Scott Gessler
Scott Gessler is the former Republican Colorado Secretary of State. He was first elected to the statewide position in 2010, unseating Democratic incumbent Bernie Buescher.[1] He was sworn into office on January 11, 2011.
Gessler did not seek re-election when his seat came up in 2014. Although he initially stated his intention to run for a second term in March 2013, two months later Gessler suspended his re-election campaign and filed paperwork allowing him to begin raising money for a potential gubernatorial bid, confirming rumors he had designs on a higher office.
Gessler officially entered the gubernatorial race on September 17, 2013, becoming the third declared candidate in the Republican primary field, after former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo and state Sen. Greg Brophy, setting up a possible showdown with Democratic incumbent Gov. John Hickenlooper. At his campaign launch, Gessler, arguably one of the governor's most outspoken critics since they had both taken office in 2011, called Hickenlooper the "TBD governor," and then stated, "I'm the only one who's actually won a statewide campaign, beating a Democratic incumbent...I think I can beat a Democrat incumbent again." [2][3] Gessler lost to Bob Beauprez in the Republican primary election on June 24, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Gessler was a district-level delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Colorado. Gessler was one of 30 delegates from Colorado initially bound by state party rules to support Ted Cruz at the convention. Colorado's delegates were later released since Cruz withdrew from the race.[4][5] Cruz suspended his campaign on May 3, 2016. At the time, he had approximately 546 bound delegates. For more on what happened to his delegates, see this page.
Biography
Gessler grew up in Riverside, Illinois. He graduated from Riverside-Brookfield High School in 1983, and went on to earn his B.A., MBA and J.D., from Yale University, Northwestern University and University of Michigan, respectively.
After receiving his law degree in 1990, Gessler began his career as a federal prosecutor for the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He served as a reservist in the United States Army for sixteen years and has served overseas in locations such as Bosnia where he ran a Civil-Military Cooperation Centre in Gornji Vakuf, and Travnik, both in British Multi-National Division Southwest. Following his move to Colorado, Gessler joined Hackstaff Gessler LLC, a Denver-based private practice law firm, where he still works today. Prior to assuming office of secretary, he taught election law at the University of Colorado Law School.[6]
Education
- Riverside-Brookfield High School (1983)
- Bachelor's degree, Yale University (1987) in history and political science
- Juris Doctorate degree, University of Michigan (1990)
- Master's of Business Administration degree, Northwestern University (1996)
Political career
Colorado Secretary of State (2011-2015)
Gessler defeated incumbent Bernie Buescher (D) in the 2010 general election, becoming Colorado's 37th Secretary of State.
Noteworthy events
Discretionary fund misuse
On June 13, 2013, Gessler was charged with misusing his office's discretionary fund to attend a lawyers conference that took place in Florida. The Colorado state ethics commission determined that Gessler had "breached the public trust for private gain" by using taxpayer money to fund a trip that was not in service of the office. Gessler went to the conference to earn ongoing legal education credits, which were necessary to maintain an up to date law license, but not a requirement of the secretary of state.[7]
In reaction to the ruling, Gessler accused the commission of unfairly targeting him because of his affiliation with the Republican Party. He pointed out that "two commissioners have donated to my political opponents, and they both unsurprisingly ruled against me." The ethics commission is a five-member panel composed of both Democrats and Republicans.
Gessler's relevant travel expenses were found to have cost Colorado taxpayers about $1,800, and he was penalized twice that sum to reimburse the state. The investigation into Gessler's ethics violations cost the commission and the secretary of state's office $143,000 in legal fees.[8]
Ballot-mailing legislation
Gessler filed a lawsuit and subsequently testified against a popular bill to include and/or reactivate voters classified as "inactive-failed to vote" since 2010.[9] The bill, introduced by Democratic Pueblo County Clerks, aimed to reach out to this base of underground or circumstantially disenfranchised voters, comprising roughly 71,000 Coloradoans between Denver and Pueblo, by automatically mailing them ballots. Supporters argued that "without the legislation, it would be more difficult for seniors, active duty military and others who rely on mail ballots to cast votes in 2012."[10] Gessler cited the legislation's expense, the importance of procedural uniformity in elections across all counties and the irresponsibility of performing "radical surgery on elections administration" shortly before a presidential election."[10] His initial reaction was to file suit against Denver County, one of the two "Democratic strongholds" the bill would target.[9] When his request for an injunction was rejected by Denver District Judge Brian Whitney in October 2011, he continued to try to stop the bill, leading up to his controversial testimony in March 2012. Angered Democratic lawmakers and party-members were adamant that his opposition reflected a disposition toward letting his partisan agenda precede the concern for doing right by Colorado voters, noting that the only clerks who were not on board were Republican and the mailings would primarily impact Democratic-leaning precincts.
