Statehouse
Weiser elected governor as Democrats sweep statewide offices
Phil Weiser defeated Victor Marx for governor, and Democrats also won the races for attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer on Tuesday.
DENVER
The Associated Press called the race for governor at 7:01 p.m. on Tuesday, one minute after the polls closed, projecting that Attorney General Phil Weiser had defeated Republican Victor Marx. Weiser, a Democrat, will succeed Gov. Jared Polis, a fellow Democrat who could not seek a third consecutive term. His running mate, Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper, will be the next lieutenant governor.
In the unofficial returns the Secretary of State posted late on Wednesday morning, Weiser had 1,319,781 votes and 60.94 percent of the vote, against 33.6 percent for Marx. Seven candidates were on the ballot, and the five others, led by unaffiliated former congressman Greg Lopez, shared the rest of the vote. Marx conceded the race on election night.
The sweep ran down the ballot. For attorney general, Secretary of State Jena Griswold had 1,251,725 votes and 58.49 percent, against 888,420 votes and 41.51 percent for Michael J. Allen, the district attorney for El Paso and Teller counties. The Associated Press called that race shortly after 8 p.m., and Allen conceded soon afterward.
For secretary of state, Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Amanda Gonzalez had 1,285,055 votes and 59.81 percent, against 803,533 votes and 37.40 percent for Republican James Wiley. Gonzalez will succeed Griswold in the office that oversees the state's elections and business registrations.
For treasurer, state Sen. Jeff Bridges had 1,249,536 votes and 58.50 percent, against 835,972 votes and 39.14 percent for Kevin Grantham, a former president of the state Senate. The margin was 413,564 votes. With that result, Republicans lost all four of the statewide constitutional offices on the ballot.
The U.S. Senate race was decided the same night. The Associated Press called a second term for Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, and in the Secretary of State's election night reporting Hickenlooper led Republican state Sen. Mark Baisley by about 60 percent to about 35 percent. Three of the state's eight U.S. House races, in the 3rd, 4th and 5th districts, were still uncalled on Wednesday morning.
Counting is not finished. By late Wednesday morning, 2,207,017 ballots had been counted statewide, equal to 54.02 percent of active voters, and all 64 counties had finished their election night reporting and moved on to post-election reporting. Ballots from military and overseas voters can still arrive, and voters whose signatures were questioned have until Nov. 12 to fix the problem. Every result in this story is unofficial until the county canvass boards certify their results, which state rules require on or before the 22nd day after Election Day.
