Cory Parella

Cory Parella (Republican Party) is running for election for Colorado Secretary of State. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on June 30, 2026.^[source]

Parella completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Cory Parella was born in Tucson, Arizona. He earned a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University in 2011 and a graduate degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 2019. Parella's career experience includes working as a publisher and biographer.^[1]

Elections

2026

Colorado Secretary of State election, 2026 (June 30 Democratic primary)

Colorado Secretary of State election, 2026 (June 30 Republican primary)

General election

The primary will occur on June 30, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for Colorado Secretary of State

Celeste Landry and Melissa Richards are running in the general election for Colorado Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Celeste Landry (Colorado Forward Party)
	Submit photo	Melissa Richards (Unaffiliated)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Jessie Danielson and Amanda Gonzalez are running in the Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 30, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jessie Danielson
		Amanda Gonzalez

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State

James McKinzie, Cory Parella, Ross Taraborelli, and James Wiley are running in the Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State on June 30, 2026.

		Candidate
		James McKinzie
		Cory Parella
	Submit photo	Ross Taraborelli
		James Wiley

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

Colorado's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Republican primary)

Colorado's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 25 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Colorado District 5

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. House Colorado District 5 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jeff Crank (R)	54.7	197,924
	River Gassen (D)	40.9	147,972
	Michael Vance (L)	1.8	6,458
	Joseph O. Gaye (Unaffiliated)	1.1	4,094
	Christopher Mitchell (American Constitution Party)	1.1	4,006
	Christopher Sweat (Forward Party)	0.4	1,627
	Marcus Murphy (Unaffiliated) (Write-in)	0.0	4

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 362,085
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Calil Yarbrough (No Party Affiliation)
Katrina Nguyen (Unaffiliated)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 5

River Gassen defeated Joe Reagan in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 5 on June 25, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	River Gassen	50.6	20,802
	Joe Reagan	49.4	20,313

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,115
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 5

Jeff Crank defeated Dave Williams in the Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 5 on June 25, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jeff Crank	65.2	56,585
	Dave Williams	34.8	30,257

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 86,842
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Parella in this election.

2024

General election

General election for Colorado State Senate District 28

Mike Weissman defeated Pedro Espinoza in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 28 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mike Weissman (D)	63.5	35,064
	Pedro Espinoza (R)	36.5	20,143

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 55,207
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 28

Mike Weissman defeated Idris Keith in the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 28 on June 25, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mike Weissman	53.2	5,839
	Idris Keith	46.8	5,135

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,974
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 28

Pedro Espinoza advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 28 on June 25, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Pedro Espinoza	100.0	3,398

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,398
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Cory Parella (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Parella in this election.

2022

General election

General election for Colorado House of Representatives District 42

Incumbent Mandy Lindsay defeated Cory Parella in the general election for Colorado House of Representatives District 42 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mandy Lindsay (D)	72.6	12,441
	Cory Parella (R)	27.4	4,703

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,144
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 42

Incumbent Mandy Lindsay defeated Gail Pough in the Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 42 on June 28, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mandy Lindsay	58.5	2,980
	Gail Pough	41.5	2,118

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,098
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 42

Cory Parella advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 42 on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cory Parella	100.0	2,048

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,048
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

Cory Parella completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Parella's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I plan to unite my teammates with a plan that infuses the Colorado Republican Party with a renewed spirit and freshness, invigorating seasoned veterans while inspiring the young. I use the energy of showmanship to elevate and surprise our pre-teammates with goals and expectations of a champion educator. I engage. I articulate. And I use cine-metaphor to convey ideas with precisions and passion. Our team and the State's voters demand better business resources, secured data and trustworthy elections. I plan to deliver all of that and more - I am bringing the entertainment industry - specifically movies - to Colorado, once and for all. It's time to give the old west a new economic transfusion beyond an economy built on cows. I am also going to remove the dead from the voter registry.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