After the judge's ruling in October 2011, thousands of dormant military voters, some overseas, were mailed ballots. Gessler invoked his preemptive authority as the state's chief elections official to issue the clerks a cease and desist order.[9] The bill passed in the State Senate 29-10 but was ultimately killed in the Republican-dominated House local affairs committee on March 28, 2012. Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio said afterward, "If Gessler is unwilling to fulfill his duties as a nonpartisan election officer, the people of Colorado should consider all avenues necessary to remove him as Secretary of State."[10] A member from Gessler's public relations team responded that he would not dignify "left-wing antagonism," including Palacio's threat of a potential recall election.[10]
Issue committee financial reporting
On June 10, 2011, two nonprofit voter advocacy groups, Common Cause Colorado (dead link) and Colorado Ethics Watch, sued Gessler in Denver District Court over a new financial rule he imposed on ballot measure issue committees. Gessler, in his capacity as Secretary of State, had announced in May 2011 that issue committees would only be required to report contributions and expenditures over $5,000; under the Colorado Constitution, that threshold is set at $200. The $5,000 requirement is standard in several other states, including neighboring Nebraska.
Gessler explained that he imposed the new rule in response to a November 2010 court decision against the state, in which the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the $200 threshold excessively low and unduly burdensome to issue committees. He criticized the plaintiffs in the June 2011 suit, noting that he acted to protect the state, which had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars defending itself before the 10th Circuit. "This latest complaint only adds insult to injury," he said.[11] In response, Common Cause Colorado and Colorado Ethics Watch argued that Gessler's office lacked the authority to rewrite state campaign finance law by fiat. They also suggested that applying a one-size-fits-all rule like Gessler's to "every ballot question ... from the smallest local measure to a statewide ballot initiative where millions of dollars are involved," was inappropriate.
In addition to raising the reporting threshold to $5,000, Gessler's rewrite of the campaign finance rules also called for limiting the total fine that may be charged for late or incomplete campaign-finance reports to $9,000, or $50 a day for up to 180 days. The new order went into effect permanently on March 30, 2012. The suit's unsuccessful plaintiffs, among other critics, expressed disappointment that these rules would greater strengthen the already influential role of money in determining election outcomes. Gessler countered that the rewrites promote First Amendment rights. "We want to make campaign finance requirements as clear as possible so that Coloradoans can get the transparency they expect with maximum political participation and civic engagement," he said on February 22, 2012.[12]
Presidential preference
2012
Scott Gessler endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[13]
Elections
2014
Contradicting Gessler's March 2013 announcement that he would run for a second term as secretary of state, The Denver Post reported in May that he was in fact exploring a bid to take on Democratic incumbent Gov. John Hickenlooper.[14][15] Gessler subsequently suspended his secretary of state re-election campaign, but did not immediately announce his candidacy for governor. After filing paperwork to start raising money for a potential gubernatorial campaign, Gessler stated his plans "to spend the summer making sure my issues are the right issues for the state of Colorado."[16] He officially entered the race on September 17, 2013, becoming the third candidate in the Republican primary field after former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo and state Sen. Greg Brophy, the latter of whom ultimately did not qualify for the primary ballot.[17]
Gessler sought the Republican nomination in the primary election on June 24, 2014. He was defeated by Bob Beauprez.
Primary Election Results
| Governor of Colorado, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Bob Beauprez |
30.2% | 116,333 | ||
| Tom Tancredo | 26.7% | 102,830 | ||
| Scott Gessler | 23.2% | 89,213 | ||
| Mike Kopp | 19.9% | 76,373 | ||
| Total Votes | 384,749 | |||
| Election results via Colorado Secretary of State. | ||||
Endorsements
Gessler's 2014 gubernatorial campaign was endorsed by:[18]
- Former Rep. Bob Schaffer
- Former Speaker of the House Lola Spradley
- Grand Junction Mayor Sam Susuras
- Former Fort Collins Mayor Ray Martinez
- Former El Paso County GOP chairman Eli Bremer
- Former El Paso County GOP executive director Bill Roy
- Former Chaffee GOP chairman Dave Williams
- Pueblo law enforcement veteran George Rivera
A complete list of endorsements could be found here, at Gessler's Official campaign website.
Race background
Democratic nomination
Democratic incumbent Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper ran for re-election in 2014 alongside Lieutenant Governor Joseph Garcia (D). Hickenlooper and Garcia were first elected together in 2010. They were uncontested for re-nomination in the Democratic primary on June 24, 2014.
Republican nomination
On June 24, Colorado voters selected Bob Beauprez as the Republican nominee for governor. It was the only contested primary for a statewide office held that day. Beauprez represented Colorado's 7th Congressional District from 2003 to 2007 and he was the Republican nominee for governor in 2006.[19] He drew 30 percent of the primary vote, according to unofficial totals, defeating Tom Tancredo (27 percent), Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler (23 percent) and Mike Kopp (20 percent).[20] Gessler passed up a possible second term as secretary of state in 2014 in favor of an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to challenge Hickenlooper for the state's top office. Since Gessler was knocked out of the governor's race, he was unable to make a bid for re-election as secretary of state.
