Political experts said the biggest surprise of Tuesday’s runoff election is challenger Darrell Watson’s commanding victory over councilmember Candi CdeBaca. In this video, Colorado Politics and Denver Gazette editor Luige del Puerto talks to Steve Welchert, Jim Carpenter and Kelly Maher.

Denver voters on Tuesday ousted Councilmember Candi CdeBaca, electing challenger Darrell Watson, who took a commanding lead early in the count and maintained that significant edge throughout the night.  

As of Tuesday’s latest count, Watson held 62% of the vote with 8,960, compared to CdeBaca’s 38% or 5,590 of 14,550 ballots counted thus far. 

“God first and foremost and thank you to all the residents in District 9,” Watson told the Denver Gazette. “They’ve known more division over the last four years. You want a councilmember that’s going to bring the community together and fight for pretty important issues like affordable housing.”

“I will be that champion,” Watson said. He gave his victory speech at Tracks nightclub in RiNo.  

CdeBaca’s campaign manager did not reply to a text seeking comment from the candidate.

A progressive firebrand, CdeBaca had trailed her challenger by an almost two-to-one margin all night from the initial count, according to unofficial results.

Several political consultants said the biggest surprise of the night is not Mike Johnston’s victory over Kelly Brough. Rather, it was how badly CdeBaca lost to Watson.  

Kelly Maher said Watson’s edge over CdeBaca shocked her.

“Thus far, it’s looking like a real indictment on that style of politics in Denver,” she told The Denver Gazette. “My read is that people are just really kind of sick of all the superfluous stuff. They want to focus on what matters and Candi CdeBaca ran largely not necessarily on people’s everyday (concerns) – not what their commute to work looks like, not what their taxes look like, not what public safety looks like.”

“She was running on a lot of these larger political theories that I think people are just frustrated with and sick of,” she said.

Steve Welchert agreed, adding CdeBaca is “about political theater.”             

Jim Carpenter said voters have always been skeptical of politics and politicians. 

“When it just becomes a constant sort of fighting and bickering and theater and nonsense and silliness and conspiracies and all that kind of stuff, people tune it out,” Carpenter said. “We saw that in the first round in the mayor’s election and were seeing that tonight in the Cdebaca race.”   

“Pragmatism wins the day in Denver,” Welchert added.     

Watson spoke of being the only openly gay male to be elected to the Denver City Council.

“This being Pride Month, and all of the attacks on LGBTQIA community, we want to make sure that that message gets out as well, that I will have your back. I will have your voice and I will make sure in Denver that you are safe, and you are celebrated – and not just during Pride Month.”

The race in District 9 proved to be a nail-biter in April, as CdeBaca initially trailed one of her two challengers based on early returns and then pulled ahead to secure a roughly 2-percentage-point lead. She would ultimately garner 44.24% of the vote, while Watson, the challenger, took home 42.93%. A third candidate, Kwon Atlas, received 12.83% of votes.

CdeBaca touted her votes in support of affordable housing units, worker protection and wage theft proposals, pushing divestment from private prisons and decriminalizing jaywalking, among other issues.

Backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, CdeBaca previously sought to replace the Denver Police Department with a “peace force.” She was also a vocal opponent of the redevelopment proposal to turn the former Park Hill Golf Course into affordable and market-rate housing, along with park space and a grocery store.

Watson said in April that he had predicted a close race with CdeBaca and expected the same narrow margins in June. The Denver business owner has described himself as a candidate who will work toward social equity, housing, and climate solutions, among other issues, while bridging gaps between policymakers.

He has criticized CdeBaca for being divisive and ineffective at passing policy. He said voters are ready for a councilmember who can work collaboratively with other elected officials.

A slew of heavy hitter Denver politicians endorsed Watson, including former Mayor Frederico Peña and former Gov. Roy Romer. The list included former council president Elbra Wedgeworth, former councilman Albus Brooks and two sitting councilmembers, Deborah Ortega, at-large, and District 8 Councilman Chris Herndon. 

Denver voters in three districts chose their next councilmembers during the Tuesday run-off election.

District 10 Councilman Chris Hinds’ lead persisted as of 10 p.m., with 7,594 votes to challenger Shannon Hoffman’s 5,594 votes.

But the race for the open District 8 seat between Brad Revare and Shontel Lewis was still essentially tied, with only 76 votes separating the two.

A fourth district also went to a run-off after the April election, but one candidate dropped out and left the seat uncontested.

Candidates for city council and mayor needed to earn a majority of votes on election day in April to avoid a run-off.

Here are the unofficial results:

District 7

-Flor Alvidrez: 8,009

District 8

-Brad Revare: 5,866

-Shontel Lewis: 5,790

District 9

-Darrell Watson: 8,033

-Candi CdeBaca (Incumbent): 4,676

District 10

-Chris Hinds (Incumbent): 7,594

-Shannon Hoffman: 5,594

Denver Gazette Editor Luige Del Puerto and reporter Jessica Gibbs contributed to this story.