Unofficial results from Mesa, Montrose, Garfield and Delta counties as of 5:38 p.m. Wednesday, with most local ballots counted: what is settled and what is still close.
These are unofficial results as of 5:38 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, from the Colorado Secretary of State's results site. All four counties posted new totals Wednesday afternoon, between 2:50 and 4:59 p.m., and they have now counted most of the ballots they received. Statewide totals come from the state's 5:38 p.m. update.
Comparing those totals with the ballots returned through Election Day, according to the Secretary of State, Mesa County has about 1,190 ballots left to count, Montrose about 2,059, Garfield about 600 and Delta about 169. Some of those are ballots held for signature or ID problems, which voters can fix through Nov. 12, and military and overseas ballots can still arrive until then. Where a margin below is comfortably larger than everything a county has left, we describe the question as passing or failing. Where it is not, we say it leads or trails.
Local ballot questions
How the local questions stand
Unofficial results as of 5:38 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4. Source: Colorado Secretary of State election results.
School District 51's $23.2 million mill levy override, ballot issue 4A, is failing 45,908 to 26,299, with 63.6% voting no. The override would have raised up to 7.85 mills for teacher and staff pay, career and technical programs, and safety.
Grand Junction's referred measure 2B, a small sales tax increase to renovate the Orchard Mesa pool, is failing 17,444 to 13,833, or 55.8% no.
Palisade's sales tax increase, ballot issue 2A, leads by 40 votes, 618 to 578. It would raise the town's rate from 2% to 3% through 2034, bringing in an estimated $600,000 a year for 4th through 7th street repairs, park and pool improvements, and emergency services, according to the county's ballot notice.
The Palisade Rural Fire Protection District's request to raise its operating levy from 5.242 to 11.5 mills, about $185,000 a year, trails 503 to 383. In De Beque, ballot issue 2C, an occupational tax of up to $5 a pound on medical marijuana businesses, trails 112 to 53.
Republican Greg Haitz wins the county treasurer race with 56.4%, ahead of Democrat Dave Edwards at 36.2% and Forward Party candidate Christina Aline Schultz at 7.3%. Commissioner Bobbie Daniel, Clerk Bobbie Gross, Assessor Brent Goff, Sheriff Ross Young, Surveyor Jon Kobylarz and Coroner Dean Havlik were unopposed.
District Judge JenniLynn Lawrence is losing her retention vote, 30,779 no to 29,046 yes, or 51.4% no. That gap is larger than the ballots Mesa has left. Every other Mesa County judge on the ballot is above 58% yes.
In the state House, Republican Rep. Rick Taggart wins District 55 over Democrat Brittni Packard, 59.0% to 41.0%, and Republican Jason Bias wins District 54 over Democrat Mallory Martin, 66.3% to 33.7%. District 54 includes part of Delta County. Republican Janice Rich was unopposed in Senate District 7.
Montrose's count changed the most Wednesday, from 11,500 ballots to 19,700, and one city charter question changed direction.
Question 2A, which would move city elections from April to November of even years, now leads 4,588 to 4,365, a gap of 223 votes. It trailed by 252 on election night.
Question 2B, an eight-year lifetime limit for council members, passes 5,692 to 3,413, or 62.5% yes. Question 2C, which would let council approve or reject the city manager's decision to hire or fire the police chief, trails 4,725 to 4,325. Question 2D, the same council approval for the city clerk, trails 4,775 to 4,289.
In the West End, the question that would form the West End Health Service District, 6A, now leads 286 to 254. The district's tax, ballot issue 6B, trails 401 to 153.
All Montrose County offices were uncontested: Commissioners Caryn Webb Gibson and Ed Lafferty, Clerk Tressa Guynes, Treasurer Rosemary Murphy, Assessor Brad Hughes, Sheriff Gene R. Lillard, Surveyor James Pierce Jr. and Coroner Shaye Schottel. Republican Larry Don Suckla was unopposed in House District 58.
The Garfield County Public Library District's request to keep its expiring 1-mill levy, ballot issue 6B, passes 16,461 to 7,953, or 67.4% yes.
Garfield Re-2 voters split the district's two questions. The bond, 4B, passes 5,305 to 4,405. The mill levy override for staff pay, 4A, trails 5,250 to 4,633.
Roaring Fork Schools' mill levy override, 5C, passes 10,563 to 7,521, or 58.4%, counting voters in Garfield, Pitkin and Eagle counties.
