Joe Salazar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joe Salazar
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| Member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 31st district |
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| In office January 2013 – January 4, 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Judith Anne Solano |
| Succeeded by | Yadira Caraveo |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Joseph Anthony Salazar
1971/1972 (age 54–55) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jessica Salazar |
| Education | University of Colorado, Boulder (BA) University of Denver (JD) |
Joseph Anthony Salazar is an American lawyer and politician. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Salazar served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. In 2018, he ran to become Colorado Attorney General. He lost the primary election to Phil Weiser by a very small difference.
Today, he leads Colorado Rising. This group works against a drilling method called fracking. Salazar supports Bernie Sanders. People see him as part of the progressive side of the Democratic Party.
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Joe's Early Life and Education
Joe Salazar grew up in Thornton, Colorado. His family shared that their Spanish ancestors arrived in the area long ago. This was in the 1500s or early 1600s. He also said that both of his grandmothers were Apache. Both of his grandparents were of Spanish background.
He earned his first college degree from the University of Colorado Boulder. Later, he received his law degree from the University of Denver.
Salazar's Legal Career
Before becoming a politician, Salazar worked as a lawyer. He was part of a law firm called Smith, Shelton, Ragona and Salazar, LLC. His work focused on laws about jobs, civil rights, and the U.S. Constitution.
Joe's Political Journey
Serving in the Colorado House of Representatives
Salazar was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2012. He served there until 2019. During his time as a lawmaker, Salazar worked on important issues.
He pushed to stop high schools from using mascots that were offensive to Native Americans. Salazar also introduced a bill to remove Columbus Day as a state holiday. He explained that "Columbus’ legacy of abuse and disrespect is still readily apparent today."
Salazar supported laws that help people get public information. These laws set limits on how much it costs to ask for records. He was also known for supporting Bernie Sanders's campaign for president in 2016.
Running for Colorado Attorney General in 2018
After some talk about him running for governor, Salazar decided to run for Colorado Attorney General in 2018. In the Democratic primary election, he ran against Phil Weiser. Weiser was the former dean of the University of Colorado Law School.
Salazar's campaign received support from Bernie Sanders. The organization Our Revolution also backed him. He lost the election by a very close margin. Weiser won with 50.43% of the votes, while Salazar received 49.57%.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Weiser | 298,048 | 50.43 | |
| Democratic | Joe Salazar | 292,912 | 49.57 | |
| Total votes | 590,960 | 100.0 | ||
After the 2018 Election
After the 2018 election, Salazar became the director of Colorado Rising. This group works to stop fracking.
In January 2021, Salazar showed interest in running for U.S. Senate. He considered challenging Senator Michael Bennet in the 2022 election. However, he announced later in 2021 that he would not run for Senate. He also chose not to run for the new Colorado's 8th congressional district.
In November 2021, Salazar filed papers to run for Colorado's 24th Senate district. At that time, Faith Winter represented the district. Due to new district maps, Winter's home was in a different district. This left the new 24th District open. The new district includes Thornton, Federal Heights, and parts of Adams County. However, Salazar decided to drop out of this race in February 2022.
