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2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election

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2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election

← 2010 November 8, 2016 Seat abolished →
Turnout74.39% Increase
 
Nominee Heidi Ganahl Alice Madden
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,293,651 1,237,693
Percentage 51.11% 48.89%

Ganahl:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Madden:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      50%      No votes

CU Regent before election

Steve Bosley
Republican

Elected CU Regent

Heidi Ganahl
Republican

The 2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the next CU Regent. Incumbent Republican CU Regent Steve Bosley was term-limited and could not seek re-election.[1] Republican candidate Heidi Ganahl narrowly won the general election by 2.2%, defeating Democratic candidate and former Majority Leader of the Colorado House of Representatives Alice Madden. With this win, Republicans maintained their majority in the CU Regents, which lasted until 2020.[2][3][4]

This was the last election for this at-large seat. It would later be abolished in 2022, reducing the at-large seats down to one. To date, this is the last time Republicans won a statewide election in Colorado.[5]

Background

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The State Board of Regents' nine voting members are chosen in biennial partisan elections and serve staggered six-year terms. One regent is elected to represent each of Colorado's congressional districts and two at the time were elected by the state at-large.[6]

Members after the 2016 elections

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District Representative Party Residence Term expired
1st John "Jack" Kroll Democratic Denver 2023
2nd Linda Shoemaker Democratic Boulder 2021
3rd Glen Gallegos Republican Grand Junction 2019
4th Sue Sharkey Republican Castle Rock 2023
5th Kyle Hybl Republican Colorado Springs 2019
6th John Carson Republican Highlands Ranch 2021
7th Irene Griego Democratic Lakewood 2021
At large Heidi Ganahl Republican Boulder 2023
At large Stephen C. Ludwig Democratic 2019

Republican primary

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Results

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Republican primary results[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Heidi Ganahl 268,275 100.00%
Total votes 268,275 100.00%

Democratic primary

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Results

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Democratic primary results[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alice Madden 235,707 100.00%
Total votes 235,707 100.00%

General election

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Results

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2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Heidi Ganahl 1,293,651 51.11% +0.59%
Democratic Alice Madden 1,237,693 48.89% +4.95%
Total votes 2,531,344 100.00% N/A
Republican hold

By congressional district

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Ganahl won 4 of 7 congressional districts.[10]

District Ganahl Madden Representative
1st 32% 68% Diana DeGette
2nd 45% 55% Jared Polis
3rd 56% 44% Scott Tipton
4th 64% 36% Ken Buck
5th 65% 35% Doug Lamborn
6th 51% 49% Mike Coffman
7th 47% 53% Ed Perlmutter

Analysis

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Heidi Ganahl won the election by a 2.2% margin. This is the most recent Republican win in a statewide election in Colorado.[5] Ganahl was competitive in the suburbs of the heavily populous North Central Colorado Urban Area, which contains the state capital Denver plus its surrounding suburbs Aurora, Thornton, Lakewood, and Broomfield; in addition to other major cities Boulder and Fort Collins, home to the University of Colorado and Colorado State University respectively. Ganahl won Jefferson and Larimer Counties, and kept Adams and Arapahoe Counties close as well as the city of Broomfield. Ganahl ran up the margins in suburban Douglas and El Paso Counties, getting 66.5% of the vote in Douglas and 64.3% of the vote in El Paso.

Alice Madden won a long row of counties along the Rocky Mountains from Routt in the north to La Plata in the south, which contains a number of liberal leaning ski resort towns like Telluride, Aspen, and Steamboat Springs, however she was not able to perform that well in them. Despite Madden underperforming other Democrats in 2016, she was able to do well in southern Colorado, where there is a higher Hispanic population. Most notably, she was able to win Conejos, Huerfano, and Pueblo Counties, and did very well in Las Animas and Saguache Counties.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Seltzer, Rick. "A Regents Race That Matters". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Post, Sarah Kuta | Special to The Denver (November 9, 2016). "With Heidi Ganahl win, Republicans retain majority on CU Board of Regents". The Denver Post. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  3. ^ Kuta, Sarah (November 8, 2016). "With Heidi Ganahl win, Republicans retain majority on CU Board of Regents". Boulder Daily Camera. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  4. ^ "Colorado University Regents-At-Large Results: Heidi Ganahl Leads". The New York Times. August 1, 2017. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Paul, Jesse (September 10, 2021). "Republican Heidi Hanahl files to run for Colorado governor in 2022". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved September 21, 2021. "The University of Colorado regent, who is the only Republican official who holds statewide office, was expected to formally announce her bid next week."
  6. ^ "Current Regents". University of Colorado. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "Primary results" (PDF).
  8. ^ "Primary results" (PDF).
  9. ^ "2016 General Election Results". www.sos.state.co.us. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  10. ^ "State of Colorado Elections Database » 2016 Nov 8 :: General Election :: Attorney General :: State of Colorado". State of Colorado Elections Database. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  11. ^ "2016 General Election Results". www.sos.state.co.us. Retrieved July 1, 2024.