Colorado Treasurer Race Pits Grantham Against Bridges For $20B Portfolio

Kevin Grantham spent two years as president of the Colorado Senate. He knows how money moves in Denver. Now he is running to control it as state treasurer.

The race for Colorado’s state treasurer pits Grantham, a Republican from Cañon City and Fremont County commissioner, against Democrat Jeff Bridges of Greenwood Village. The Colorado Sun reported on the candidates’ positions this week. The stakes are high. The office manages a state investment portfolio valued between $15 billion and $20 billion.

That is not pocket change. That is the money paying for your school construction, your local government operations, and the pensions of teachers and state employees.

Dave Young, the current Democratic treasurer, cannot run again. He hit the term limit. The next person in that chair will decide where billions of dollars sit, how they grow, and who gets paid when the market dips.

Bridges is no stranger to the money trail. He serves on the Joint Budget Committee, which he chaired in 2024 and 2025. Before his legislative career, he worked on Democratic political campaigns. He knows how to write a check and how to argue for it.

Grantham brings a different flavor. He was a real estate appraiser before politics. He sat on the Joint Budget Committee for two years. His background suggests he views state funds through a lens of asset valuation and risk management, not just legislative allocation.

The Colorado Sun asked both men about the state budget, TABOR, investments, and PERA. They also asked about unclaimed property — a program that acts as a state office for lost items, holding old bank accounts and insurance payments nobody claimed.

Two other candidates are in the mix: Jodie Barr of the Libertarian Party and Marilee Langner Sturgis of the Approval Voting Party. They are minor players in a two-horse race, but they hold votes that could matter in a tight district.

The office does more than invest money. It sits on the board of PERA, the Public Employees’ Retirement Association. That is where teachers and state workers get their pensions. The treasurer’s influence there is direct. If the portfolio underperforms, pension solvency takes a hit. If it over-performs, the state gets breathing room in its annual budget fights.

Bridges leans on his tenure in the Joint Budget Committee. He has been at the table when the legislature and governor negotiate the state budget for years. His argument is continuity. He knows the machinery because he helped operate it.

Grantham leans on his Senate presidency and his appraisal background. He argues he understands the value of assets in a way a legislator might not. He spent two years running the Senate floor, where budget fights are loudest and ugliest.

The outlet’s interview covers specific topics: how each candidate plans to handle state investments, PERA reforms, and the unclaimed property fund. The answers reveal their priorities. One focuses on market performance and diversification. The other emphasizes fiscal responsibility and political oversight.

You will see these positions debated in the next few weeks. The winner takes the keys to a $20 billion vault. They also take a seat at the table where PERA’s future is negotiated.

For neighbors in Cañon City, that means Grantham has home-field advantage. For folks in Greenwood Village and the Denver metro area, Bridges has the established base. The rest of the state will have to pick a side based on who they trust with their pension dollars and school construction bonds.

The current treasurer, Dave Young, leaves the office at the end of his term. The next person steps into a role that is part financial manager, part political appointee, and part board member for the state’s largest public pension fund.

No one is saying this will be boring. It won’t be. The money is too big, and the stakes for public workers’ retirement are too high.

The Colorado Sun noted that both major-party candidates have deep experience with the Joint Budget Committee. That is where the real fights happen. The treasurer’s office executes, but the committee directs.

Read that again: both candidates have sat on the Joint Budget Committee. They know each other’s moves. They’ve traded barbs in committee rooms for years. Now they are trading them on campaign trails.

The unclaimed property fund is the odd one out in this race. It’s a consumer protection issue, not just a finance issue. If you have an old bank account or a forgotten insurance check, this office holds it. The candidates’ answers on how they handle those funds will tell you something about their approach to public trust.

The race is tight enough that minor party candidates could matter, but the real choice is between Bridges and Grantham. One is a career Democrat with budget committee experience. The other is a Republican who ran the Senate and appraised real estate.

Who you pick depends on what you value more: legislative continuity or asset management expertise. The Colorado Sun will keep tracking their positions as the election approaches.

The money is there. The power is real. The next treasurer will shape how Colorado spends and saves for the next four years.