On the advertising front, the primary campaign season was a relatively quiet one for the governor's race, a trend which was not continued in the general election. According to the candidates' campaign finance reports due July 1, Hickenlooper raised nearly $3 million in preparation for the second phase of the 2014 campaign cycle and ended the reporting period with $579,268 of cash on hand. Meanwhile, Beauprez, having weathered a tough primary battle, was left with $34,921 cash on hand. Beauprez' total fundraising for the cycle as of June 25 was $351,921, and he already faced loans exceeding $500,000, most of which he lent to himself.[21]
General election
Hickenlooper, Beauprez, Matthew Hess (Libertarian), Harry Hempy (Green) and various unaffiliated candidates competed in the general election on November 4, 2014.[22][23]
In September 2014, Governing rated the race between Hickenlooper and Beauprez as a "Toss-up" while The Cook Political Report gave Hickenlooper a slight advantage with a "Lean D" rating.[24][25]
Polls
| Hickenlooper vs. Gessler | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | John Hickenlooper (D)* | Scott Gessler (R) | Someone else | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| Public Policy Polling (December 3-4, 2013) | 47% | 40% | 0% | 12% | +/-3.2 | 928 | |||||||||||||
| Quinnipiac University (Aug. 15-21, 2013) | 47% | 42% | 1% | 10% | +/-2.9 | 1,184 | |||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 47% | 41% | 0.5% | 11% | +/-3.05 | 1,056 | |||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected]. | |||||||||||||||||||
2010
- General Election
- Gessler won the general election race for secretary of state with 49.5% of the vote.
| 2010 Race for Secretary of State - General Election[26] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party |  Scott Gessler
|
49.5% | |
| Democratic Party | Bernie Buescher | 43.9% | |
| Constitution Party | Amanda Campbell | 6.6% | |
| Total Votes | 1,722,096 | ||
- 2010 Race for Secretary of State - Republican Primary[27]
- Scott Gessler ran unopposed in this contest
Campaign contributions
The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
| Scott Gessler campaign contribution history | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| 2014 | Colorado Governor |  |
$573,138 | |
| 2012 | Colorado Secretary of State |  |
$42,126 | |
| 2010 | Colorado Secretary of State |  |
$275,449 | |
| Grand total raised | $890,713 | |||
| Source: [[28] Follow the Money] | ||||
Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. See the table below for more information about the campaign donors who supported Scott Gessler.[29] Click [show] for more information.
| Scott Gessler Campaign Contributions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 Colorado Governor | 2010 Colorado Secretary of State | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total raised | $573,138 | $275,449 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total raised by opponents | $2,901,289 (Republican) | $354,663 (Democrat) | |||||||||||||||||
| Top 5 contributors | Scott Gessler | $22,284 | Jessica Peck Corry | $1,650 | |||||||||||||||
| Boulder County Republican Central Committee | $5,400 | John Saeman | $1,550 | ||||||||||||||||
| Kenneth Green | $2,200 | Denver County Republican Central Committee | $1,500 | ||||||||||||||||
| William Martine | $1,550 | Lola L Spradley | $1,250 | ||||||||||||||||
| Donald Scott | $1,350 | 15 individuals | $1,050 each | ||||||||||||||||
| Individuals | $558,783 | $255,446 | |||||||||||||||||
| Institutions | $5,291 ($9,063 other) | $9,594 | |||||||||||||||||
| In-state donations | $526,369 | $269,971 | |||||||||||||||||
| Out-of-state donations | $45,293 ($1,475 unknown) | $5,478 | |||||||||||||||||
2016 Republican National Convention
- See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
Gessler was a district-level delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from Colorado. Gessler was bound by state party rules to support Ted Cruz.[30]
Delegate rules
At-large and congressional district delegates from Colorado to the 2016 Republican National Convention were elected at district conventions and at the state convention. 2016 Colorado GOP bylaws did not require delegates to pledge their support to a specific candidate. If a delegate chose to pledge his or her support, however, Colorado GOP bylaws stipulated that the delegate was bound to the candidate to whom he or she pledged their support on their intent-to-run form through the first round of voting at the national convention unless released by the candidate or if the candidate's name was not placed on the nominating ballot.
