John Walsh’s Senate Appeal: How a Legal Notion Set Forward Motion

As a practicing attorney, and even serving as United States Attorney for Colorado during the Obama administration, John Walsh has actively spent time focusing on the advancement and protection of civil rights for the LGBTQ and other marginalized communities. Growing up in Colorado since the age of 12, his roots have planted in the soils of the progressive Rocky Mountain state, and he, alongside the rest of the country, has watched as the nation has fallen under a leadership that is now challenging everything he has worked for.

Walsh is now aiming for republican Cory Gardner’s seat as Colorado senator, and because of his experience in advocacy and law, he believes he is fully equipped to do it. While he joined the race only four months ago, Walsh has quickly ascended to become one of the top democratic candidates in both support and fundraising, in a pool of nine hopefuls.

Was there a defining moment that made you decide to enter the race in April?

Well, there’s so many. Right now, with this administration, the steps of this president have undermined the way our constitutional system works and prevented this country from being the best United States of America it can be. That really led me to the notion that I have something to bring to this and an experience level and commitment that I felt compelled to.

How does your experience as U.S. attorney make you a good fit for senator?

Having that experience of not just campaigning all around the state but actually working with Coloradans and getting things done is something I’m proud of, and I think is very relevant experience for a senator. I had to take the issues that are facing Colorado back to Washington to fight on behalf of people in the state within the administration, so I have a lot of experience dealing with the federal government. That expertise of how to represent Colorado in the very complicated machinery of the federal government, that’s something that no other candidate in this race has got and puts me in a position to do the best job possible for the state.

Why have you made it a point to specifically connect with the queer community as you are on the campaign trail?

I was U.S. Attorney during the Aurora Theater shooting and the Planned Parenthood shooting here in Colorado, and I had developed a reputation for, unfortunately and tragically, being someone that people reached out to. It’s because of this experience that when the horrific Pulse Nightclub shooting occurred, I made a point to reach out to the LGBT community to reaffirm law enforcement commitments in protecting them. The LGBT community is one that matters to me a great deal, and that is reflected not just in what I’m doing as I campaign but what I’ve done over the course of my career. I feel very strongly that we have it within our power to move this country to a new, even better place for the LGBT community.

Under the current administration where the LGBTQ community is under attack, how do you plan on being a voice to advocate for them?

I’ve spent a whole lifetime doing that as a lawyer, and that’s exactly how I would be as a U.S. senator. I was very proud to represent the Denver Metro Chamber and One Colorado in filing an advocacy brief supporting the Colorado Civil Rights Commission in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case before the Supreme Court.

One of the things that this administration is after in particular is the rights of transgender persons and the efforts to roll back so many regulations and protections that the Obama administration advanced. These are things  that we have to keep our eye on. As senator, I will be very focused on this. I have a transgender nephew, actually, so it’s not it’s not something that’s all that far from home.

What would you say to you encourage people to remain optimistic in politics and the role of government?

Well, the thing that I always remember is that the United States has had, over the course of its history, moments like this in which things seemed dark and difficult, and in those moments have come some of the greatest examples of courage and determination to move the country forward. Whether it’s Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, or any number of real American heroes who have fought so hard for a basis to galvanize people to make this country a better place. I think we’re in one of those models; it’s a moment of great challenge, but it’s also truly a moment in which times call us all to do our best and what we can to help other people.