Douglas County election workers process primary election ballots in Castle Rock on June 28, 2022. (Carl Payne for Colorado Newsline)
Colorado’s brand-new 23rd Judicial District is set to elect as its top prosecutor a familiar face in Denver-area law enforcement.
Unofficial results showed Republican George Brauchler comfortably ahead in his primary contest against Dagny Van Der Jagt for the GOP nomination for 23rd Judicial District attorney. With 59,636 votes counted as of midday Wednesday, Brauchler led with nearly 65% of the vote.
The win puts Brauchler, who served as DA in the 18th Judicial District for eight years ending in 2021, in line to become the 23rd Judicial District’s first DA when it is formally established in January 2025, completing a process initiated by the Legislature five years ago. Lawmakers carved out the new judicial district — the state’s first in 50 years — from the 18th District after its fast-growing suburban population had swelled to well over 1 million people.
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The 23rd District will include Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, making it a jurisdiction in which Republicans are heavily favored. In the November general election, Brauchler will face Democrat Karen Breslin, who ran unopposed in her party’s primary on Tuesday.
Van Der Jagt, who billed herself as a “staunch Republican” and was endorsed by far-right figures like former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo and Colorado GOP chair Dave Williams, congratulated and endorsed Brauchler on social media, writing that he had run “a great race winning by a solid margin.” But Brauchler said Wednesday that he had not heard from his opponent directly.
“Although I have yet to hear from my opponent conceding the race, the numbers make it clear that we succeeded,” Brauchler wrote on X.
Brauchler, the GOP’s 2018 nominee for Colorado attorney general, racked up primary endorsements from a long list of GOP insiders, including former Gov. Bill Owens and former U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner.
His prosecutorial career in the 18th District included high-profile cases like the Aurora theater shooting. After leaving office, he hosted a talk radio show and served as president of Advance Colorado, a so-called “dark money” conservative advocacy group funded by undisclosed donors.
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