Many local races remained too close to call at press time, about 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Three-term incumbent Garfield County Commissioner Tom Jankovsky held the slimmest of leads over democratic challenger Ryan Gordon – about 44 votes just after midnight, after Gordon had the advantage for hours after polls closed. Jankovsky, a hard-right Republican, refused to take a stance on the separation of church and state during his campaign, following his appearance at a right-wing Christian Nationalist event held at Cornerstone Church in Basalt. This race might end up as a form of heartbreaking deja vu for Garfield County Democrats, who watched Beatriz Soto's early lead over Republican John Martin evaporate in 2020.
In Pitkin County, democratic candidate for sheriff Michael Buglione held a lead of about 300 votes over incumbent independent Joe DiSalvo. The race remains too close to call.
Pitkin County Commissioner Kelly McNicholas Kury, a democrat, easily won reelection over an unaffiliated challenger. Kury took strong, left-leaning positions on land-use and environmental issues during her first term.
The race that has the whole nation watching is Colorado’s Congressional District 3, currently held by hard-right-wing provocateur Lauren Boebert of Silt. Former Aspen City Councilman Adam Frisch was clinging to a lead of about 5,000 votes at the end of the night. The New York Times says that based on votes yet to be counted, Boebert is still favored, but this can't be overstated: the race is extraordinarily tight.
Newcomer Elizabeth Velasco, a Democrat, appears poised to flip state House District 57 from red to blue, knocking out incumbent Republican Perry Will of New Castle. The district became more favorable to dems after redistricting added Eagle and Pitkin counties.
Voters in Aspen, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs all backed new taxes on short-term vacation rentals that would fund affordable housing. Snowmass Village voters approved the shift of part of an existing lodging and marketing tax into workforce housing development.
Republican candidates for Garfield County Clerk and Recorder and Treasurer, Jackie Harmon and Carrie Couey, respectively, both look likely to defeat their democratic opponents.
Stay tuned to KDNK News for updates as they become available.
