2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election

For broader coverage of this topic, see Regents of the University of Colorado.

2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election

← 2010 November 8, 2016 Seat abolished →
Turnout	74.39%
Nominee Heidi Ganahl Alice Madden Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,293,651 1,237,693 Percentage 51.11% 48.89%
County results Congressional district results Precinct results Ganahl:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Madden:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%     >90% Tie:     50%     No votes
CU Regent before election Steve Bosley Republican Elected CU Regent Heidi Ganahl Republican

The 2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the next CU Regent. Incumbent Republican CU Regent Steve Bosley was term-limited and could not seek re-election. ^[1] Republican candidate Heidi Ganahl narrowly won the general election by 2.2%, defeating Democratic candidate and former Majority Leader of the Colorado House of Representatives Alice Madden. With this win, Republicans maintained their majority in the CU Regents, which lasted until 2020. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

This was the last election for this at-large seat. It would later be abolished in 2022, reducing the at-large seats down to one. To date, this is the last time Republicans won a statewide election in Colorado. ^[5]

Background

The State Board of Regents' nine voting members are chosen in biennial partisan elections and serve staggered six-year terms. One regent is elected to represent each of Colorado's congressional districts and two at the time were elected by the state at-large. ^[6]

Members after the 2016 elections

District	Representative	Party	Residence	Term expired
1st	John "Jack" Kroll	Democratic	Denver	2023
2nd	Linda Shoemaker	Democratic	Boulder	2021
3rd	Glen Gallegos	Republican	Grand Junction	2019
4th	Sue Sharkey	Republican	Castle Rock	2023
5th	Kyle Hybl	Republican	Colorado Springs	2019
6th	John Carson	Republican	Highlands Ranch	2021
7th	Irene Griego	Democratic	Lakewood	2021
At large	Heidi Ganahl	Republican	Boulder	2023
At large	Stephen C. Ludwig	Democratic		2019

Republican primary

Results

Republican primary results ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Heidi Ganahl	268,275	100.00%
Total votes			268,275	100.00%

Democratic primary

Results

Democratic primary results ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alice Madden	235,707	100.00%
Total votes			235,707	100.00%

General election

Results

2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Heidi Ganahl	1,293,651	51.11%	+0.59%
	Democratic	Alice Madden	1,237,693	48.89%	+4.95%
Total votes			2,531,344	100.00%	N/A
	Republican hold

By congressional district

Ganahl won four of seven congressional districts. ^[10]

District	Ganahl	Madden	Representative
1st	32%	68%	Diana DeGette
2nd	45%	55%	Jared Polis
3rd	56%	44%	Scott Tipton
4th	64%	36%	Ken Buck
5th	65%	35%	Doug Lamborn
6th	51%	49%	Mike Coffman
7th	47%	53%	Ed Perlmutter

Analysis

Heidi Ganahl won the election by a 2.2% margin. She was competitive in the suburbs of the heavily populous North Central Colorado Urban Area, which contains the state capital Denver plus its surrounding suburbs Aurora, Thornton, Lakewood, and Broomfield; in addition to other major cities Boulder and Fort Collins, home to the University of Colorado and Colorado State University respectively. Ganahl won Jefferson and Larimer Counties, and kept Adams and Arapahoe Counties close as well as the city of Broomfield. Ganahl ran up the margins in suburban Douglas and El Paso Counties, getting 66.5% of the vote in Douglas and 64.3% of the vote in El Paso.

Alice Madden won a long row of counties along the Rocky Mountains from Routt in the north to La Plata in the south, which contains a number of liberal leaning ski resort towns like Telluride, Aspen, and Steamboat Springs, however she was not able to perform that well in them. Despite Madden underperforming other Democrats in 2016, she was able to do well in southern Colorado, where there is a higher Hispanic population. Most notably, she was able to win Conejos, Huerfano, and Pueblo Counties, and did very well in Las Animas and Saguache Counties. ^[11]

See also

• 2016 United States presidential election in Colorado
• 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado
• 2022 Colorado gubernatorial election

References

1. Seltzer, Rick. "A Regents Race That Matters". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
2. Post, Sarah Kuta | Special to The Denver (November 9, 2016). "With Heidi Ganahl win, Republicans retain majority on CU Board of Regents". The Denver Post. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
3. Kuta, Sarah (November 8, 2016). "With Heidi Ganahl win, Republicans retain majority on CU Board of Regents". Boulder Daily Camera. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
4. "Colorado University Regents-At-Large Results: Heidi Ganahl Leads". The New York Times. August 1, 2017. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 1, 2024.
5. Paul, Jesse (September 10, 2021). "Republican Heidi Hanahl files to run for Colorado governor in 2022". The Colorado Sun . Retrieved September 21, 2021. "The University of Colorado regent, who is the only Republican official who holds statewide office, was expected to formally announce her bid next week."
6. "Current Regents". University of Colorado. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
7. "Primary results" (PDF).
8. "Primary results" (PDF).
9. "2016 General Election Results". www.sos.state.co.us. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
10. "State of Colorado Elections Database » 2016 Nov 8 :: General Election :: Attorney General :: State of Colorado". State of Colorado Elections Database. Archived from the original on December 14, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
11. "2016 General Election Results". www.sos.state.co.us. Retrieved July 1, 2024.