Denver 2020 Election: DeGette, Escárcega Projected Winners

DENVER, CO — In the District 1 congressional race, Democrat Diana Degette is the projected winner against Republican Shane Bolling.

While most eyes were on the presidential and U.S. Senate races in Colorado's general election, there are many important local races as well. Denverites have decided the outcomes of state representative, board of education and judicial seats. There are also a number of local ballot measures.

In District 1's state board of education race, Lisa Escárcega is the projected winner.

Our state has a 6-year history of successful mail-in voting, and Coloradans returned their ballots in record-breaking numbers in the general election. Many Denver voters cast their ballots early and tracked them with the city's new online tracing tool.

Denver general election results

• Trump vs. Biden — view race results here
• Hickenlooper vs. Gardner — view race results here

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Representative to the 117th United States Congress - District 1

• Shane Bolling (R): 76,333
• Diana DeGette (D) - i: 257,657
• Paul Noel Fiorino (U): 1,492
• Jan Kok (A): 913
• Kyle Furey (L): 5,165

State Board of Education Member - Congressional District 1

• Sydnnia Wulff (R): 75,493
• Lisa Escárcega (D): 253,260
• Zachary Laddison (A): 1,594
• Alan Hayman (L): 7,924

State Senator - District 31

• Chris Hansen (D) - i: 57,502
• Doug Townsend (R): 14,997

State Senator - District 33

• James Rashad Coleman (D): 56,139
• Jerry Burton (U): 4,473

State Representative - District 1

• Susan Lontine (D): 16,361
• Samantha Koch (R): 7,535

State Representative - District 2

• Alec Garnett (D): 34,486
• Victoria Partridge (R): 6,674

State Representative - District 4

• Grant Price (R): 4,526
• Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez (D) - i: 25,902

State Representative - District 5

• Jonathan Woodley (R): 5,092
• Alex Valdez (D): 26,262
• Joe Richardson (U): 353

State Representative - District 6

• Bill McAleb (R): 8,802
• Steven Woodrow (D): 29,371
• Jeffrey Kennedy Crowe (L): 950

State Representative - District 9

• Larry Braig (R): 8,361
• Emily Sirota (D): 24,865
• Wes Pinchot (L): 783

District Attorney - 2nd Judicial District

• Beth McCann (D): 220,256
• William Robinson (L): 37,771

Regional Transportation District Director - District A

• Tim Nelson: 22,747
• Kate Williams: 36,428
• Kyle Bradell: 10,085

Denver Ballot Measures

Ballot Measure 2A - Voters were asked whether Denver should raise taxes to fund programs that aim to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and help the environment.

• Yes: 172,898
• No: 95,417

Ballot Measure 2B - An initiative that asked voters whether Denver should raise taxes to fund housing, shelter and services for those who are homeless.

• Yes: 174,599
• No: 94,304

Ballot Measure 2C - Should the City Council be allowed to hire staff and professional services to fulfill its duties without approval of the city attorney and mayor?

• Yes: 143,946
• No: 118,123

Ballot Measure 2D - Should the city's charter be amended to create a Board of Transportation and Infrastructure that reviews the department's annual budget, at no extra cost to taxpayers?

• Yes: 197,395
• No: 62,159

Ballot Measure 2E - Should the city's charter be amended to require City Council's approval for the mayor's top appointees?

• Yes: 152,642
• No: 105,754

Ballot Measure 2F - Should the city's charter be updated to allow the council more flexibility during times of emergency, while preserving the public's right to participate in council meetings?

• Yes: 217,535
• No: 39,218

Ballot Measure 2G - Should the city's charter be amended to allow council to propose mid-year changes to the city's budget in the same way the mayor is allowed to?

• Yes: 222,586
• No: 40,334

Ballot Measure 2H - Should the city have the authority to provide high-speed internet to residents, businesses and schools in an egalitarian effort to provide residents more access to knowledge?

• Yes: 219,435
• No: 43,296

Ballot Measure 2I - This measure clarifies the number of employees that the clerk and recorder can appoint.

• Yes: 116,088
• No: 136,206

Ballot Measure 2J - Should the city be allowed to grant a provisional permit to pit bull owners?

• Yes: 171,420
• No: 95,098

Ballot Measure 4A - Should Denver Public Schools increase taxes to hire more mental health professionals and nurses and increase wages for educators and staff?

• Yes: 198,441
• No: 69,944

Ballot Measure 4B - Without imposing any new tax, should Denver Public Schools debt be increased?

• Yes: 213,342
• No: 54,556

>> View statewide ballot measure results here.

Representative to the 117th U.S. Congress - District 1 Race

Republican Shane Bolling campaigned to unseat U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) in District 1, but DeGette is the projected winner of the race, according to the Associated Press.

Some of DeGette's top priorities include protecting the environment and expanding access to health care. When a clean energy bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in September, DeGette added amendments that included the control of methane emissions from oil and gas operations on federal lands, and an amendment to give direction to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on cleaning up polluted communities.

DeGette was also a sponsor of a bill that sought to reauthorize and fund the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, an organization that offers drug testing to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and other sports organizations. The bill passed in September.

Bolling has worked as an international consultant who negotiated power purchase agreements for Latin America-based mining operations. He's spent the past 14 years working as a domestic energy consultant. One of his largest projects has been finding cost savings for Chicago's Mt. Sinai Hospital.

Bolling said his career has given him the "ability to find common sense solutions by focusing on areas of agreement developed by a framework of understanding the needs and interests of each party."

State Board of Education Member - Congressional District 1 Race

Lisa Escárcega, Sydnnia Wulff, Zachary Laddison and Alan Hayman were on the ballot to represent Denver on the State Board of Education, but Escárcega is the projected winner. Congressional District 1 also includes Cherry Hills Village, Glendale, Englewood and Sheridan.

