DENVER (Diya TV) — Hetal Doshi, a seasoned federal prosecutor and former Department of Justice official, is mounting a bid to become Colorado’s next attorney general. At the South Asian Bar Association’s national convention, Doshi sat down with Diya TV’s Ravi Kapur to discuss her campaign, her deep legal background, and her vision for the state’s top law enforcement office.
Doshi, who recently stepped down from her DOJ role, said the political and legal climate compelled her to run.
“It is more important than ever to stand up for the rule of law and to advocate for the individual rights and economic opportunities of all Americans—particularly in Colorado,” she said.
Doshi served at the DOJ for nearly 11 years, initially as a federal prosecutor targeting white-collar crime and later as the lead for major civil and criminal antitrust litigation. She spearheaded cases such as United States v. Google and United States v. Apple, which she called “deeply structural” cases with both national importance and local economic impacts.
“That time at the Department of Justice taught me both how to be a law enforcer… and how to lead more than 800 lawyers, economists, and staff,” Doshi said.
If elected, she would replace current AG Phil Weiser who is termed out of office and is running for Colorado governor. Doshi plans to recruit top legal talent to ensure Colorado remains a leader in bipartisan coalitions and first-class legal advocacy.
And she was clear her role as attorney general would focus on Colorado law—not federal immigration enforcement, which has become a hot button issue.
“My job will be to enforce Colorado law, not federal law,” she explained. “It’s critical to think about immigration policy through the lens of what is sensible, what is legal, and what is fair.”
When asked how she would navigate Colorado’s shifting political identity—from a red state to a purplish-blue one—Doshi said she sees the state as fiercely independent.
Doshi described the hollowing out of federal agencies as one of her primary concerns. She pointed to reduced staffing and weakened enforcement capacities at the DOJ, SEC, and CFPB as threats to institutional integrity and public trust.
“The net impact is that less enforcement work can be done,” she said. “It’s just a numbers game.”
Born to immigrant parents and raised in Alabama, Doshi said her upbringing shaped her pragmatism and commitment to justice. She credits her early experiences in the Deep South—where she was often the only South Asian person in the room—with teaching her how to build coalitions and find common ground.
“The Alabama of the 1980s and ’90s is very different than today,” she said. “But my community taught me both justice and how to talk to people with different views.”
Doshi is the first lawyer in her family, a path she acknowledged wasn’t the most traditional for South Asian children of immigrants.
“It wasn’t the case that my parents were thrilled when I said I wanted to be a lawyer,” she said with a smile. “But I’ve always been called to advocacy and justice.”
Doshi also hopes civil discourse will come back in fashion at a time of deep political division.
“There may be people who don’t want to talk to me because of my party affiliation,” Doshi said. “But once they hear my story, I believe they’ll see themselves in it. That’s not a partisan question—it’s an American one.”