All money needs a Plan. Without a good Plan, money fails. I listen to your plans, and if you don't have one, I Do have a Plan. Republicanism lets the free market takes its course, it lets bad ideas fail and good ideas be born again. I enrich lives without creative innovation and proven strategies from the past.
We're so close to where we want to be. Technology, moral values and a culture that wants a brighter future for our descendants - we are so close. What will it take to bring it all together? Speak light into the dark until the shadows are exhausted. We are the Dream that our ancestors wanted for us. We don't request it. We demand it.
We have more hope than fear, more heart than worry, more desire than contempt. We choose to trust more than we conspire. We Are Mighty. Yep, there's a Bible involved. You decide what kind. ;)

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The SoS is the business administrative arm of the State. We also set the tone for the Language Arts used to engage every department and office to communicate. I am passionate about fixing It, all of it. English should be the primary, but not only language used in government offices. A wise man once said, "Putting right what once went wrong." I love seeing government work as it was designed to. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's beautiful. There are regulations that have run their course. Time to speak out and let the people agree on long overdue changes - for Everyone. Ethnic supremacy has no business in Democracy that bears longterm good fruit.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

They speak for themselves. I have friends throughout State legislature.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2024

Cory Parella did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2024

Cory Parella did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Cory Parella completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Parella's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Performer, Author, licensed teacher, father of 3 teenagers. Bachelors (Arizona State), Masters (UNLV, Academy of Art U, ASU). My parent's journey reads like Kevin Costner's resume. They moved us from New Jersey. in 1972. I was born in Tucson. My dad served on the police department for 20 years, leading the eradication of heroin from among the Pascua-Yaquis, resulting in Indian Affairs granting their first casino operation licenses. The city named a street after him in 1998. The youngest of 3, I was raised singing, "Bear Down Arizona" before I could read - hence graduating from in-State sports rival ASU held its own irony. Dad was a legendary narcotics cop, parts of his family's life were the basis for portions of The Godfather and 21 Jumpstreet. I found myself chasing Steven Spielberg and George Lucas until Grad school at age 41, when I discovered a gift for Policy and Speaking. I'm the record holder for stage time of my high school, but without professional licensing for the creative arts industry, it didn't matter. At UNLV, I learned from the producers and casting directors who gave us Coach, Northern Exposure and Batman. My platforms in metro Aurora (HD42) include equipping entrepreneurs with licensing for creative arts professionals, and penalizing the enabling of professional vagrancy. I believe the Lord Jesus Christ has called me to the 48th President of the United States.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I have not come for your endorsement. I am here to Lead you.
I Listen. Tell your story. Vote for Cory.
It's morning again in America.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Professional licensing for creative arts industry - Doctor, Lawyer, Teacher, Realtor - Actor, producer, writer, director.

Severely reduce enabling of professional vagrancy. Of the 4 types of homeless, only about 15% are there because "life happens". Mentally Ill who refuse meds, drug/alcohol addicts, and Fugitives are the other 3.

Mandatory movie editing studies beginning as early as pre school. Teaching kids to communicate using the visual sign language of cinema will strengthen the global economy on a local level.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

I cite works by Aaron Sorkin often, and the irony is, I'm a Republican and he's a pretty outspoken liberal Democrat. Jed Bartlett was a TV president we wish we had - I envision myself like that.

The decisiveness and compassion of Andrew Shepherd (The American President) stirs me. And of course, there's the Bible - pick a good king. David, Solomon, Kong...(that's a joke)...

GW Bush won my heart because he's self-aware of his flaws, but leads by faith, not fear.

Reagan stood up to evil. As do I.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I want a decisive official, so I am decisive.

I want a transparent official, so I am transparent.

I want an accessible official who listens, so I listen.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am decisive and transparent.

I also have great taste in music. Motown & classic movie scores will fill my office.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Take risks to improve quality of life for the populace. Don't be afraid of offending people to get policies passed. The 13th Amendment is living proof of that.

Don't just make policy, make history. Be BOLD. Quote the Bible from your heart.

What legacy would you like to leave?

"I feel lucky that I grew up during the Parella presidency. He got us through some tough times and it made me a better person for it. It made us stronger."

- A dad in 2070.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Lute! The Seasons of My Life.

A blueprint for success by a man who walked the walk.

Two books beside: my Bible and this.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

As a kid, everybody wanted to be a cast member from Star Wars.

