CO Vote Fraud Claimer Seeks Secretary of State Post After Arrest

GRAND JUNCTION, CO — A far-right county clerk in Mesa County who repeatedly promoted baseless election fraud claims is running to become the state's top elections official, days after she was accused of obstructing investigators and resisting arrest at a bagel shop in Grand Junction.

Tina Peters turned herself into the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office last week on an arrest warrant and was released on a $500 bond following her encounter with police officers, who tried to seize an iPad under a search warrant. She faces misdemeanor charges of obstructing a peace officer and obstructing government operations.

As Colorado Newsline reported at the time, authorities said the iPad contained prohibited recordings of a court proceeding involving Peters' deputy clerk, who faces burglary and cybercrime charges stemming from a workplace misconduct investigation. Peters is a Republican who has promoted baseless claims that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. She is separately under investigation after authorities said she allowed unauthorized access to county voting systems in May 2021.

Peters said Monday she's running for secretary of state, making the announcement on a show run by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, The Colorado Sun reported.

“Colorado deserves a secretary of state who will stand up to the Biden administration that wants to run our country into the ground with nationalized elections,” Peters said.

Peters has not formally filed her candidacy, the news outlet reported. She initially planned to seek re-election for a second four-year term as county clerk and recorder.

Peters told the Conservative Daily Podcast on Monday she "won't quit standing up against corruption and against massive government overreach."

"That's why today I'm announcing I'm running for Colorado secretary of state," she said.

Current Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold took to Twitter on Monday to use the news as an opportunity to solicit campaign donations. She called Peters "unfit" for the position.

"Election denier Tina Peters just jumped in to run against me," Griswold tweeted. "She compromised voting equipment, lies about elections, and has embraced dangerous extremism. Rush in a donation NOW to make sure we can win this race. "