Attorney General Phil Weiser has tapped Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper as his pick for lieutenant governor, adding a suburban power player with a resume heavy on schools, public-safety budgeting and opioid recovery work to the Democratic ticket as the campaign shifts into general election mode.
According to Axios Denver, the choice is aimed at expanding Weiser's reach into suburban communities along the Front Range while weaving county-level experience into a statewide agenda. The campaign is pitching the move as a way to connect high-level policy promises with the practical know-how of local government.
Dahlkemper's local record
Dahlkemper, first elected to the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners in 2018, previously served as president of the Jeffco Public Schools board and chairs the Gateway to the Rockies Opioid Council. According to her campaign biography, she has helped steer regional opioid settlement allocations and county grant programs.
That work ties into larger state opioid settlements, including initial Purdue payouts totaling roughly $900 million, which state and local entities are distributing regionally, according to the Colorado Attorney General.
Campaign announcement and the ballot map
The ticket announcement was first reported by The Denver Post. Weiser is set to face Republican nominee Victor Marx in November's general election; Marx secured the GOP nomination earlier this month, according to reporting from KUNC/CPR.
What they said
"In the face of shared challenges, Coloradans show up for one another and demonstrate what it means to be a good neighbor," Weiser said in a campaign statement, as reported by The Denver Post.
Dahlkemper, for her part, said Weiser would "lead from the bottom up, not the top down," and she highlighted working in partnership with tribal nations and local governments in remarks reported by the Post.
Why the pick matters
Dahlkemper played a leading role in Jefferson County's 2024 ballot measure that lifted the county's local TABOR revenue cap, a change that county financial records show has freed up money for public safety and infrastructure priorities. The county's 2024 financial report details how that vote reshaped local revenue rules.
Weiser signaled during the primary that statewide TABOR reform is on his agenda, so a running mate with hands-on budget experience offers a clear political advantage. Under Colorado law, the lieutenant governor is first in the line of succession and can serve as acting governor when the governor is absent, as outlined in the Colorado Constitution.
The Weiser campaign says bringing Dahlkemper onto the ticket gives local governments and sovereign tribes "a seat at the table" in a potential administration, and that the pair will carry the Democratic banner into November. Weiser's campaign materials describe the selection as a balance of statewide policy ambitions with county-level experience as the fall campaign gets underway.
