The race for district attorney in Colorado’s most populated jurisdiction could be headed for a recount in a few weeks as the margin between the candidates hovered at less than one point Thursday morning. 

At 8:30 a.m. Thursday, the 18th Judicial District’s vote split favored Democratic candidate Amy Padden by 50.04% over Republican candidate John Kellner’s 49.96%.

A difference in votes that’s half a percent or less of the winning candidate’s vote total triggers a recount. Padden’s Thursday morning lead was 484 votes, 0.17% of Padden’s vote total, as counts from the district’s four counties continued to trickle in.

“No candidate wants a race to be this close, but we’ve been ahead the entire night,” Padden told The Denver Gazette on Tuesday night. “We are trying to flip a seat, and we have stayed ahead the entire night, and we are optimistic that when these final votes get counted in Arapahoe County, then we will be victorious.” 

By Thursday morning, 329,737 out of the total 560,802 votes counted in the district’s DA race came from Arapahoe County. The 18th District covers Douglas, Lincoln, Arapahoe and Elbert counties.

Padden and Kellner are vying to succeed term-limited George Brauchler, a Republican, as district attorney.

Kellner said he believes he and Padden both ran effective campaigns educating voters about district attorneys’ roles.

“We’ve been out for a little over a year now really trying to get our message out and connect with more voters, and explain to them what a DA does and why it should matter to them, and why they should vote in that down-ballot race,” he said. “It’s amazing to see this kind of engagement on this kind of race.”

Based on guidance from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, recounts occur only after county canvass boards certify an election’s results, so any recount wouldn’t happen until after Nov. 25. Counties have to finalize their vote counts by Nov. 13, and canvass boards have a Nov. 25 deadline to certify results. The deadlines are the same for each county.

Each of the 18th District’s four counties has a much more decisive margin between Padden and Kellner than the overall count: Padden currently carries Arapahoe County, which has an estimated population of more than 650,000, by about an 18-point margin. But Kellner has a 19-point lead in Douglas County, a 55-point lead in Elbert County and is ahead by 66 points in Lincoln County.

The Denver Gazette has contacted the Secretary of State’s Office to confirm its process and timeline for ordering recounts upon canvass board certification of results. The office has yet to respond.