Former Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran, a Democrat, on Thursday declared her candidacy for attorney general in next year’s election, saying she’s “committed to ensuring that every Coloradan is safe, healthy, and economically secure.”

“Like many Coloradans, I’m deeply concerned about the future of our country and know that a new path forward is required in times like these when it can seem as though nothing is sacred,” said Duran, a sixth-generation Coloradan and the first Latina to wield the gavel in the state’s General Assembly.

“As our next attorney general, I will work to protect consumers, increase affordability, combat corruption and stand up to greed and those who manipulate outcomes at the expense of the people of Colorado,” Duran said in a statement.

She’s the second Democrat this week to launch a bid to take over after incumbent Attorney General Phil Weiser faces term limits.

Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty, a veteran prosecutor who once headed the criminal division at the attorney general’s office, announced his run on Tuesday.

Duran, 44, said her decades of experience as an attorney and in public service have prepared her for difficult times ahead.

“With all of the hate that is coming out of Washington, D.C., I will do everything in my power to ensure that Coloradans are not in harm’s way and have the opportunity to reach their greatest potential,” she said. “I will strive for fairer and more just outcomes.”

Duran added that her priorities include protecting the state’s air, water and natural resources for future generations and “creating a safe and secure Colorado.”

The primary is expected to get more crowded in coming months. Democrats who have indicated interest in the race include 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason, who prosecutes cases in Adams County and Broomfield, and David Seligman, executive director of Towards Justice, a Denver-based nonprofit law firm that represents workers in litigation.

Republican candidates for the office have yet to emerge.

Weiser, who was elected to the first of his two terms in 2018, is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.

Both parties’ 2026 primaries are scheduled to take place on June 30, though state GOP leaders have said they intend to opt out of the statewide primary and instead nominate Republican candidates through an assembly process.

Duran served as House speaker from 2017 to 2019 and was the chamber’s majority leader for the two years before that. She represented West Denver’s House District 5 for eight years, first winning election to the heavily Democratic seat in 2010. During her tenure as a lawmaker, Duran also chaired the Joint Budget Committee.

A little over a month after her departure from the legislature due to term limits, Duran mounted a primary challenge to Democratic U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, the longest-serving member of the state’s congressional delegation, arguing that it was time for Denver to send a fresh face to Congress.

Later that year, however, Duran ended her campaign after picking up endorsements from former Interior Secretary and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and former Denver Mayor Federico Peña, who held two cabinet positions in the Clinton administration.

Duran moved to New York at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 to run the state’s Democrats for Education Reform chapter and its affiliate organization Education Reform Now NY. She returned to Colorado a few years later.

Raised in Northglenn and Arvada — she belongs to the Arvada West High School Hall of Fame — Duran got her undergraduate degree at the University of Denver and her law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law, where she was elected president of the student bar association and was a fellow for Colorado Supreme Court Justice Alex Martinez.

While serving as president of the Colorado Young Democrats in 2008, Duran introduced presidential candidate Barack Obama and Caroline Kennedy at a rally at DU and worked as political director for U.S. Sen. Mark Udall’s winning campaign.

Among dozens of awards and honors, Duran was named Conservation Colorado Legislator of the Year and Housing Colorado Legislator of the Year. She’s received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Leader and Humanitarian Awards, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement Cesar Chavez People’s Award and the Colorado Alliance for Retired Americans Certificate of Appreciation. In 2014, the Washington Post included Duran in its “40 Under 40” roster of rising political stars.