.
For example, there is a group on the CU Boulder campus who made statements about the murderer who killed Karen Diamond that I find horrific. That group has a First Amendment right to say that. I don’t want to silence them. I believe in the First Amendment. But I, as governor, and the Regents can condemn those statements.
There’s a very famous First Amendment statement that the answer to speech that is harmful and hateful is not to silence speech. It’s more speech.
I don’t want to silence speakers, but I do want to lead with moral clarity.
Regardless of whether you are elected, you are a leader in the local Democratic Party. Has that provided you an opportunity to speak to people about the difficulties the Jewish community is facing?
It’s hard to hate up close. Whoever you are — Jewish, LGBTQ, an immigrant — for people who feel unsafe, for people who feel vulnerable and targeted, it’s really important that they are open about who they are and people get to know them.
For a lot of people who may not know many Jews, they know that the Attorney General is Jewish and the child of Holocaust survivors. And that can change how people view Jewish people.
If you’re afraid to be open about who you are, then it’s easier to become an other because people don’t think about [the identity] as a person. They think about it as an other.
Some high net worth individuals are leaving Colorado, or changing their primary residency. How does Colorado retain them — needed for the tax base?
Colorado needs to continue to be seen as a place where people are supported and enabled to build businesses here. If we’re losing population or losing businesses, that’s a threat to our future.
It’s really important for me as Governor to be listening, building relationships, understanding what’s going on, so we can make sure we’re supporting entrepreneurs, business leaders to be specific. I spent a lot of my career supporting businesses, including co-founding startup Colorado [which supports entrepreneurship] and supporting the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network.
So for me, this is a natural area for me to lead in. I want us to build great businesses here, and I’m going to put a lot of effort into that.
© IJN 2026
