Boulder 2025 election results: Voters reelect three incumbents to council and pass all tax measures

With the final major batch of results in, Boulder voters reelected Councilmembers Matt Benjamin, Mark Wallach and Nicole Speer, along with newcomer Rob Kaplan, a former captain with Boulder Rural Fire-Rescue. Speer, who trailed on election night, ultimately overtook both Jenny Robins and Kaplan in the latest count. (See all of BRL’s 2025 election coverage.)

One last tally is scheduled for Nov. 13 to include overseas, military and cured ballots, which may slightly change the vote count but are not expected to alter the outcome.

Benjamin won the most votes, finishing first with 19,940 votes, as of the 8 p.m. vote count on Nov. 5.

“This campaign has always been about keeping Boulder inclusive, resilient and thriving for the next generation,” Benjamin said in a statement. “We’ve made real progress these past four years — and I’m more energized than ever to keep going.”

Mayor Pro Tem Lauren Folkerts, one of the council’s more progressive members, lost her reelection bid, finishing sixth, behind Robins, who placed fifth.

“This campaign didn’t end the way we hoped,” Folkerts said in a statement on Instagram, “but I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished. We refused to go negative. We stood by our values. And I wouldn’t change a thing.”

The 2025 city council race acted as a referendum on Boulder’s progressive majority, and the results suggest voters remain divided. Campaign groups on both sides endorsed “slates” of candidates. The Boulder Progressives backed Benjamin, Speer and Folkerts, while several moderate-to-conservative groups, including PLAN-Boulder County and Open Boulder, supported Wallach, Robins and Kaplan — with Open Boulder and others also endorsing Benjamin.

Yet, consistent with recent elections, voters split those slates, seemingly favoring Speer over Folkerts despite their shared endorsements, and Kaplan over Robins despite often being paired together. The results suggest Boulder residents continue to choose candidates more individually than by political alignment, as BRL’s previous reporting has shown.

In recent years, the progressive-leaning council has advanced land-use reforms to encourage denser housing, raised the city’s minimum wage, expanded bike and pedestrian infrastructure and adopted new wildfire resilience standards for new construction.

Moderate-to-more-conservative organizers threw their support behind Kaplan and Robins early in the campaign, pledging to “restore balance” to the council and promote a more “pragmatic” approach to governance and public safety. Some campaign groups criticized progressive incumbents Speer and Folkerts for their positions on homelessness and policing. While both councilmembers have raised questions about the city’s encampment removal strategy, Boulder’s spending on those efforts has grown to about $4 million a year under the current council — the highest level yet — and the police department has reached full staffing. Some campaign materials suggested that Folkerts sought to defund the police, mischaracterizing her votes on the city’s budget.

At the time of publication, Wallach, Kaplan and Robins had not issued public statements. Speer, writing on Instagram, said, “Against a flood of money and misinformation, we won a people-powered campaign advocating for justice, transparency, and community.” She added, “As grateful as I am for our win, I’m also mourning the re-election loss of a dear colleague and friend. Lauren Folkerts was Boulder’s only Councilmember under the age of 40 … Losing her voice and wisdom on Council is a deliberate blow to the coalition we built.”

While the results may shift the council’s political balance, voting records show that even members from opposite factions often align on key issues.

All ballot measures pass by wide margins; BVSD race results are in

In addition to electing four councilmembers, Boulder voters approved two city sales tax measures and two countywide measures that will raise funds for capital projects, mental health services and open space.

City voters overwhelmingly supported Ballot Question 2A, which makes permanent a 0.3% Community, Culture, Resilience & Safety (CCRS) sales and use tax that funds capital construction, renovation and maintenance projects, as well as arts, parks and trails. A companion measure authorizing up to $262 million in city debt for capital projects also passed. Combined, the funding is expected to help address a $380 million backlog in city maintenance and repair needs.

Countywide, voters approved a new 0.15% sales and use tax for three years to fund mental health and addiction services, projected to raise about $13.8 million in 2026. The money will support existing navigation services, a non-police crisis response team, and other prevention and treatment programs.

Voters also made permanent a 0.15% countywide sales tax for open space, previously set to expire in 2030. The revenue will continue to fund land acquisition, trail construction, habitat restoration, park maintenance and agricultural leases on more than 100,000 acres of county open space.

The total sales tax rate in the City of Boulder exceeds 9%, or nearly $1 on a $10 purchase.

The one contested BVSD Board of Education race remained close throughout the vote count, but Deann Bucher led in every round of results and ultimately won with 51.3% of the vote over Jeffrey Anderson’s 48.7%, as of the latest results.

A relatively low-key campaign season

This year’s election drew 11 city council candidates competing for four open seats, with total campaign spending of about $126,000 as of end of October, modest compared to previous years. No single ballot measure dominated the conversation, though voters continued to be particularly engaged on housing and homelessness issues, as well as wildfire mitigation requirements for homeowners and local minimum wage policies.

Ballot return data show at least 50% of Boulder County voters cast ballots in this election. That figure 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.