Cynthia Coffman Elected Colorado Attorney General
DENVER (CBS4)- Colorado is choosing a new attorney general for the first time in a decade with the retirement of John Suthers. The candidate to succeed him is his current deputy Republican Cynthia Coffman.
Coffman faced former Adams County prosecutor Don Quick.
"We have a dynamic, growing Republican party in this state," said Coffman.
The race was a relatively low-key affair but attorneys general can have an outside influence on state government.
PHOTO GALLERY: Election Day In Colorado
They decide what litigation to pursue and set the tone for the state judiciary.
Coffman has said she plans to establish a public integrity unit to investigate corruption by public officials.
On gay marriage, Coffman said she agreed with Suthers' decision to enforce Colorado's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage despite federal rulings in other states declaring such bans illegal. Suthers dropped his opposition after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to contradict a federal decision that applied to Colorado.
Quick had said he would not have defended Colorado's gay-marriage ban.
The office is also a launching pad for higher office. Suthers' two predecessors, Democrat Ken Salazar and Republican Gale Norton, each went on to become U.S. Interior Secretary.
Suthers retired and will run for mayor of Colorado Springs.
