Kelly Brough and Mike Johnston are headed to the runoff election to succeed outgoing Mayor Michael Hancock, the final, unofficial tally confirmed.

Johnston received 24% of about 173,000 votes cast in Denver’s race for mayor.

Brough came in second place at 20%.

Since neither received more than 50% of the vote, the two will duke it out for the June 6 runoff election.

Lisa Calderón came in third place, following a strong but ultimately insufficient rally after garnering more votes than Brough from Denverites who cast their ballots on election day itself.

Brough and Johnson had secured substantial leads among those who voted by mail.

In the council at large race, Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez secured more than 20% of the vote, nabbing 52,000+. While former Sen. Penfield Tate took an early lead in the race, election day ballots favored Sarah Parady. She ultimately grabbed the final lead with 42,700 against Tate’s 40,100. 

Interestingly, it appears Gonzales-Gutierrez received about 10,000 more votes than mayoral candidate Johnston, voters were instructed to vote for two candidates in the at-large race – so could cast twice as many total votes. The top two finishers won the open seats.

The races for City Council Districts 1, 3, 6 and 11 were all unopposed. In Council District 2, incumbent Kevin Flynn secured reelection, defeating challengers Chris Herr and Tiffany Caudill by 60 and 50 points respectively. 

In Council District 4, Dianna Romero Campbell narrowly avoided a runoff election, defeating Tony Pigford. Campbell won 8,100 votes, representing 56% of those cast. Current City Councilwoman Kendra Black decided not to seek reelection.

In Council District 5, incumbent Amanda Sawyer secured reelection, defeating challenger Michael Hughes. Sawyer won 12,600 votes, or 65%, against Hughes’s roughly 6,700.   

In Council District 7, voters see their first runoff. Flor Alvidrez and Nick Campion will face off in a June 6 runoff election after neither candidate secured more than 50% of the vote. Campion survived a push from Adam Estroff, and made the runoff by less than 1 point. Alvidrez secured almost 5,900 votes and Campion got over 2,900. Current City Councilman Jolon Clark did not seek reelection. 

Council District 8, currently represented by the term-limited Christopher Herndon, will also see a runoff. Shontel Lewis, who won almost 5,100 votes, will face Brad Revare, who got just under 4,800.

In Council District 9, incumbent Candi CdeBaca trailed challenger Darrell Watson early, but as ballots returned on election day were counted – typically by voters 44 and under – she took the lead. Neither met the victory threshold. CdeBaca finished with almost 7,400 votes and Watson finished with almost 7,200, forcing a runoff. 

In Council District 10, incumbent Chris Hinds will face Shannon Hoffman after neither met the victory conditions. Hinds won over 6,00 votes against Hoffman’s nearly 4,600. 

The results will be officially certified April 20.

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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