Update, 8:30 p.m., Nov. 5: After the final batch of results, Councilmember Nicole Speer has surpassed both Jenny Robins and Rob Kaplan. The winners are Councilmembers Matt Benjamin, Mark Wallach and Nicole Speer, and Rob Kaplan. An additional tally is scheduled for Nov. 13 to include overseas, military and cured ballots.
At least one Boulder City Council seat remains too close to call, with election night results suggesting one or more incumbents could be at risk of losing their seats. The final outcome may not be known for several days.
Councilmembers Matt Benjamin and Mark Wallach appear secure in their reelection bids, with two remaining seats in play. Eleven candidates vied for four open seats.
Rob Kaplan, a former captain with Boulder Rural Fire-Rescue, is in a strong position to win the third seat. Jenny Robins, chair of the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, held a narrow 390-vote lead over Councilmember Nicole Speer for the final spot as of midnight on election night. Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Folkerts trailed Speer by another 1,447 votes.
The results could change in the coming days. The county has reported receiving about 34,300 ballots from City of Boulder voters, with roughly 25,000 counted — leaving over a quarter still to be processed. Later ballots, typically cast by younger and more progressive voters, could shift the margins in favor of the incumbents. Both Speer and Folkerts gained ground with each batch of results released.
This year’s election served as a test of support for the council’s progressive majority, and early results indicate voters are divided. In recent years, the council has loosened land-use restrictions to allow denser housing, raised the city’s minimum wage, expanded bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and adopted new wildfire resilience standards for new construction.
Local moderate organizers had targeted the seats held by Speer and Folkerts, describing their effort as a push to “restore balance” and bring a more “pragmatic” approach to local government. The two incumbents, among the council’s more progressive members, drew attacks from more conservative groups over their criticism of the city’s camping ban and efforts to increase the minimum wage.
There was no single defining issue this year, in part because there was no resident-led ballot measure to shape the campaign around a single debate. However, Boulder Reporting Lab’s coverage and candidate questionnaires revealed differences on several key issues, including homelessness policy, cycling infrastructure, requirements for wildfire hardening of existing homes and the city’s minimum wage.
At Rosetta Hall on Walnut Street, where Boulder Progressives–endorsed incumbents and their supporters gathered to watch returns, the mood was tense but optimistic. Moments before the first results dropped, cheers erupted at news that Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, had likely won the New York City mayor’s race. The reaction was more subdued when the first batch of Boulder City Council results appeared on screen.
Mayor Aaron Brockett, who served as the emcee for the watch party, reminded the crowd of the “Folkerts effect,” a reference to Folkerts’ 2021 come-from-behind win after initially finishing near the bottom in early returns. Many remained hopeful that later ballots would help Folkerts and Speer close the gap.
Speer said the outcome may not be clear until the weekend and that she plans to track how the results trend in the coming days. “I’ll hold off on claiming victory until I get to my spreadsheets tomorrow morning,” she said with a hint of humor.
Before the results came in, Folkerts said the council was just getting started on issues related to land-use reforms, minimum wage and climate policy. She said she wants to go further over the next three years.
“We don’t move forward by playing it safe or protecting the status quo. We move forward when we stand with workers, renters, students and families, the people who make our city run,” she said to cheers. “Some folks want us to settle down, slow down our progress and to compromise until there is nothing left that’s meaningful to fight for. I believe Boulder deserves better than caution.”
Folkerts said she was feeling okay after the second batch of results.
Across town, supporters of Kaplan and Robins gathered at the Velvet Elk Lounge on 13th St., where the atmosphere was upbeat and hopeful as early results came in. Each of the first two batches of results showing Kaplan and Robins among the top four candidates was met with cheers and applause. As guests filed out at the end of the evening, many offered words of encouragement to the pair.
Looking at the first vote return, Kaplan said the whole campaign felt “surreal.”
“Like I’ll wake up tomorrow and this will all have been a dream,” he said of the months spent campaigning. As the night went on, he reported feeling excited, but “very cautious.”
“I’ll feel better when I see it in the morning, but I’m really grateful for everybody that’s been part of this,” Kaplan said.
Robins, who is running for the second time, was feeling more uncertain.
“I knew that this would be a difficult race, with four incumbents running for their seats,” she said after two returns had been reported, showing her among the top four candidates. “So I’m just really hopeful that I can maintain a lead to stay in fourth place, because I would really like to be on city council. I worked really hard to get my name out there and I really love public service, so I’m hoping to be able to take the job.”
Councilmembers Wallach and Tara Winer said the preliminary results showing the moderate candidates in the lead were bittersweet, since they had developed friendships with Speer and Folkerts after serving with them for four years on council.
“In some respects, I don’t want to see them lose,” Wallach said. “But when it comes to the balance on the council, I think we would be better served by having a change.”
This year’s election saw relatively modest campaign spending compared with prior contests, with campaigns raising about $126,000 combined. Final spending reports are due Dec. 4.
A central campaign dynamic was criticism directed toward Speer and Folkerts, including mischaracterizations and false claims in some groups’ emails and mailers suggesting they sought to cut funding for the city’s encampment removal program or defund the city’s police department.
In 2022, both Speer and Folkerts were the only councilmembers to vote against the city’s 2023 budget, citing concerns about the city’s encampment removal strategy. Since then, they’ve supported each subsequent budget, during which the police department reached full staffing and the city’s spending on clearing out encampments of homeless people increased to about $4 million annually, the highest levels yet. One of their challengers, Robins, was endorsed by the Boulder Police Officers Association.
In the lead-up to the election, many open comment periods at council meetings were dominated by residents urging Boulder to pass a ceasefire resolution and divest from companies tied to Israel in response to the war in Gaza. At times, the comments veered into antisemitic rhetoric directed at Jewish councilmembers. Stop Antisemitism Colorado endorsed candidates in the race. Two candidates — Rob Smoke and Aaron Stone — largely centered their campaigns on calls for Boulder to divest from Israel and take a stance on the Gaza war. Both candidates received less than 3% of the vote, according to election night results.
Ballot return data show at least 46% of Boulder County voters cast ballots in this election. That figure will increase and does not yet include ballots that need to be cured or those arriving from overseas. That compares to about 52% in 2023, the last odd-year election, when turnout is typically lower.
The next batch of results is expected to be posted Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 5 p.m.
Brooke Stephenson contributed reporting for this story.
Folkerts likely loosing. Defeating an incumbent is a big deal, Jan Burton being the last incumbent to loose in 2017 and before that BJ Miller in 1995. Her loss is likely because of the homeless issue; the down zoning of the city, bedrooms and affordability issues being a big yawn for voters and seemingly having little impact. Matt likely Mayor Pro Tem