Democratic delegates on March 27 voted to place two candidates — Kubs Lalchandani and Edie Hooton — on the primary ballot for CU regent in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District.
Lalchandani, an attorney, and Hooton, a former state representative, are likely to be joined on the ballot by data scientist Murray Smith, who is petitioning for a spot on the ballot. Smith’s petitions will not be certified by the state for several more weeks.
The vote is the latest step in a hard-fought race for the 2nd Congressional District CU regent seat. Because the district leans heavily Democratic, whichever candidate wins the June primary will likely win the seat in November, joining a nine-member board that sets the university’s budget and makes major hiring and policy decisions.
About 221 delegates voted during the online assembly on March 27. Lalchandani received 39% of delegate votes and Hooton received 37%. CU researcher and former Nederland Mayor Kris Larsen got 22%, falling short of the 30% threshold needed to advance.
Lalchandani ran on a four-part platform: training students to outcompete AI, increasing graduation rates, bringing a diverse perspective to the board and using his litigation experience to fight federal attacks on academic freedom.
“I think there is a time for legislators, and I think there is a time for scientists,” Lalchandani said, referring to his opponents. “I think right now, with this White House, it is a time for lawyers. And not just lawyers, litigators, people who have been in the room under threat, and who have come up with strategies and ways to fight back.”
Hooton, who served six years in the state legislature before leaving office, was the best-known candidate when she entered the race and quickly became the most widely endorsed, in some cases pulling endorsements from other candidates when she announced her campaign, according to Larsen. In campaign speeches, she has focused on making tuition more affordable for in-state students and cites her history of awards for her legislative work, including CU’s “State Legislator of the Year” in 2017 and the Democratic Party’s “Give ’em Hell Harry” Award in 2022.
“The current Board of Regents is male dominated, and yet half the student body is women,” Hooton said during the online assembly. “After this election, the split could be seven men to only two women. Women’s voices deserve equal representation.”
Smith said he chose to petition onto the ballot because he believes voters deserve a competitive primary and worried that the caucus process could have left only one candidate on the ballot. His campaign focuses on supporting unions and collective bargaining and increasing graduation rates. Smith graduated from CU Boulder in 2015.
“I may be the only candidate that went to CU on the ballot and the only candidate that graduated in this century,” he said in a statement after the assembly.
Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District has about 720,000 residents, roughly 480,000 of whom are registered voters. The district covers the City of Boulder, as well as Fort Collins, Longmont, Lafayette, Erie and Steamboat Springs. Democrats make up 34% of registered voters, Republicans 17%, and unaffiliated voters make up the largest share at 47%.
Regents in Colorado’s 6th and 7th Congressional Districts — east and west of Denver, respectively — are also up for reelection this year, but incumbent Democrats Ilana Spiegel and Norbert Chavez are running unopposed in their party primaries in strongly Democratic districts and are likely to keep their seats.
That makes the 2nd Congressional District race the only one likely to bring a new member to the board, which is currently split 5-4 between Democrats and Republicans. While the outcome will not change that balance, the new regent could influence key decisions the board is expected to take up next year, including whether to allow collective bargaining for faculty and staff.
John Herrick contributed reporting for this story.
I appreciate your even handed reporting.
It’s startling to see the evidence of a one party system of government in the area, the only hope for a balance government is up to the independent voters. One party rule is in denver, the state and many local areas as well. We need two equal voices to have a fair and balanced society