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Former state Rep. Edie Hooton won the Democratic primary Tuesday night for the University of Colorado Board of Regents in the 2nd Congressional District, one of the most closely watched local races of the night.
The win makes Hooton the overwhelming favorite in November, given the district’s Democratic leanings.
Separately, in the Democratic primary for Boulder County treasurer, former Boulder City Councilmember Rachel Friend holds a substantial lead over Superior Town Councilmember Jenn Kaaoush.
Preliminary ballot return data showed about 37% of registered voters cast ballots in the June 30 primary. Thousands of ballots remained to be counted Tuesday night, according to election night results.
Three Democratic candidates were seeking the CU regent seat in District 2, which includes Boulder. Hooton received 43% of the vote, followed by Murray Smith, a geospatial data scientist, with about 30% of the vote, and attorney Kubs Lalchandani with 27%.
The candidates largely agreed on major policy issues, including collective bargaining rights for university employees and ending CU Boulder’s contract with Key Lime Air, which contracts with ICE to transport detainees. As such, the race increasingly centered on identity politics and campaign conduct. Hooton lost an endorsement over her handling of a Reddit post created by her former campaign manager posing as a CU parent and attacking Lalchandani.
In the Democratic primary for Boulder County treasurer, a largely administrative role, Friend led Kaaoush 58% to 42%.
In the race for House District 19, one of the Colorado House’s most competitive districts, Jillaire McMillan, co-founder of Blue Trail Engineering, a marine robotics company, won with 51%. McMillan will face incumbent Republican Rep. Dan Woog, a former Erie trustee who was running unopposed.
Registered Democrats and Republicans are split nearly evenly in the district, which includes parts of Weld and Boulder counties, with unaffiliated voters making up more than half the registered voters, making it one of the most competitive legislative seats in the state with a recent history of flipping between parties. McMillan lost her bid for the seat in 2024 by about 100 votes.
The Democrat with the next-most votes in the race for House District 19 was Anil Pesaramelli, a software engineer, who had 32% of the vote, followed by Colton Jonjak Plahn, a recent Stanford graduate and former model, with 17%.
Several Democratic statewide primary races were decided early in the night.
In the race for Colorado governor, Attorney General Phil Weiser defeated U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
Two congressional races also drew national attention following progressive wins over incumbents in New York last week. Hoping to carry that momentum was Democratic state Sen. Julie Gonzales, who challenged Sen. John Hickenlooper, the former Colorado governor seeking a second term. Hickenlooper won the race with 57% of the vote.
Separately, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, who has served in Congress for 29 years, faced a challenge from democratic socialist Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old former attorney endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Wanda James, a CU regent. Kiros defeated DeGette with 49% of the vote.
Democrats were also deciding who will run against Republican incumbent Gabe Evans in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, a competitive seat that could help determine which party controls the House. State Rep. Manny Rutinel won the race with 61%.
Secretary of State Jena Griswold won the Democratic nomination for attorney general with about 47% of the vote. Also in the race were Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty, with 20%; David Seligman, executive director of the law firm Towards Justice, with about 17%; and attorney Hetal Doshi, with about 16%.
Most races in Boulder County were uncontested.
That includes state Rep. Junie Joseph in House District 10, state Rep. Lesley Smith in House District 49, state Rep. Karen McCormick in House District 11, and state Rep. Kyle Brown in House District 12. Katie Wallace and Janice Marchman were running unopposed for reelection to the state Senate. Also running uncontested were County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann, Clerk and Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick, Sheriff Curtis Johnson and Coroner Jeff Martin. U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse was also running unopposed.
Republicans are running in many Boulder County races, but, with the exception of House District 19, are unlikely to prevail given the districts' Democratic leanings.
Brooke Stephenson contributed reporting.