Colorado caucus
- See also: Presidential election in Colorado, 2016
In August 2015, the Colorado GOP cancelled its presidential preference poll, which was scheduled to coincide with the Republican caucuses on March 1, 2016. According to The Denver Post, the Republican executive committee "voted to cancel the traditional presidential preference poll after the national party changed its rules to require a state's delegates to support the candidate that wins the caucus vote." Colorado Republicans still sent delegates to the Republican National Convention in July 2016. District-level and at-large delegates (34) were bound according to the preferred candidates indicated on their intent-to-run forms. RNC delegates (3) were unbound, meaning that they did not have to pledge their support to a given candidate.[31] Though Republican precinct caucuses were held on March 1 in Colorado, Colorado Republican National Convention delegates were chosen at district conventions and the Colorado state GOP convention in April.[32] Colorado Republican Party rules required participants in the district conventions and statewide convention to have participated in the precinct caucuses.[33]
Delegate allocation
Colorado had 37 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 21 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's seven congressional districts). Thirteen delegates served at large. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as delegates to the Republican National Convention.[34][35]
In 2015, the Republican Party of Colorado decided not to conduct a presidential preference poll in 2016. As a result, according to the Republican National Committee, all delegates were bound according to the preferred candidates indicated on their intent-to-run forms. RNC delegates were unbound, meaning that they did not have to pledge their support to a given candidate.[34][36]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Gessler currently resides in Denver, Colorado with his wife, Kristi, and their daughter, Sofia.[37]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Scott + Gessler + Colorado + Secretary"
Contact information
Capitol Address:
Secretary of State
1700 Broadway, Ste. 270
Denver, CO 80290
Phone: (303) 894-2200
Toll Free Phone: (303) 869-4867
Fax: (303) 869-4860
E-mail: [email protected]
See also
External links
Campaign links
- Official Colorado Secretary of State website
- Scott Gessler's Twitter account
- Project Vote Smart - Scott Gessler biography
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ Grand Junction Sentinel, "Gessler becomes new Colo. secretary of state" 3 Nov. 2010
- ↑ National Journal, "Hickenlooper Winning Bipartisan Praise," January 24, 2013
- ↑ 9news.com, "Amid flood disaster, Scott Gessler announces bid for governor," September 17, 2013
- ↑ The Journal, "Colorado delegates back Cruz over Trump," July 20, 2016
- ↑ Colorado GOP, "CO GOP 2016 State Convention Results," accessed April 25, 2016
- ↑ Gessler for Colorado, "About Scott Gessler," accessed August 27, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ The Gazette, "Panel: Secretary of State Scott Gessler violated ethics rules over spending," June 13, 2013
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Colorado Secretary of State wrong to use state funds for trip, ethics commission rules," June 14, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 The Denver Post, "Judge's ruling allows Nov. 1 election ballots to be sent to inactive voters," October 8, 2011
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 The Denver Post, "Colorado Democrats want Secretary of State Scott Gessler removed from office," March 29, 2012
- ↑ Denver Post, "2 groups sue Gessler over campaign finance decision," June 10, 2011
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Secretary of State Scott Gessler rewrites Colorado campaign finance rules," accessed February 23, 2012
- ↑ Mitt Romney for President, "Mitt Romney Announces Support of Minnesota Leaders," February 4, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ The Colorado Statesman, "Gessler announces for re-election as secretary of state," March 29, 2013
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Scott Gessler evaluating run for Colorado governor in 2014," May 16, 2013
- ↑ 9 News, "Scott Gessler suspends re-election bid to focus on Governor's race," May 30, 2013," accessed June25, 2013
- ↑ 9news.com, "Amid flood disaster, Scott Gessler announces bid for governor," September 17, 2013
- ↑ >The Denver Post, "Scott Gessler releases endorsements list in 2014 Republican race for governor," December 6, 2013
- ↑ Bob Beauprez for Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed June 25, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "Colorado - Summary Vote Results," last updated June 25, 2014
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Hickenlooper fundraising passes $3 million mark," July 1, 2014
- ↑ Reuters, "Former congressman Beauprez to challenge Colorado governor," June 24, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Election Official Candidate List," accessed June 23, 2014
- ↑ Governing, "2014 Governors Races," September 10, 2014
- ↑ The Cook Political Report, "Governors Race Ratings 2014," September 15, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State - 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State - 2010 Republican Primary Election Results
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Career financing for Scott Gessler," accessed July 8, 2013
- ↑ Follow the Money.org, "Home," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ Colorado GOP, "CO GOP 2016 State Convention Results," accessed April 25, 2016
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Colorado Republicans cancel presidential vote at 2016 caucus," August 25, 2015
- ↑ Colorado GOP, "Caucus/Assembly/Convention 2016," January 19, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedwsj - ↑ 34.0 34.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Colorado Republicans cancel presidential vote at 2016 caucus," August 25, 2015
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Secretary Scott Gessler's Biography," accessed August 27, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bernie Buescher (D) |
Colorado Secretary of State 2011-2015 |
Succeeded by Wayne W. Williams (R) |
| |||||||||||||||||||
