GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KDVR) — Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters announced Monday that she intends to run for secretary of state against current incumbent Jena Griswold, who is currently investigating Peters for an election security breach.
Peters made the announcement on a podcast hosted by Steve Bannon, a former advisor to President Donald Trump.
“I want to restore trust, put an end to government overreach in our election process. Weaponizing our elections and targeting political opponents has no place in Colorado,” Peters said on the show. “We need to get back to honoring our Colorado constitution, honoring our state legislature to craft laws through the representative government by and for the people.”
Griswold’s office has been investigating Peters for an alleged security breach that involved allowing people access to voting machines before the 2020 election without properly vetting them or following proper procedure.
Peters was removed from overseeing the 2021 election during the investigation and Griswold is working to have the same done for the upcoming 2022 election. While Griswold can prevent Peters from being involved in elections, she cannot remove her from her county clerk elected position.
In a statement about the announcement, Griswold called Peters “unfit.”
“Tina Peters is unfit to be Secretary of State and a danger to Colorado elections. Peters compromised voting equipment to try to prove conspiracies, costing Mesa County taxpayers nearly one million dollars. She works with election deniers, spreads lies about elections, was removed from overseeing the 2021 Mesa County election, and is under criminal investigation by a grand jury. Colorado needs a Secretary of State who will uphold the will of the people; not one who embraces conspiracies and risks Coloradans’ right to vote.”
Jena Griswold
If Peters files paperwork for the secretary of state she will not be able to run for reelection as Mesa County Clerk, which she announced her intention to do last month.
In an unrelated case, Peters was arrested last week for obstructing a police investigation. She allegedly used an iPad to record a court hearing in which her deputy, Belinda Knisley is accused of burglary and cybercrime.
Police attempted to seize the iPad from Peters after obtaining a search warrant, but she became combative. Peters was detained briefly and turned herself in for booking the following day.
