Colorado Treasurer Candidate Brianna Titone Could Make History for Trans Representation (Again)

State Representative Brianna Titone broke barriers in 2018 as the first openly transgender person elected to the Colorado Legislature. Over six years later, in her final term in the House, Titone is setting her sights on a higher office — and another milestone for trans history.

Titone is now campaigning to be elected Colorado's next state treasurer in November 2026. She'd had her eye on the office for a while, as current Treasurer Dave Young is term-limited, but when President Donald Trump was reelected to the White House in November, Titone paused.

Anti-trans rhetoric was a cornerstone of Trump's campaign. On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order to mandate that the federal government only recognize two "not changeable" sexes, male and female. Then he signed another to ban trans people from military service. Then another to restrict gender-affirming care for people under nineteen. Then another to ban trans women and girls from female sports.

With trans rights cemented as one of the most polarizing issues in the country, Titone had a decision to make: Would she plunge herself into a hostile national spotlight with her run for office? Or walk back on her treasurer-race plans to avoid the vitriol?

Her choice was clear. "I mean, what else do I have to lose?" Titone says.

"I won't shy away from fighting because people need to see someone standing up," she continues. "If I can win this race, I can show that, despite all of the things they're trying to do to trans people, you will not put us down. You won't stop us from succeeding, because I don't subscribe to the hate and the rhetoric that they're putting on me."

If she becomes state treasurer, Titone would be the nation's first openly transgender person elected to a statewide executive office. She'd also be just the third transgender person elected to any statewide office, joining Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride and Kim Coco Iwamoto, a former at-large member of the Hawaii Board of Education.

Hitting that landmark for trans representation is not why she decided to run for treasurer, Titone says. But in today's political climate, she thinks it "could be an incredibly meaningful win."

"This country is taking away my rights," Titone says. "If Texas wants to put trans people in prison, what does that future look like for me as a trans person? Why wouldn't I put myself out in the spotlight and fight for a position that gives people more hope under the storm of this hateful president?"

Titone says her transgender identity was not an issue when she first ran for the Colorado House in 2018, noting that she flew under the radar since she was a long-shot Democrat running in HD 27, a district in Jefferson County that had heavily favored Republicans. But two years later, her reelection campaign was marred by transphobic attack ads.

One of Titone's Republican colleagues, then-Representative Stephen Humphrey, voiced robocalls made to voters, calling Titone "dangerous" and accusing her of trying to "force a radical sexual agenda on every Coloradan." Multiple conservative groups sent mailers misgendering and dead-naming Titone, as well.

The attacks didn't work. Titone won her 2020 reelection by nearly 1,900 votes, compared to less than 440 in 2018. Her margin of victory skyrocketed to over 8,200 votes in 2022 and 7,200 in 2024. But while Titone's popularity increased among voters, attitudes from her Republican colleagues got progressively worse, she says.

Republican representatives have repeatedly misgendered Titone during legislative work, including Ken DeGraaf and Scott Bottoms. During a floor debate on the Equal Rights Amendment, Bottoms said trans people were lying to themselves. More and more frequently, Republicans have agreed to co-sponsor legislation with Titone and then backed out without explanation, she says, or declined to work with her on bills even though they later voted to support them.

Last session, Titone says a lobbyist told her the Senate Republicans would not agree to support a bill removing Colorado's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage because Titone was sponsoring it. Titone ultimately removed her name from the bill, which then passed with bipartisan support.

"I have to walk a tightrope while people are throwing things at me to try to make me fail or look bad," Titone says. "I always feel the burden and the responsibility of being the first. ...I can't disappoint. I can't screw up. I have to do everything right."

This treatment came as the Colorado GOP sent emails attacking the LGBTQ community and declaring that "God Hates Pride"; urged parents to pull their children out of public schools because the schools "turn more kids trans"; and publicly reprimanded four local Republican politicians for defending a transgender Montana lawmaker who was banned from the Montana House floor.

Last year, the Colorado GOP went after another transgender woman running for the state legislature, sending an email that misgendered Senate candidate Vivian Smotherman and included screenshots of social media posts calling her "mentally ill" and “a man pretending to be a woman.” Smotherman lost the election. The email also mentioned Titone by her dead name and claimed she won her seat because of "DEI."

The hate has gotten worse online, as well. Titone says X (formerly Twitter) has become virtually unusable for her due to constant insults and harassment. "It's not about how I do my job or how I handle myself...it's about demonizing me and ganging up on me because of my identity," she notes.

These days, Titone says she only looks at her X account to monitor threats made against her life or safety.

She fears the hateful statements could turn into violent acts, and those fears are only heightened as she enters the race for treasurer. But Titone is pushing through those concerns.

"This is too important right now," she says. "I'm the most qualified person for the job of treasurer, and it's more important now than ever that we stand up to bullies trying to put trans people down. So, I guess the timing couldn't be better, because I'm not the type of person who is going to back down, no matter who is in my way."

Titone has never faced a primary challenger in her House races, but she's bound to face many opponents in her bid for treasurer. Although no Republican candidates have announced campaigns yet, two other Democrats are already in the running — Jefferson County Treasurer Jerry DiTullio and former El Paso County party chair John Mikos — and more are expected to join.

Titone touts her financial and legislative experience as preparing her to oversee the state’s investments and bank accounts as treasurer. She is currently vice chair of the House Finance Committee and a member of the House Appropriations Committee, in addition to chairing the Joint Technology Committee.

A geologist by trade, Titone says her scientific background helps her approach issues objectively, review data, listen to experts and find creative solutions to problems. She holds bachelor's degrees in physics and geology (with a minor in mathematics), master's degrees in geochemistry and information communication technology, and attended the Harvard Kennedy School's executive leadership program for state and local officials.

If elected, her goals include preserving the Public Employees’ Retirement Association, improving the unclaimed property system, revisiting the idea of establishing a baby bond program, and finding workarounds to state revenue restrictions under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.

Titone says she would also follow the current treasurer's lead in speaking out against national policies "to make it known that we won't just be victims of these bad decisions." Young has recently publicly condemned Trump's moves to freeze federal funding and impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Titone says that her commentary could extend to social policies, as well as economics.

"You can almost always find an economic impact to a lot of the decisions that are made," Titone says. "If I'm elected, it's important to voice that opinion, to speak out. That's what being a leader is."

She describes Colorado as a "safe" state for transgender people, but she says becoming state treasurer could help trans people across the country.

"With a win as big as this, we're getting closer to those positions where we can have even more impact on the policy and the narrative and the conversation," Titone says. "It shows the world that trans people are valid and should be welcome into all the different spaces.

"Just being here is helping people. It gives them hope. It gives them purpose. Because if I am here doing this, it shows that things are possible for them."