Democrat Trisha Calvarese will remain on the special election ballot in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, a Denver judge ruled Wednesday in a lawsuit that claimed she was ineligible.

Denver District Court Judge David H. Goldberg denied an attempt by a Castle Rock voter to boot Calvarese from the June 25 election to fill the remainder of former U.S. Rep. Ken Buck’s term, triggered by the five-term Republican’s resignation from Congress last month.

Calvarese will face Republican nominee Greg Lopez, a former gubernatorial candidate, and Libertarian Hannah Goodman, the party’s state chair, in the special election, which will appear on the same ballot as the state-level primary election. The 4th CD, which covers Douglas County, areas around Loveland and the Eastern Plains, is the state’s most solidly Republican congressional seat.

The lawsuit, filed on April 10 by James Glasser, a registered Democrat, asked the court to prevent Secretary of State Jena Griswold from certifying Calvarese for the ballot. Glasser argued that Calvarese didn’t satisfy statutory and party bylaws requirements, stating that a congressional nominee must be registered with their party in Colorado for at least 12 months before their nomination.

Calvarese, who joined the lawsuit as an intervenor, grew up in Colorado but lived out of state for most of her adult life. After moving back to Highlands Ranch last fall to care for her ailing parents before their death, Calvarese registered to vote on Dec. 15, less than four months before delegates to the Democrats’ district convention nominated her to run in the special election.

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“Given Intervenor’s longtime commitment to the Democratic Party and her continuous residency in Colorado for the past several months, the Court finds that Intervenor’s inclusion on the Vacancy Election ballot would substantially achieve the purpose of maintaining the integrity of the election,” Goldberg wrote in a 19-page ruling.

Goldberg also noted Calvarese made a “good-faith effort” to comply with state election laws, adding that, “to the extent noncompliance exists, it is minimal.”

Glasser’s attorney, John Zakhem, told Colorado Politics on Thursday that his client won’t appeal the decision.

“We are glad the court has issued an opinion,” Griswold said in an emailed statement. “I look forward to certifying the ballot for the CD-4 Vacancy Election and the State Primary and ensuring voters can make their voices heard.”

Under state law, Griswold must certify the ballot for the district’s special and statewide primary elections by Friday.

“This court case was a distraction and we’re glad this is settled,” Colorado Democratic Party chair Shad Murib said in a text message. “We look forward to Trish Calvarese winning this special election in June, and to supporting the winner of the CD4 primary. Defeating Lopez deserves the full attention of our Party — it certainly has mine.”

Lopez, who isn’t running in the Republican primary for the seat, told Colorado Politics he’s concentrating on the special election.

“My campaign has been totally focused on connecting with voters and spreading our message,” Lopez said in a text message sent via a campaign aide. “That’s what I’ll continue to do until we win a decisive victory on June 25th.”

Calvarese faces two fellow Democrats in the June 25 primary for the seat: Ike McCorkle, who lost the previous two elections to Buck, and first-time candidate John Padora.

The crowded GOP primary features six candidates, including U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, state Reps. Richard Holtorf of Akron and Mike Lynch of Wellington, former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling, former radio talk show host Deborah Flora and business consultant Peter Yu, the GOP’s 2018 nominee in a neighboring congressional district.

Boebert, who has represented the Western Slope-based 3rd Congressional District for two terms, moved in January into the more reliably Republican 4th CD.

In a statement posted to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Calvarese hailed the judge’s decision and took a shot at one of her primary opponents.

“If you haven’t been following along, one of my Democratic opponents colluded with the Republicans to take me to court and kick me off the ballot,” Calvarese tweeted. “We beat them in court. We will beat them on the ballot. We are going to beat Boebert in November.”

Val Nosler Beck, a Calvarese campaign spokeswoman, told Colorado Politics that her boss was referring to McCorkle, whose campaign had a representative attend Tuesday’s court hearing on the lawsuit. However, the McCorkle staffer didn’t participate in the hearing.

McCorkle campaign spokesman Randy Jones said in a text message to Colorado Politics that Calvarese’s attack was unfounded.

“The campaign isn’t paying John Zakhem, and is not involved in the lawsuit,” Jones said. “A member of his firm reached out and requested someone with knowledge of the (Colorado Democratic Party) controversy complaint be present to testify, if necessary, as they were unable to serve the Democratic Party leadership with a subpoena. The controversy complaint was formally filed — jointly — by the Padora, McCorkle, and Breslin campaigns.”

Following the April 1 online convention that picked Calvarese for the special election, the three Democrats who ran against her — including Karen Breslin, who didn’t qualify for the primary — filed a complaint with the state party challenging Calvarese’s nomination.

Murib told Colorado Politics that the complaint was based on a misreading of party rules and has been resolved.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect James Glasser’s decision not to appeal the judges ruling and to include a comment from Greg Lopez.