A Douglas County Republican vacancy committee on Saturday chose a former University of Colorado regent to become the next lawmaker representing Senate District 30.

CU Regent John Carson will succeed former Sen. Kevin Van Winkle, who resigned in December to accept an appointment to the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners.

Three candidates ran for the vacancy representing northern Douglas County, including Highlands Ranch: Carson, former state Rep. Kim Ransom, and Priscilla Rahn.

Current Rep. Brandi Bradley of Roxborough Park was also rumored to be interested but did not submit a nomination.

Gov. Jared Polis earlier appointed Van Winkle to fill out the remaining weeks of former Commissioner Lora Thomas’ term after she resigned on Dec. 6, citing abuse and harassment from fellow commissioners Abe Laydon and George Teal. Thomas was term-limited. The three commissioners had a long-running feud, and Laydon and Teal often countered Thomas’ version of events. 

Van Winkle, who was finishing the second year of a four-year term in the state Senate, was elected to the commissioner seat in November. He’s one of three state senators who resigned in December. Two more vacancy meetings are scheduled for next week: Democrats will meet on Monday to replace Sen. Janet Buckner of Aurora and on Tuesday to replace Sen. Chris Hansen of Denver.

With Carson’s appointment, 20 members of the General Assembly will have reached their legislative seats at some point in their terms of office through the vacancy process.

That number could still increase, depending on who wins the vacancies for Hansen’s and Buckner’s seat.

Buckner and Hansen’s resignations have prompted calls for changes in the vacancy process. According to Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib, one idea being floated is requiring vacancy candidates to file candidacy and campaign finance reports with the secretary of state.

The Douglas County SD30 vacancy committee, comprised of elected precinct members and central committee members of the Douglas County GOP, has 168 members; 85 attendees constituted a quorum.

Van Winkle nominated Ransom. There were no nominations on the floor.

Former House Speaker and current CU Regent Frank McNulty introduced Carson, stating he would defend conservative values. He cited Carson’s work to eliminate the Douglas County teachers’ union when he was on the school board and advance taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools, an issue that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuit was tossed out when Democrats took over the school board in 2015.

Carson called for eliminating the state income tax, supporting school choice and the Second Amendment, and requiring law enforcement to cooperate with federal officials on immigration.

He also noted the state GOP voter registrations are now at 23%, a situation that must be improved, he said.

Van Winkle spoke on behalf of Ransom, and told the committee that, for her, there would be no learning curve and she’ll be ready on Day One.

Van Winkle pointed out that during the 2022 House debate on the Colorado Reproductive Health Equity Act, which placed the right to abortion in state law, Ransom led the GOP caucus off the floor and later led the longest debate in state history. Another supporter noted that she also knows the state budget.

“Experience matters,” Ransom told the vacancy committee.

She noted her eight years of service in the House and on the Joint Budget Committee. Ransom was the only member of the JBC to vote against the budget every year she was on the committee, saying the spending plan was a Democratic one.

“The majority party doesn’t know how to handle budgeting,” she said, citing the structural deficit that has been forecasted for years.

She also noted that she served on the health and local government committees when she was in the House, and those two committees in the Senate have vacancies for the SD30 winner. She knows how to work with the other side of the aisle, but “you must stay true to your principles,” she said. 

Rahn was introduced by her husband, Darren Rahn, who said she would represent conservative and godly principles and was not part of the political machine.

Rahn told the committee it’s time for a fresh voice at the Capitol, with energetic fights against bad bills and that she would put values over politics.

“The lack of inspiration in SD30 ends today,” she said.

“The person in this seat has to be more than what we’ve had in the past,” she said, adding that would include raising money to elect more Republicans.

“When we get involved, change happens … with all due respect to Kim and John, I come from a different place,” she said, even without experience in elected office.

Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky also spoke on Rahn’s behalf, talking about the Venezuelan gang in Aurora and Rep. Iman Jodeh, whom she called a “radical” running for Buckner’s seat on Monday.

Van Winkle also addressed the meeting, thanking them for their support for the state Senate. He said his time in the General Assembly was one of the most rewarding and difficult jobs he’s ever had, he said.

“Whomever wins this election has my support 110%,” he said.

During the voting, 132 out of 168 vacancy committee members initially credentialed.

The vote was done by paper ballots, with a simple majority of all ballots cast to determine the winner.

The first ballot, however, was tossed out because six more ballots were cast than there were people credentialed, so the election was sent to a second ballot.

That required every person to be checked in as they turned in a ballot.

The number of credentialed members was changed to 135 before the ballot results were announced.

After the second ballot, the count was one vote off, but the chair said it did not alter the outcome, and they amended the credentials to 136 votes. The winner would need 69 votes.

During the second ballot, Carson received 71 votes, Ransom got 48, and Rahn, 17.

Carson will have to run for the seat in the 2026 election.