John Walsh (Colorado)

John Walsh (Democratic Party) is the Denver District Attorney in Colorado. He assumed office on January 14, 2025. His current term ends on January 9, 2029.

Walsh (Democratic Party) ran for election for Denver District Attorney in Colorado. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Walsh completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Denver District Attorney

John Walsh won election in the general election for Denver District Attorney on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Walsh (D)	100.0	265,110

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 265,110
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Denver District Attorney

John Walsh defeated Leora Joseph in the Democratic primary for Denver District Attorney on June 25, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Walsh	58.1	48,565
	Leora Joseph	41.9	34,967

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 83,532
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

To view Walsh's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Walsh in this election.

2020

United States Senate election in Colorado, 2020 (June 30 Republican primary)

United States Senate election in Colorado, 2020 (June 30 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Colorado

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Colorado on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Hickenlooper (D)	53.5	1,731,114
		Cory Gardner (R)	44.2	1,429,492
		Raymon Doane (L)	1.7	56,262
	Submit photo	Daniel Doyle (Approval Voting Party)	0.3	9,820
		Stephan Evans (Unity Party)	0.3	8,971
	Submit photo	Bruce Lohmiller (G) (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Danny Skelly (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
	Submit photo	Michael Sanchez (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,235,659
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Gary Swing (Other)
Joseph Camp (Independent)
Veronique Bellamy (Socialist Party)
Martha Wolf (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

John Hickenlooper defeated Andrew Romanoff in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 30, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Hickenlooper	58.7	585,826
	Andrew Romanoff	41.3	412,955

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 998,781
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

Incumbent Cory Gardner advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 30, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cory Gardner	100.0	554,806

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 554,806
= 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

Margot Dupre (R)

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

Raymon Doane defeated Gaylon Kent in the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Colorado on June 30, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Raymon Doane	62.8	4,365
	Gaylon Kent	37.2	2,583

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,948
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Unity Party convention

Unity Party convention for U.S. Senate Colorado

Stephan Evans defeated Joshua Rodriguez in the Unity Party convention for U.S. Senate Colorado on April 4, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Stephan Evans (Unity Party)
		Joshua Rodriguez (Unity Party)

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= 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

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

John Walsh completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Walsh's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Denver’s DA leads a large prosecution office. As Colorado’s U.S. Attorney, I did just that: Over six years, I successfully led the U.S. Attorney’s office. Attorneys General Holder and Lynch recognized my efforts by asking me to chair their national Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys.

My wife and I have lived in Denver's Park Hill neighborhood or nearly 30 years, raising three kids, proud DPS graduates. I have spent decades working in Denver’s diverse communities both professionally and personally. I coach the Constitutional Law program at East. I helped found an early childhood nonprofit, Invest in Kids; served on the executive committee of the Colorado Lawyers Committee; and have held leadership roles in the Democratic party, including district co-captain, State Platform chair, and treasurer of AG Weiser’s 2018 campaign. I speak Spanish fluently and have worked extensively with our Spanish speaking community, including as board chair of Escuela de Guadalupe.

I will lead the Denver DA’s office energetically from day one, working with community. All three living Denver DA’s – McCann, Morrissey and Ritter – have endorsed me, along with Denver Mayors Hickenlooper, Webb and Peña.

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?

Community safety depends on earning the trust of the community: I will combine firm, energetic enforcement of the law with aggressive efforts working with the community to prevent crime and improve our criminal justice system.
Combatting gun violence is a top priority for me. I will advocate for strengthening our gun laws. I will create a violent crime task force to enforce existing gun laws, and team with federal authorities. And I will work to foster and find funding for youth development programs to keep kids away from guns and violence.
Car and catalytic converter theft has plagued Denver in recent years. I will establish a car theft task force to work directly with city and state task forces, and will focus on organized crime.
On the fentanyl crisis, I will prosecute the cartels bringing drugs into our community, and work to address root causes by expanding drug court, the competency court, and probation programs to get people the treatment they need.
Improving our criminal justice system is a top priority for me. As DA, I will expand restorative justice and diversion programs, work to ensure data transparency and the equal application of the law, and work on sentencing reform measures. I strongly support the DA’s Conviction Review Unit, which reviews cases to ensure the integrity of convictions and sentencing.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about keeping our community safe by firm and fair application of the law and working tirelessly with the community to prevent crime. I am also passionate about improving the quality and fairness of our criminal justice system for everyone.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

A District Attorney enforces the criminal law, and has enormous discretion in doing so. That makes the role of the DA crucial to the effective functioning of government and to the rule of law in our country.

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

Gangbuster, by Alan Prendergast, which describes a Denver DA's fight in the 1920s against organized crime and the KKK; and To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

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

Courage, integrity, judgment, professional experience (here, in prosecution and the legal system), a willingness to listen to and learn from the community, and a relentless work ethic.

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

Protecting the community by effectively and fairly prosecuting crime, and by working in partnership with the community to prevent crime and improve our criminal justice system.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to leave a twofold legacy: Much lower crime in Denver, based on a balanced combination of fairly enforcing the law and effectively preventing crime; and a DA's office renowned nationally for the high quality of its work, its fundamental fairness and integrity, and its energy and commitment to public service and the community.

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

One Time, One Night by Los Lobos.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

Seeking to do justice in every case for victims, for the community and doing so fairly and in compliance with the law. The DA must use the wide discretion of the office in charging crimes, arriving at plea resolutions and sentencing recommendations fairly, thoughtfully and effectively.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

The broader role of the DA in helping develop and implement community safety policy, working with the community, can easily get lost in the daily news on individual cases, but is extremely important.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes. The District Attorney is a lawyer for the people, and has enormous discretion in individual cases and policy setting. Exercising that discretion requires extensive experience in the courts, in public service and in the community.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Experience, judgment and an abiding sense of justice and fairness for all -- resting on a passionate commitment to the rule of law.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I have an extensive list of endorsements, including all three living Denver District Attorneys, Democratic District Attorneys around the state, former mayors of Denver and our two US Senators. Additionally, I have earned the support of Pipefitters Local 208, Denver Metro Postal Workers and Denver Area Labor Federation.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I have spent a professional lifetime prosecuting white collar criminal cases -- financial transparency and government accountability is crucial to me.

Do you support or oppose changes to the current state ballot initiative process? If so, what kind of changes would you consider?

This is not an area over which the DA has authority or responsibility; I do not have changes I would make.

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.

2020

John Walsh did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

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Footnotes

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John Walsh (Colorado)

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Denver District Attorney

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Denver District Attorney

Endorsements

2020

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Colorado

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Colorado

Unity Party convention

Unity Party convention for U.S. Senate Colorado

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2020

See also

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Footnotes

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