1 week Ago By Marianne Goodland [email protected]
With an automatic recount now ordered for the last of the closest races for the Colorado House, Rep. Stephanie Vigil, D-Colorado Springs, issued a statement Friday stating she will honor the results in House District 16. Razor-thin race for Colorado House District 16 qualifies for a recount Vigil, a first-term lawmaker who is the first Democrat to represent the central Colorado Springs district, is behind her Republican challenger, Rebecca Keltie.
As of Thursday, based on unofficial results, Keltie leads Vigil by seven votes, likely making it one of, if not the closest, races for a statewide seat in state history. Keltie won 50.01% of the vote to Vigil's 49.
99%. Vigil held a narrow lead on election night, Nov. 5, that slowly dwindled over the past week as provisional, overseas, military and ballots with signature issues were corrected and counted.
The deadline for all ballots to be counted is Friday, Nov. 15. In her statement Friday, Vigil said, "I am enormously grateful to have served this term as HD-16's representative, and I want to extend special thanks to those who have stepped up to support the campaign in various ways, and all my wonderful colleagues in the Colorado General Assembly who I've been privileged to serve with.
..I will be watching for the automatic recount process to commence, and as a fierce defender of our election system I will of course honor the results of that final outcome.
" She appeared to acknowledge that she might not come out ahead, stating she ran "a positive, people-centered campaign, and even if we ultimately fall a few votes short, we did it battling an onslaught of dark money attacks, and opposition that relied on conspiracy theories, fear, and division...
Constituents in HD-16 who are frustrated and disappointed should know that I am not going anywhere. I will be active in our community in every meaningful way that I can, and will continue to be accessible to you for collaboration and partnership." Keltie told Colorado Politics she never likes to count her chickens before they hatch, but "I am confident our election process in El Paso County, with Steve Schleiker at the helm, is on point.
" Keltie said she was told recounts are a formality but rarely change the outcome, and she hopes that's correct. "The people of my district voted for a more balanced legislature and more common-sense leadership. That is what they definitely won with me.
I served my country for 21 years in the military, and I’m ready to serve my Colorado." House Speaker Julie McCluskie, in a separate statement, saluted Vigil for her work on behalf of working people. Vigil is a gig worker who makes deliveries for DoorDash and GrubHub and is among the few working-class lawmakers in the General Assembly.
‘Splitting myself in half’: Colorado's citizen-legislature clashes with financial realities | COVER STORY Vigil "brought a background and lived experience that is sorely needed at the Capitol,” McCluskie said. “Even in a short time, she achieved important legislative success to reduce the cost of housing, increase transit options and protect workers. One of the hardest-working lawmakers, she proudly voted her conscience and never backed down.
This race was extremely close, and while she has come up short in the unofficial results, we know there will be an automatic recount.” An automatic recount is ordered when the difference between the first and second-place finishers is 0.5% of the winner's total.
Based on the most recent results, that's about 103 votes. An automatic recount also appears likely for the other race that has been too close to call in House District 19, east Boulder, and south Weld counties. In that race, former Republican state Rep.
Dan Woog of Erie holds a lead of 128 votes over Democrat Jillaire McMillan of Longmont. The 0.5% threshold is about 142 votes.
As in Vigil's race, McMillan held a slight lead on election night that evaporated over the past ten days. Woog took 50.11% of the vote compared to 49.
89% of the vote for McMillan, who was selected by a vacancy committee when the incumbent state Rep. Jennifer Parenti, D-Erie, decided not to run for re-election, a decision she made after the June primaries were over. Candidates can also seek recounts but must pay for them out of their funds.
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