Colorado Democrats elected veteran political operative Shad Murib to chair the state party for the next two years at a meeting Saturday of the party's state central committee in Denver.
Taking the reins on the heels of the party's strongest run in decades — outgoing three-term state chair Morgan Carroll boasted later that more Democrats hold office in Colorado than at any time in the state's history — Murib said the party must expand its majorities in the legislature and congressional delegation while also electing more Democrats to local offices across the state.
"Sheriffs across the state refuse to enforce our gun safety laws. We have Republican county commissioners who won't build affordable housing. They won't enforce the oil and gas laws meant to keep our neighborhoods and schools safe. And Republican county clerks are straight up inviting corruption into their election offices," Murib told the roughly 500 Democrats gathered at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel for the party's biennial reorganization meeting.
"Republicans have majorities in these seats across the state, and I believe the next frontier of Democratic politics must be local."
In addition to a focus on legislative and county offices, Murib said a goal of the party in 2024 will be to defend Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo in the battleground 8th Congressional District and work to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who won reelection last year in the 3rd Congressional District by the closest margin in the country in a congressional race.
The 35-year-old Murib lives in Vail with his wife, former state Sen. Kerry Donovan. The two run a cattle ranch in nearby Edwards.
Murib won the party leadership election after two rounds of balloting, prevailing over longtime party volunteer and education consultant Tim Kubik and Howard Chou, the state party's incumbent 1st vice chair. Murib led in the first round with 43% of the vote to Kubik's 30% and Chou's 29%. In the run-off, Murib took 52% to Kubik's 48%.
Carroll, the former Senate president from Aurora who chaired the party since 2017, announced in December that she wasn't seeking another term.
The party's state central committee is made up of more than 500 party officers, elected officials and bonus members from larger counties, based on the vote for top-ticket Democrats in the last election.
Dozens voted by proxy, including the Democrats' state House caucus, who were debating a package of abortion bills during an extraordinary Saturday session at the state Capitol, and a slew of Denver mayoral candidates and campaign volunteers busy chasing ballots in the final days before the municipal election.
"We all know that our power is at the grassroots — the notion that deep and meaningful conversations can change the world," Murib said, accepting the nomination. "So thank you to the volunteers who have stepped up for the Democratic Party across the state. Thank you to everyone who drove long distances through blizzard and fire to be here, and thank you to all the House members fighting for abortion rights as we speak."
With Murib and his rivals for state chair mostly differing on how to fine-tune the Democrats' operations going forward, the party's leadership election appeared to be friendlier and more relaxed than the meeting held by the state GOP three weeks earlier in Loveland, when Republicans picked former state Rep. Dave Willams to chair the state party.
"Simply, we must protect and grow our majorities," Murib said. "Whether you're a moderate Democrat from Douglas County or a progressive Democrat from Boulder, you have a home here. We must unify and invest in electing Democrats in red and blue areas across the state."
Thank you @coloradodems for trusting me with this enormous privilege!Together, we’ll grow our party across the state to protect our legislative majorities and end the era of Republican dominance at the local level.The future of our state is bright! Go, fight, win. #copolitics https://t.co/6bHG1Ess4b
— Shad Murib 🤠 (@ShadMurib) April 1, 2023
Born and raised in Littleton to parents who immigrated from Lebanon — "It's a classic immigrant story: Dad moved here, three of his brothers followed, and then they all opened up competing vacuum stores in Aurora," Murib said — Murib said he got his start in politics in 2004 as volunteer coordinator for the Kerry campaign at his high school.
He's held numerous positions with campaigns, nonprofits and in government since, including as a legislative assistant for then-U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, chief of staff for the Colorado Senate Democrats, director of government and public affairs for Secretary of State Jena Griswold and most recently as state director for U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper.
Since departing Hickenloper's office, Murib has run a political consulting firm.
Also elected at the meeting were 1st vice chair Indira Duggirala; 2nd vice chair Scott Mangino; secretary Josh Trupin; treasurer Rosanna Reyes; vice chair for party operations Jarrod Munger; vice chair for cultural and demographic outreach Stephanie Bowman; vice chair for geographic outreach Amy Paschal and vice chair for marketing and public relations Sheena Kadi.