State board members serve 6-year terms. The state board is in charge of appointing the commissioner of education, handling charter school appeals and setting state standards. The board also oversees teacher licensure, the administration of grants approved by the legislature and requests for waivers from state regulations.

Escárcega, a Democrat, spent "significant" amounts of her own money campaigning. She was endorsed by the Colorado Education Association, the state's largest teachers union. She also received $5,350 each from the Public Education Committee and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.

Escárcega began her career as a school psychologist and then worked as a chief accountability officer for Aurora Public Schools. She also taught English language development courses for teachers at Regis University. She recently served as the executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives.

In her Patch election profile, Escárcega said her two most pressing issues were tackling what she called the "privatization of public education" and providing better funding for schools.

"Our lack of funding for PK-12 public education is starving our schools and educators," Escárcega said.

"This is on many levels, by many people, intentional. By not adequately funding our PK-12 schools, the narrative of 'failing public schools' gives the cover and support to the need for alternative, choice programs.

"The privatization sector has used this narrative to funnel money into the alternative, choice sector. Profit is the ultimate motivation which is achieved by selling of services and investment of real estate. Our challenge is to secure increased funding that is directed to traditional public schools and to expose the outside funding by those that want to privatize education."

Escárcega's Republican opponent, Wulff, did not respond to Patch profile requests. On Wulff's website, she describes herself as an attorney and immigrant.

"The awareness that civility and objectivity in the classrooms are dead, that there is no transparency or accountability in the school system, and that the government is taking away the parents’ rights over the upbringing and school choice of their children, have motivated me to run for the Colorado Board of Education, Congressional District 1, in order that I can bring objectivity and help in the shaping of tomorrow’s future, that is, Colorado children," Wulff's website read.

State Senator - District 31 Race

Republican candidate Doug Townsend campaigned to unseat Chris Hansen, who serves as the District 31 state senator. Hansen is the projected winner of the race.

Hansen specializes in energy sector economics and data analytics, with 20 years of experience in the global energy industry. He was formerly the Representative for House District 6 from 2017 to 2019, representing the east-central neighborhoods of Denver.

Hansen serves on the senate finance, and senate state, veterans and military affairs committees. Throughout his tenure in the Colorado House of Representatives, Hansen served on the capital development, house transportation and energy, appropriations, agriculture, livestock and natural Resources, and joint budget committees, and as chair on the house appropriations committee.

In addition to his role in the state senate, Hansen serves as the co-founder and director of programming at the Colorado Energy and Water Institute, and as co-founder of the Colorado Science and Engineering Policy Fellowship.

Some of Hansen's top priorities include amending the Taxpayer Bill of Rights to reverse education budget cuts, combating carbon pollution, preventing gun violence, fighting for women's and LGBTQ rights, advocating for senior citizens and reforming campaign financing.

Townsend worked as a certified public accountant before becoming the Denver Downtown Aquarium's chief executive officer. He led a restructuring of the aquarium that allowed it to remain open.

Townsend's campaign platform included empowering small businesses, reducing taxes and increasing government efficiency.

State Representative - District 6 Race

Republican Bill McAleb campaigned to unseat Steven Woodrow from the District 6 seat. Woodrow has represented the district, which includes central and east Denver, since Feb. 4, and he is the projected winner in the general election.

For the past few years, Woodrow has served as co-captain of House District 6B for the Denver Democratic Party. He's worked as a litigator in Denver and started his own consumer practice in 2015.

Some of Woodrow's top priorities include protecting the environment, increasing school funding, fixing the healthcare system, fighting for criminal justice reform, enhancing consumer protections and reforming campaign finance laws.

McAleb has spent decades working for energy companies, and moved from Louisiana to Colorado in 2000. His campaign platform included protecting Coloradans from "run-away" government spending, mitigating the economic impacts of the environmental movement, improving infrastructure and transportation, re-evaluating Colorado's education system and improving immigration policies.

District Attorney - 2nd Judicial District Race

Libertarian William Robinson campaigned to unseat 2nd Judicial District Attorney Beth McCann, who was elected in 2016 as Denver's first female DA. McCann is the projected winner of the race.

McCann has many top priorities for the city, some of which include improving the juvenile justice system, addressing the disproportionate incarceration of people of color, building trust between law enforcement and communities, providing alternatives to incarceration for people with mental health and substance abuse issues, improving her office's transparency and prioritizing the prosecution of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse and human trafficking perpetrators.

McCann was endorsed by The Denver Post for her dedication to fighting racial bias long before 2020's protests.

The Post said that McCann "isn’t just trying to appease those calling for racial justice in the wake of the deaths of Elijah McClain, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor; she has been diligently working on the issue in her office for years."

Robinson, a longtime Denver attorney, said that one of his top priorities would be cracking down on companies that are responsible for "cost overruns" on some of the city's largest taxpayer-funded projects and events, such as the Denver International Airport renovation, the National Western Stock Show and arts centers.

As a Libertarian candidate, Robinson is also an outspoken proponent of ending the "war on drugs."

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and metro Denver elections officials said that one of their top concerns for Tuesday's election was cybersecurity.

"Foreign adversaries are conducting influence operations to try to undermine Americans' confidence in the electoral process, and states must act," Griswold said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security agency issued warnings in September about foreign actors that spread misinformation on fake websites, alter existing legitimate websites, send fraudulent emails and release articles in fake online journals.

Griswold's office launched social media campaigns and a new website to combat misinformation. Her office also created the Rapid Response Election Security Cyber Unit to help combat emerging cyber threats.

"Colorado is considered the safest state in which to cast a ballot, and we continually innovate to maintain our leading cyber preparedness," Griswold said.