Rifle's ballot issue 2A, a lodging tax increase, trails 1,619 to 1,261. Glenwood Springs' tax question 2B trails 2,217 to 1,719. The Glenwood Springs Rural Fire Protection District's tax question, 6A, leads 969 to 673.
Democrat Jonathan Godes wins the District 1 county commissioner seat over Republican Eric Rudd, 13,112 to 11,605, or 53.0% to 47.0%. The clerk, treasurer, assessor, sheriff, surveyor and coroner races were uncontested.
Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Velasco wins House District 57 over Republican Russ Andrews, 61.7% to 38.3%. Democratic Sen. Dylan Roberts leads Republican Corey Marshall 60.0% to 40.0% across Senate District 8, though Marshall carried the small part of the district that votes in Garfield County.
Cedaredge's 1% sales tax increase, 2C, leads by 79 votes, 647 to 568. Orchard City's new 0.75% sales tax, 2B, fails 1,195 to 441. Paonia's 2A, which replaces the town's $5-per-transaction occupational tax with a 5% tax on marijuana sales, passes 558 to 233. The Hotchkiss Fire District's 0.4% sales tax, 6A, passes 1,212 to 788.
Republican Matt Soper wins the commissioner race over Democrat Nathan Clay, 65.2% to 34.8%. Republican Quinn Archibeque wins a three-way sheriff's race with 58.2%, and Republican Lance B. Boren wins the coroner race over Democrat Jill Deneau, 67.0% to 33.0%.
Margins to watch
Races the uncounted ballots could still change
Margins in unofficial results as of 5:38 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4. Bars compare the top two choices; the line marks an even split.
Source: Colorado Secretary of State election results. Candidate bars leave out minor-party candidates.
Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd now leads Democrat Dwayne Romero in the 3rd Congressional District, 160,263 to 154,867, a margin of 5,396 votes, or 49.2% to 47.6%. Romero led on election night. The race has not been called; the Summit Daily reported Wednesday that Hurd had pulled ahead and the race remained too close to call.
Hurd is carrying Mesa County with 57.3%, Montrose with 61.4% and Delta with 62.8%. Romero is carrying Garfield County with 54.4%.
In the State Board of Education race for the same district, Republican Sherri Wright leads Democrat Barb Clementi 160,906 to 155,645, a margin of 5,261 votes.
Statewide, Democrats Phil Weiser and John Hickenlooper lead the races for governor and U.S. Senate with about 60%. Mesa, Montrose and Delta counties favored Republicans Victor Marx and Mark Baisley. Garfield favored Weiser and Hickenlooper.
Constitutional amendments need 55% to pass, except Amendment 87, which needs a simple majority, according to the state's ballot information booklet. Propositions need a simple majority. Our ballot guide explains each measure.
| Measure | Statewide yes | Needs to pass |
|---|---|---|
| Amendment 81, immigration reporting | 45.1% | 55% |
| Amendment 82, right to natural gas | 46.3% | 55% |
| Amendment 83, right to hunt and fish | 45.1% | 55% |
| Amendment 84, mail ballot ID | 36.8% | 55% |
| Amendment 85, plain language ballots | 51.0% | 55% |
| Amendment 86, redistricting | 46.8% | 55% |
| Amendment 87, graduated income tax | 50.6% | Majority |
| Proposition NN, K-12 funding | 55.7% | Majority |
| Proposition 132, fentanyl penalties | 52.7% | Majority |
| Proposition 133, trafficking of a minor | 62.0% | Majority |
| Proposition 134, school sports | 52.5% | Majority |
| Proposition 135, surgeries for minors | 52.1% | Majority |
| Proposition 136, income tax rate cap | 47.4% | Majority |
| Proposition 137, sporting goods tax for conservation | 50.6% | Majority |
Amendments 81 through 86 are all well below the 55% they need statewide, including Amendment 85 at 51.0%. Amendment 87 leads by 29,121 votes and Proposition 137 by 28,126, with about 315,000 ballots statewide still to count, about 4,000 of them in Mesa, Montrose, Garfield and Delta counties. Proposition NN leads with 55.7%. Propositions 132 through 135 lead, and Proposition 136 trails.
Counties keep counting through the week. Voters whose ballots were flagged for a signature problem or missing ID have until Nov. 12 to fix it, and that is also the last day military and overseas ballots can arrive. Counties must finish their official canvass by Nov. 25.
Colorado orders an automatic recount when the margin between the top two finishers is 0.5% of the winner's vote or less. None of the races in this roundup is that close right now. Hurd's lead is about 3.4% of his total, and Wright's is about 3.3% of hers.
