Democratic Party State Chair will step down after six years

BY FREDA MIKLIN
GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER

On December 7, Colorado Democratic Party chair Morgan Carroll, 51, announced she did not plan to run for re-election to her position after serving for six years. She will step down in April 2023.

Prior to assuming the role of state party chief, Carroll, who is a C.U.-trained lawyer, served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 2005 to 2009 and in the Colorado State Senate from 2009 to 2017. She was Senate President from 2013 to 2015. Carroll also ran for the U.S. Congress from CD6 in 2016, when she was defeated by then-incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman.

In announcing her decision to county party chairs, Carroll wrote that she was “proud of what we accomplished together,” and, “Those wins mean we have better leaders, pursuing better policies.”

In contrast to her GOP counterpart, Carroll leaves her position as party chief with the Democrats in firm control of virtually every lever of state government, including the offices of governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and treasurer, along with both chambers of the general assembly. Statewide offices will not be up for election again until 2026, when all four current officeholders will be term-limited, leaving their seats open for all comers. It is statistically unlikely that the Democrats will face a serious challenge for control of the legislature until 2026, either. 

Shad Murib, a Democratic strategist and Eagle County resident who is married to state Sen. Kerry Donovan (D), has formally announced his intention to run to replace Carroll, writing, “I’m running because our opportunity to lead the state comes with a sacred responsibility to do everything we can for Colorado to continue to be a shining beacon of freedom, opportunity, and progress in the West. Too many Coloradans struggle to afford the high cost of living across the state. Climate change is harming low-income communities in particular, and making drought worse, especially in rural areas. The Republican Party is waging war on women’s reproductive health and abortion rights. Working Coloradans need our support more than ever. The Democratic Party is the party of solutions to these enormous challenges, but when the rubber meets the road, local far right officials still obstruct our progress. The next frontier of Democratic politics is local… My commitment to the party is to build a world-class organization that… protects our incumbents and works with local parties to defeat far right candidates across the state who threaten our liberty and progress.”

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