In today’s tribal, all-or-nothing context, it is hard to believe that Colorado voters were once known for their ticket-splitting.

In 1978, Democrat Dick Lamm, then a leading liberal and environmental champion, and Republican Bill Armstrong, a fiscal hawk and evangelical hero, both won their races for governor and U.S. Senate by nearly identical 60-40 margins.

This occurred on the same ballot in the same year with the same electorate. A huge share of those voters disregarded party labels to elect two very different but both strong and compelling individuals.

In numerous elections in the decades that followed, Coloradans chose Democratic governors while putting Republicans in charge of lesser state offices and the Legislature. Almost invariably, both parties won something and neither party controlled everything.

These days, such voting behavior seems like a quaint relic from a bygone era.

As the country has increasingly sorted into Team Red and Team Blue, voters are more and more casting ballots along strict party lines. The days of picking some from this column and some from that have waned.

In Colorado, the preference for the blue squad has grown pronounced and Democrats now hold all major statewide offices in addition to controlling both houses of the Legislature.

So if you are a Colorado Democrat, what’s not to like? It is all milk and honey during boon political times.

Well, perhaps not so fast. Let me suggest that even thoughtful, mindful, not blatantly partisan members of the party in power benefit from having two vital political entities. Whether we are talking about Democrats in California or Chicago or Denver, or Republicans in Texas or Tallahassee or Colorado Springs, complete one-party domination seldom produces the best in governance.

Which brings us to the secretary of State’s office here in Colorado and the opportunity this election year not just for Republicans to get slightly back in the game, but for moderate, far-sighted Democrats to take a small step in revitalizing a healthier, competitive two-party system.

If Republicans don’t blow it (which is rarely a bet you want to make), there is the potential for this to be a contest between two women with very different approaches to what should be the least political office around.

Democratic incumbent Jena Griswold’s ambition is raw and consuming. There is no doubt that she sees her position as a springboard to higher office. Her press releases are non-stop. She has a nose for divisive, polarizing issues and eagerly seizes upon them.

Much of that would be quite unremarkable, even par for the course, for holders of other offices. But Colorado’s secretary of State has traditionally been a far less political, more ministerial, administrative and even-handed post.

With the exception of Republican Scott Gessler a decade back, those seeking political stardom have traditionally shied away from the secretary of State’s office. Appropriately so.

Put simply, Jena Griswold is an intensely political secretary of State in an overly politicized time. Even when she makes the right call, her motives are suspect and her credibility is weak.

Republicans will have a chance to nominate Griswold’s polar opposite in former Jefferson County Clerk Pam Anderson. Her eight years in that office were marked by calm competence and a relative lack of noise and controversy. Prior to that, she served two terms as the nonpartisan City Clerk of Wheat Ridge. Her peers in counties across the state elected her to lead the Colorado County Clerks Association.

One of Anderson’s primary influences is her mother-in-law, the indefatigable former legislator, Norma Anderson. We could all be so lucky as to have such a role model.

Anderson is a believer in Colorado’s highly respected system of vote-by-mail and one of the key architects of it. Unlike many other Republicans who know better (looking at you, Heidi Ganahl), Anderson does not duck and weave and dissemble when asked about the 2020 election. She straight-forwardly acknowledges the integrity and validity of those results.

One other contrast between Griswold and her prospective opponent: Griswold’s office is known as a place few want to work. Her staff has departed in droves. Longevity is measured in weeks or months. Conversely, Anderson inspired loyalty and affection from her employees in her stints in both Wheat Ridge and Jefferson County.

Of course, Donald Trump’s never-ending, self-serving, big lie about the 2020 election has cast a pall over voting processes and election offices across the country. While Griswold may position herself as a counterpoint to Trump and a safeguard against him, an argument can be made that they are similar characters in their self-promotion and all-consuming focus on politics, and in bringing partisan warfare to what should be a secure, fair, non-political process of administering election laws and counting votes.

Many with long experience around the state Capitol believe Colorado was well-served by a string of secretaries of state who relegated politics to the distant back burner. These included Republicans Natalie Meyer, Donetta Davidson and Wayne Williams as well as Democrat Bernie Buescher.

In a prospective matchup between Griswold and Anderson, it is abundantly evident which one is in keeping with this tradition and which is an outlier.

However, Republicans being Republicans, there is no guarantee that an election-affirming Anderson can walk this internal gauntlet of deniers and secure the nomination. You read it here first: Do not be surprised if discredited Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters chooses to follow the path of failing upward and enters the GOP primary as the Trump-backed, Lindell-funded alternative to Anderson.

But here is hoping that Colorado is presented with a different kind of choice come November, not just that between two polarizing warriors. If Griswold is an activist’s activist, Anderson is a professional’s professional.

In an ideal world, secretary of State would not be a partisan position. But given that day is not upon us and that Democratic dominance of Colorado state government looks to be in little jeopardy, Democrats of courage and even a tiny measure of balance might opt for a bit of cleansing and a wee, bitty, incremental nod to bipartisanship.

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for ColoradoPolitics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann