Crisanta Duran (born August 23, 1980) is a former American politician who served as the 38th Speaker of the

Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...

from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the Colorado State Representative for the 5th district from 2011 to 2019, which encompasses part of northwest

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She served as Majority Leader from 2015 to 2017. Duran is the first and only Latina elected Speaker of the House in state history.

Early life

Duran was born in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Colora ...

, and is one of three children. Duran's father worked at a tire shop before eventually becoming the president of the

United Food and Commercial Workers The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...

Local 7 union.

Education

Duran graduated from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

in 2002, double-majoring in Spanish and public policy. Duran earned a Juris Doctor degree from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

Career

Duran started her legal career as an attorney with the United Food and Commercial Workers.

Colorado House of Representatives

In 2010, Duran won election to the Colorado House of Representatives for a seat based in western Denver. Duran was elected as the Colorado House majority leader in November 2014. In 2014, the ''Washington Post'' named Duran to its "40 under 40" list of rising political stars. She currently serves on the Board of Advisors of

Let America Vote Let America Vote is a political action organization founded by former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander in February 2017. Its mission is to end voter suppression across the country. Overview Kander first became concerned about voter suppr ...

, an organization founded by former

Missouri Secretary of State The people below have served as the Secretary of State of the U.S. state of Missouri. List Gallery File:Warren E. Hearnes.jpg, Warren E. Hearnes File:James C. Kirkpatrick.jpg, James C. Kirkpatrick File:Rep Roy Blunt.jpg, Roy Blunt File:Mattb ...

Jason Kander that aims to end

voter suppression Voter suppression is a strategy used to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting ...

Congressional run

On February 24, 2019, Duran announced her campaign to represent

Colorado's 1st congressional district Colorado's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado based primarily in the City and County of Denver in the central part of the state. The district includes all of the City and County of Denver, and ...

after the

2020 United States House of Representatives elections The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 3, 2020, to elect representatives from all 435 congressional districts across each of the 50 U.S. states, as well as six non-voting delegates from the District of ...

. However, she ended her campaign on October 11, 2019 after failing to attract sufficient support or campaign contributions. Duran had previously considered a run for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

Awards

* 2016 Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award. Presented by

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

. April 12, 2016.

References

External links

Legislative web page

Campaign web site
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Duran, Crisanta 1980 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American women lawyers Colorado lawyers Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Colorado Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people Politicians from Denver Speakers of the Colorado House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Trade unionists from Colorado United Food and Commercial Workers people University of Colorado Law School alumni University of Denver alumni Women legislative speakers Women state legislators in Colorado