Senate Democrats elected a new president and shuffled the deck for new leaders in other positions on Friday, choosing progressive Democrats for leadership roles.

Sen. James Rashad Coleman of Denver, who served as president pro tempore in the 2023-24 sessions, is the caucus nominee for Senate president. He was nominated by current caucus chair Sen. Janet Buckner of Aurora, who said she’s known Coleman since he was in high school and a student of her husband, the late Rep. John Buckner.

Coleman is the second Black Senate president, following Senate President Peter Groff, who served in that capacity from October 2007 to May 2009, when he resigned to join the Obama administration.

With no other nominations, Coleman was elected by acclimation.

“I will work hard to make sure you are heard and seen,” he told his colleagues.

Coleman must be officially confirmed by the full Senate in January.

Sen. Robert Rodriguez of Denver will continue as majority leader, chosen in Sept. 2023 after Sen. Dominick Moreno of Commerce City took a position with the administration of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.

Rodriguez, elected by acclimation, was nominated by Sen. Chris Kolker, D-Centennial, who won a competitive race Tuesday night.

“As we move past the contentious national election, Colorado has stood strong in its direction, proving that our policies resonate with the values and priorities of our state,” he told the caucus.

Senate Democrats put three progressive members into leadership positions on Friday, starting with the president pro tempore position.

Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet of Commerce City, who won her first election to the Senate District 21 seat Tuesday night, won by acclimation. She was appointed by a vacancy committee in August 2023.

The first contested election Friday was for assistant majority leader and reflected the split in the caucus between progressives and more moderate Democrats. The nominees were Senator-elect Lindsey Daugherty of Arvada, the moderate, and Sen. Lisa Cutter of Littleton, the progressive.

Sen. Chris Hansen of Denver nominated Daugherty, while Michaelson Jenet nominated Cutter.

Daugherty spoke of her time as serving as chair of the House health committee and her ability to reach across the aisle. Cutter emphasized her problem-solving skills, gained during her work in public relations.

Cutter was elected assistant majority leader, although the vote was not announced. She replaces her progressive colleague, Sen. Faith Winter of Westminster, who was issued a letter of admonishment by Senate President Steve Fenberg for showing up drunk at a Northglenn City Council meeting in April. She was found guilty by a Senate committee in July of violating Senate ethics.

The majority whip will be Sen. Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo. The majority whip makes sure all members of the caucus are on the floor for votes. Hinrichsen was nominated by Sen. Tony Exum, Jr. of Colorado Springs.

Hinrichsen was elected by acclimation.

The next caucus chair will be Sen. Dylan Roberts of Eagle. He was elected by acclimation and will replace Buckner.

Sen. Jeff Bridges of Greenwood Village, who won reelection Tuesday night, will continue as one of two Democratic members on the Joint Budget Committee and will assume the chair of that committee when it convenes next week to begin planning for the 2025-26 state budget. Buckner nominated him.

“TABOR is why we can’t have nice things,” Bridges said, pointing to budget writers having to cut $1 billion out of the budget in the upcoming fiscal year.

“I promise never to sugarcoat the challenges we face in this budget,” Bridges told the caucus. “The ability to reach across party lines is crucial to function … We need Republicans working in partnership to make this budget work.”

Bridges was a novice to the JBC when he joined the panel two years ago but quickly gained his footing on major issues, such as education.

The second seat was also contested and the caucus picked between a progressive and a moderate.

Hansen nominated Senator-elect Judy Amabile of Boulder, the progressive. Sen. Chris Kolker of Centennial nominated the moderate, Sen. Janice Marchman of Berthoud. Neither have ever served on JBC before.

The nod went to Amabile.

The committee will have at least three new members heading into next week. House Republicans on Friday made it official, electing Rep. Rick Taggart of Grand Junction, who temporarily replaced Rep. Rod Bockenfeld of Watkins on the panel earlier this year, as Bockenfeld has been battling cancer.

The election was held via Zoom because of the snowstorm.

The numbers in the Senate are the same as they were in 2023-34, with 23 Democrats and 12 Republicans.

The makeup, however, has changed, with eight new members in the Senate heading into 2025: Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada; Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock; Scott Bright, R-Greeley; Marc Catlin, R-Montrose; Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins; Marc Snyder, D-Manitou Springs; Mike Weissman, D-Aurora; and, Amabile. With the exception of Bright, all the rest served in the House last year.

A Republican Senate District 43 vacancy committee will select a ninth new member to replace Sen. Kevin Van Winkle, R-Douglas County, who was elected Tuesday to the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners.

House Democrats postponed their leadership election to Monday.