Julie Gonzales

Julie Gonzales
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 34th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2019
Preceded byLucía Guzmán
Personal details
Born (1983-03-14) March 14, 1983
San Carlos Apache reservation, Arizona, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
EducationYale University (BA)

Julie Gonzales (born (1983-03-14)March 14, 1983) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a member of the Colorado Senate from the 34th district in the City and County of Denver since her election in 2018. She is a progressive member of the Democratic Party.[1] She has served as Senate majority whip and supported progressive causes including death penalty repeal, abortion rights, and immigrant protections.[1][2]

In December 2025, Gonzales announced a campaign for the 2026 United States Senate election in Colorado, challenging incumbent U.S. senator John Hickenlooper in the Democratic primary.[2][3]

Early life and education

Gonzales was born on the San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona and grew up in South Texas. She is the sixth of seven children born to Gloria and Mario Gonzales. Her father was a rancher, and is now a medical cannabis producer in northern New Mexico.[4][5] Gonzales moved to Colorado after graduating from Yale University in 2005, where she studied History and Ethnicity, Race, and Migration.[4][2]

Career

After moving to Denver, Gonzalez worked as a community organizer for affordable housing, environmentalism, teachers and workers rights, college-preparatory education, and immigrants rights.[6] In 2006, Gonzales volunteered and caucused for Bernie Sanders' campaign, before being hired by the Colorado Democratic Party, where she served as Morgan Carroll's persuasion field director during her CD6 Congressional campaign, engaged volunteers, and turned out voters in support of Hillary Clinton. In 2017, Julie was elected by HD5 to serve as a member of the Party's Central Committee and Executive Committee.[4][2]

Colorado Senate

In the 2018 Colorado Senate election for the 34th district, Gonzales won the primary election with 14,798 votes (63.8%) and won the general election with 54,312 votes (83.1%), defeating Republican candidate Gordon Alley.[7][1] She serves as the Senate Majority Whip and serves on the Judiciary committee, Local Government & Housing committee, Appropriations committee, Finance committee, Committee on Legal Services, and the Legislative Council.[8]

In the Senate, Gonzales supported progressive legislation on criminal justice, reproductive rights, and immigration.[2] In 2020, she sponsored SB 20-100, the bill which repealed Colorado's death penalty.[9] In 2022, after the repeal of Roe v. Wade, she sponsored legislation to codify abortion access in Colorado statute.[10] In 2025, Gonzales sponsored SB 25-276, a proposal to further limit Colorado state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and to bar immigration operations in schools, hospitals, houses of worship, and child-care centers.[11] In 2026, Gonzales sponsored and spoke at a Colorado Worker Rights United rally in favor of the 2026 Worker Protection Act.[12]

2026 Senate campaign

On December 8, 2025, Gonzales announced her candidacy for the Democratic primary in the 2026 United States Senate election in Colorado against incumbent Senator John Hickenlooper.[2][3] Gonzales described herself as an "insurgent progressive" and argued that more confrontational progressive politics were needed in response to rising living costs and the second presidency of Donald Trump.[2][5][13] Gonzales also criticized Hickenlooper for voting to confirm several of Trump's cabinet nominees, calling those votes disqualifying.[2][3] As of 16 March 2026, Gonzalez is polling in 2nd place.[14]

In December 2025, the Colorado Democratic Party told several Gonzales workers that they would be blacklisted from future Democratic work if they challenged Hickenlooper.[15] The Colorado Democratic Party later distanced itself from these threats.[15]

Political positions

Gonzales supports Medicare for All, universal child care, a higher federal minimum wage, a ban on congressional stock trading, Abolish ICE, protecting abortion rights and gender affirming care, and Palestinian self-determination.[16]

Gonzales was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America from 2018 to 2024.[17][18] In March 2019, Gonzales co-signed a DSA National Electoral Committee letter to congratulate teachers strikes in Oakland, Los Angeles, West Virginia, Chicago, and Denver.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Julie Gonzales". Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Paul, Jesse (December 8, 2025). "Democratic state senator launches bid as "insurgent progressive" to unseat Colorado's John Hickenlooper". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c Moore, Marilyn (December 8, 2025). "State Sen. Julie Gonzales announces run for Hickenlooper's seat". KUSA. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c "About". Julie for Colorado. Archived from the original on February 19, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  5. ^ a b Lopez, Chris (February 22, 2026). "'We ought to advance solutions that meet the scale of the challenges that confront us'". Alamosa Citizen. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  6. ^ Bruce, Taylor (2018). Wildsam Field Guides: Denver. Wildsam. p. 83. ISBN 978-1532373985.
  7. ^ "Colorado Election Results - Election Results 2018". The New York Times. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  8. ^ "Julie Gonzales". Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  9. ^ Paul, Jesse (January 30, 2020). "Colorado lawmakers move closer to repealing death penalty after emotional debate". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  10. ^ Paul, Jesse (February 2, 2022). "Democrats' effort to affirm abortion access in Colorado won't stop Republicans from trying to limit the procedure". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  11. ^ Woods, Lucas Brady (April 7, 2025). "Democrats unveil effort to shield immigrants in Colorado from ICE". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  12. ^ "Colorado Worker Rights United to Host Worker Rights Event at Capitol". Yellow Scene. January 8, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  13. ^ Sondermann, Eric (December 13, 2025). "Julie Gonzales's long but not impossible odds". Colorado Politics. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  14. ^ Valverde, Carlos (February 27, 2026). "Colorado Senate Democratic Primary Poll Feb 2026 Summary" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2026. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  15. ^ a b "Colorado Democratic Party tries to distance itself from threats to blacklist Democratic operatives". KUSA. December 12, 2025. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  16. ^ "Facts". Julie for Colorado. Archived from the original on March 12, 2026.
  17. ^ "Newsletter July 2018". Denver DSA. Retrieved July 30, 2020. Julie [Gonzales] joined DSA shortly after her victory.
  18. ^ Clark, Kyle (December 8, 2025). Testing presidential pardons; Next with Kyle Clark full show (12/8/25). Retrieved December 9, 2025 – via YouTube. I was really inspired by the way that DSA was organizing young people. I signed up as a member back then ... I'm no longer a member, my membership has lapsed.
  19. ^ "DSA Elected Officials Support Teacher Power and Working People Everywhere". Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Retrieved August 29, 2023. In 2022, Gonzales was a co-sponsor of "Towing Bill of Rights" in response to complaints received by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission concerning abusive towing practices. The law provided substantial safeguards for people whose vehicles may be towed but is controversial with landlords and property managers as the effect of the law was to make it virtually impossible to tow cars for parking violations on private property.
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