Despite a strong rally in the last three vote tallies, Lisa Calderón failed to overtake Kelly Brough and secure a spot in the runoff election for the next mayor of Denver.

Mike Johnston, meanwhile, maintained his lead in a dominant performance that persisted through the last two days. 

So far, Johnston holds 24.45% of the vote, with Brough at 20% and Calderón at 18%.   

The last tally at 2 p.m. Thursday, which counted roughly 22,000 votes, gave Calderón 5,208 votes, compared to Brough’s 3,525.

But it was insufficient to put Calderón in second place.

In order to overtake Brough, she needed to win 38% of the 23,000 ballots left to count – which also means outperforming Johnston.

Instead, Calderón received 24% of the latest tally, while Brough maintained a 16% share. 

In the last tally, Calderon came short by about 3,200 votes.

On Twitter, Calderón acknowledged not making the runoff election and thanked her supporters for believing in her vision of Denver. She said her campaign “did more with less.”

Though her run was unsuccessful, Calderon said she will campaign with other like-minded candidates, such as Shontel Lewis, Candi CdeBaca and Shannon Hoffman, who are running for council districts 8, 9 and 10, respectively.

The Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office said roughly 2,400 votes are left to be counted. These are ballots that need a “cure” or clarification about a discrepancy or other adjudication.   

Most candidates remaining in the 16 person field took part in the Denver Gazette’s Mayoral Forum today, March 22. During one segment, moderators asked candidates their approval for certain policy measures in a rapid fire round. Interestingly, only two candidates emphatically approve of the job Mayor Hancock is doing in office, while the vast majority disapprove or took issue with specific policies of Hancock’s administration.

Tom Hellauer
tom.hellauer@denvergazette.comTomHellauer
tom.hellauer@denvergazette.com
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