HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Morgan Lenore Carroll (born November 24, 1971) is an
American politician In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches share powers: Congress, which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legis ...
from
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
and was the Chairwoman of the
Colorado Democratic Party The Colorado Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Colorado. Shad Murib serves as its chair. The governing body of the party is the State Central Committee, which consists of the chair and vice chair of t ...
. A
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...
, Carroll represented Colorado House District 36 in the city of
Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
from 2004 to 2008, and she represented the state's 29th Senate district from 2009 to 2017. Carroll served as President of the
Colorado State Senate The Colorado State Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of about ...
from 2013 to 2014 and as minority leader in 2015. Carroll stepped down as minority leader in July 2015 to unsuccessfully run against incumbent Republican
Mike Coffman Michael Harold Coffman (born March 19, 1955) is an American politician, businessman, and veteran of the United States Army, U.S. Army and United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps serving as Mayor of Aurora, Colorado since 2019. A Republican ...
for
Colorado's 6th congressional district Colorado's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in central Colorado, the district encompasses much of the eastern part of the Denver metropolitan area, including all of Aurora, as well as p ...
in the U.S. House of Representatives. Carroll chaired the Colorado Democratic Party from 2017 to 2023. During her tenure, the party achieved significant power by gaining or controlling all statewide executive offices and the state legislature, which ultimately led to Colorado turning from a swing state into a blue state. In addition to her legislative work, Carroll works for the law firm of Bachus & Schanker.


Early life and education

Morgan Carroll was born November 24, 1971, in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, to John Carroll and Rebecca Bradley. Her father was a lawyer who served as a Colorado State Representative for Adams County between 1964 and 1974. Her mother was an attorney and Carroll's partner at the mother/daughter disability and family-law firm Carroll & Bradley in
Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...
from 2000 to 2010. When Carroll was young, she helped care for her father after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, and later, Alzheimer's. Her family experienced financial difficulties during that time. Carroll graduated from
Boulder High School Boulder High School is a high school in Boulder, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Boulder Valley School District. Boulder High School was founded in 1875 as a preparatory school to the University of Colorado. In 1876, it was the first ...
in 1990. She worked various jobs, including at a gas station and fast-food restaurant, to pay for her education. She graduated from the
University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university located in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. Established in 1912 as an extension of the University of C ...
in 1996 and from the
University of Colorado Law School The University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor or Master of Studies i ...
in 2000.


Colorado State Legislature


Colorado House of Representatives

Carroll first ran for 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 distri ...
District 36 in 2004, defeating Republican Jim Parker 55%-45%. She won reelection in 2006 with 62% of the vote against Republican Brian R. Boney.


Colorado State Senate

Carroll first ran for the
Colorado State Senate The Colorado State Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of about ...
District 29 in 2008, defeating Republican Suzanne Andrews 69%-31%. She won re-election in 2012 with 59% of the vote, defeating Republican Bill Ross and Libertarian Michele Poague.


Tenure

Carroll sponsored lobbying disclosure laws in 2006 and 2014. During her first year in office, she refused to discuss legislative issues with lobbyists during debate, a practice that led them to complain about her to the Democratic leadership. Her first bill, a workers compensation measure that would allow injured workers to choose their own doctors, was opposed by 240 lobbyists and ultimately failed, as did the other two bills Carroll submitted that year. She is considered an environmentalist, and has been criticized by lobbyists for oil and gas companies. In 2013, Carroll and fellow Democratic Representative
Rhonda Fields Rhonda Marshall Fields is a Democratic politician from Colorado. She represents District 28 in the Colorado Senate. During the 2020 reapportionment process, Buckner's residence moved from senate district 29 to senate district 28. Earlier, she ...
sponsored Colorado House Bill 1229, which mandates universal background checks for gun purchases in the state.


Colorado State Senate Committee assignments

*Senate Judiciary Committee (chair) *Executive Committee of the Legislative Council (Vice-chair) *Legislative Council (Vice-chair) *Senate Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy Committee *Senate Health and Human Services Committee *Police Officers and Firefighters Pension Reform Committee *Redistricting Committee


2016 U.S. Congress campaign

Carroll was the 2016 Democratic nominee in
Colorado's 6th congressional district Colorado's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in central Colorado, the district encompasses much of the eastern part of the Denver metropolitan area, including all of Aurora, as well as p ...
. She was defeated by incumbent Republican Representative
Mike Coffman Michael Harold Coffman (born March 19, 1955) is an American politician, businessman, and veteran of the United States Army, U.S. Army and United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps serving as Mayor of Aurora, Colorado since 2019. A Republican ...
in the general election, in which she won 42% of the vote. Carroll was endorsed by Democratic Colorado Governor
John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. ( ; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician, geologist, and businessman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A mem ...
,
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization
,
NARAL Pro-Choice America Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America and commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, politics, political action, and advocacy efforts to op ...
,
EMILY's List EMILYs List is a left-leaning 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 "E ...
, the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a trade union, labor union that represents approximately 820,000 workers and retirees in the electricity, electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, an ...
, and the
League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "builds political power for people and the planet." Through its affiliated super PAC, it is a major supporter of the Democratic Party. The org ...
. A super PAC called Immigrant Voters Wins supported her, spending $10,000 as of September 2016. Carroll raised the majority of her contributions from individual donors.
Americans for Prosperity Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a Libertarian conservatism, libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States affiliated with brothers Charles Koch and the late David Koch. As the Koch family's primary pol ...
, the conservative advocacy organization backed by the
Koch family The Koch family ( ) is an American family engaged in business, best known for their political activities in the Koch network and their control of Koch Inc, the 2nd largest privately owned company in the United States (with 2019 revenues of $1 ...
, alleged that Carroll had conflicts of interest while serving in the state senate. ''
The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...
'' rated the claim somewhat true and wrote that AFP's claim of a conflict of interest was not true in that Carroll had not benefited from the bill, but that the Colorado Ethics Board of the General Assembly had ruled that lawmakers should proactively disclose "potential" conflicts of interest.


Colorado Democratic Party

After an unsuccessful campaign to become the next congressional representative for Colorado's 6th congressional district, Carroll shortly after announced her candidacy for the chairmanship of the Colorado Democratic Party. On March 11, 2017, Carroll was elected as the next chairperson of the party. During her tenure, the party achieved unprecedented influence by gaining or controlling all statewide executive offices and the state legislature, a process that ultimately led Colorado to shift from a swing state into a blue state. In December 2022, Carroll announced that she planned not to run for re-election for the position.


Personal life

Carroll was briefly married and is now divorced. Her longtime partner and former campaign manager,
Mike Weissman Mike Weissman is a Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives. He represents District 36, which covers a portion of Arapahoe County. He was first elected to his seat in 2016, succeeding Su Ryden. Weissman is an attorney who ha ...
, is a member of the Colorado House of Representatives. Carroll is the author of ''Take Back Your Government: A Citizen's Guide to Grassroots Change'' (2011).


References


External links

*
U.S. Congress campaign website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Morgan 1971 births 21st-century members of the Colorado General Assembly 21st-century American women politicians Boulder High School alumni University of Colorado Law School alumni Colorado Democratic Party chairs Democratic Party Colorado state senators Democratic Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Living people Presidents of the Colorado Senate Women state legislators in Colorado