DENVER – When Donna Lynne first took over Colorado’s Lieutenant Governor’s office in 2016, she said she wouldn't try to succeed current Governor John Hickenlooper. She officially announced her candidacy for the job last month.
“I think what has changed is the experience I’ve had as Lieutenant Governor and chief operating officer for the state,” she told Nicole Brady on this week’s Politics Unplugged. “It’s complicated. It’s tough. I love those kinds of challenges.”
Lynne faces a crowded primary field. Rep. Jared Polis, ex-state Sen. Mike Johnston, Colorado’s former Treasurer Cary Kennedy, and Noel Ginsburg, a Colorado businessman, have already declared their candidacy on the Democratic side.
If elected, Lynne would be Colorado’s first female governor.
“I think it’s important for anybody to lead, male or woman, and deal with some of the equity issues that we have,” she said. “Whether it’s about gender, diversity, all Americans, all Coloradans ought to have the same level of benefits and opportunity.”
Lynne says she really wants Colorado voters to know how tenacious she is.
“I started climbing all the 14ers in Colorado. I fell in love with the state when I moved here and I got them all done in six years. That’s quite an accomplishment and it also allows you to get to know the state very well.”
Politics Unplugged airs Sundays at 4:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Denver7.