My fav was the old wise man because he had all the answers and could kick butt. Old Obi-Wan.

I'm going to go with my own - one I wrote, in a novel called Justin Time. Time traveling to record history sounds fun.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Do they know it's Christmastime at all?" - Band Aide

2021 GOP is being asked to rally support for the Ethiopian unrest. It's the same exact battle that this song was written to address.

Motown, music by John Williams, James Horner - great movie themes. Select modern gospel.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Learning to mourn. The silver lining of a divorce after 13 years of marriage was I learned from a gifted therapist how to mourn. I lost my dad to cancer when i was 17. Learning to mourn correctly added years to my life and helped me find the light in the dark. I grew closer to Jesus, for certain. My kids watched me heal. As they grow into their lives, they learn the most by watching me - it's not how I meet conflict, but how I recover from a storm. I watched my dad pray. Now my kids watch me pray through my storms. Over time, our scars become beautiful.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Squirt guns vs water balloons.

Ideally, they all agree. We need speed to function and get bills passed. It's up to the voters to put the right people in office.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

My State of Colorado must find its inner soul again. The Republicans gave way to apathy, and let the Dems walk all over em. Many of my fellow 'Cans have behaved cowardly and many Dems are 'Cans at-heart.

We need to outgrow our 20th-century roots and be more than a State of oil, gas and pro football. Sports does not define us.

We need to lead.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a unicameral state legislature, in your opinion?

Beware stage fright. ;)

No filibusters here, but the larger districts reign while smaller ones tend to get ignored.

I think that happens less in this toddler- era of social media.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Sure. Battle scars always help. But, they need to be put to use.

I loathe apathy.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Oh yes. I look forward to seducing Democrats from the Sith-side to the Jedi-side of the Force.

Cue sinister laugh.

There's a lot of nice people in other parties afraid to admit they love many of the same things I do.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Internet Server Provider subscriber locations.

The door to door Census process needs to be updated.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Give me the tough stuff.

Homelessness, Education, heck, rebranding the Broncos.

I'm for term limits. I believe we should extend the Presidency to 8 years and adjust all the other terms accordingly.

That would motivate nearly everyone to vote.

If you are a current legislator, what appealed to you about your current committees?

NA

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Robin Williams "Man of the Year"

if Jed Bartlet, (The West Wing) was a Republican.

If JFK was a Republican.

Reagan, Trump.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

State Senate, 24. White House '28 possibly on a VP ticket.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

In Aurora, the African immigrants are all doctors, engineers and other masters-degree holding professionals. All came to America for her Freedom and they refuse to allow the remnants of the local crime culture to chase them away.

Love it.

They love this country's freedom as much as I do, maybe more. It reminds me that I serve a very active, passionate citizenry.

Tell us your favorite joke.

First joke I wrote studying comedy under an Emmy winner at UNLV:

"I'm in Grad school at UNLV. The average classmate is half my age. One of the young ladies flirts with me and so, I go over and say, "How-You-Doin'? Is your MOM single?"

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

No.

Or call them something other than emergency powers. ;)

Limit the emergency powers all ya want, but let them do their jobs.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

To an extent, I try to find something positive in the bills presented by opposing voices. You never know where the best ideas will come from. In some cases, entire bills are rejected because of the source. If the faces of leadership change, we still need the bill, so one must grow objectivity. Validating objections is important. "Yes, this sucks, but we need this aspect of it to move forward."

'My sheep know My Voice. '

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Cory Parella campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	U.S. House Colorado District 5	Withdrew primary	$0	N/A**
2022	Colorado House of Representatives District 42	Lost general	$4,646	$3,407
Grand total			$4,646	$3,407
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Election Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

External links

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Candidate

Colorado Secretary of State

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 21, 2021

[bio-1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on November 21, 2021

[1]

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Cory Parella

Biography

Elections

2026

General election

General election for Colorado Secretary of State

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado Secretary of State

Endorsements

2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Colorado District 5

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 5

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 5

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

2024

General election

General election for Colorado State Senate District 28

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 28

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 28

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for Colorado House of Representatives District 42

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 42

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 42

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

2024

2024

2022

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2026 Elections

2025 Elections

Election analysis

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