Parker Republican George Brauchler, the former district attorney for Colorado’s 18th Judicial District, announced on Monday he wants his old job back, kind of.

After facing term limits three years ago as the top prosecutor in the state’s largest judicial district — covering Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties — Brauchler is vying to become the inaugural district attorney from the new judicial district that will be created at the beginning of next year, when the old 18th district splits in two.

Brauchler is running for the 23rd Judicial District, the state’s first new judicial district in 60 years, which will encompass Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, while Arapahoe County will have the old 18th district to itself.

The seasoned prosecutor, political operative and former talk show host said he has the right experience to protect the district’s communities and its residents’ constitutional rights, while holding criminals accountable and fighting on the side of victims.

“I take seriously my charge and my duty as a prosecutor to protect our residents and businesses,” Brauchler said in a statement. “Our residents deserve an experienced district attorney and proven leader who will keep criminals off the street and serve as a champion for victim-focused policies and laws that promote public safety, not the current offender-friendly laws coming from our Capitol.”

As district attorney and, before his election, as deputy district attorney in a neighboring judicial district, Brauchler prosecuted some of the most high-profile cases in recent Colorado history, including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, the 2013 Aurora theater shooting and the 2020 school shooting at STEM Academy in Highlands Ranch.

“My public service career has shown me evil and the vigilant, expert and tireless efforts in which we must engage to protect the good and punish the wicked,” Brauchler said. “But it has also shown me the best in people and the resiliency of victims, and those are for whom I am fighting.”

A colonel in the Colorado Army National Guard, Brauchler serves as a military judge and legal advisor. In December, the U.S. Senate confirmed Brauchler’s promotion to brigadier general.

Brauchler made a brief run for governor before becoming the GOP’s 2018 nominee for attorney general in a race he lost to Democrat Phil Weiser.

After he was termed out as district attorney, Brauchler headed Advance Colorado, a deep-pocketed conservative advocacy group, and last year was named a fellow in criminal justice at the Common Sense Institute. He took over the morning talk radio show from Peter Boyles on 710-KNUS and writes a regular column for the Denver Gazette, a publication of Clarity Media, which also owns Colorado Politics.

Ahead of declaring his candidacy, Brauchler stepped down from his positions at Advance Colorado, CSI and the radio station but plans to continue writing his column, a campaign spokeswoman told Colorado Politics.

Brauchler faces a primary against Castle Rock lawyer Dagna Van Der Jagt, a former prosecutor, who launched her campaign in December. She’s been endorsed by a range of current and former elected Republicans and party activists, including former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo and Douglas County Coroner Raeanne Brown.

The Democrats have yet field a candidate in the new district, which leans heavily toward Republicans.

According to the most recent voter registration records maintained by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, the new judicial district is home to just over 100,000 active Republicans, nearly 52,000 active Democrats and just over 142,000 active unaffiliated voters.

In the 2020 election for district attorney, the three counties that make up the new 23rd district swung toward the GOP nominee by a 19-point margin, though the Democrat carried the Arapahoe County portion by a smaller margin in what turned out to be a narrow win for the Repubican. 

Colorado’s precinct caucuses are the first week in March. The state’s primary election for congressional and state-level offices — including district attorney — is June 25.