By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
Ryan Gonzalez has won a reliably blue Weld County seat, and two other races remaining that are too close to call could potentially help pull Republicans out of a superminority in the Colorado House.
The 29-year-old Republican defeated three-term Democrat Mary Young by 554 votes in House District 50, outside the trigger for a mandatory recount. As of Monday, Gonzalez held 51.1% of the 25,606 votes, with Young holding 48.9%.
Gonzalez initially trailed on Election Night, but continued to cut into the margin and eventually took a lead over Young late last week. That margin doubled over the weekend.
It is a significant win for Republicans, considering the seat has been in Democratic Party control since 2005. It secured a plus-one-seat gain for the formerly “Mighty 19” Republicans.
A supermajority is considered two-thirds of the Colorado House membership. There are 65 members and with Gonzalez’s victory Republicans have 20 seats.
In another Weld County race, Republicans are closely watching the District 19 race between their nominee Dan Woog and Democrat Jillaire McMillan. As of Monday, Woog held a 207-vote lead. Woog, who formerly held the seat, has 50.19% of the 55,449 votes. McMillan has 49.81%. It is within the threshold for an automatic recount. The district also includes Boulder County electorate.
The closest race is the District 16 seat in El Paso County, featuring Republican Rebecca Keltie and Democrat Steph Vigil, who presently holds the seat in the Colorado House. Keltie had pulled ahead by 21 votes as of Monday. She holds 50.03% of the 41,007 votes, with Vigil holding 49.97%. It is another race which is within the 0.5% threshold needed to automatically qualify for a recount.
All results are unofficial until certified. A few important election dates will unfold this week: military and absentee ballots must be received by Wednesday, provisional ballots can be counted through Thursday, and then results must be provided to the secretary of state by Friday. Candidates outside the 0.5% threshold may begin requesting a recount, paid by their campaign, on Friday. A number of ballots equal to the military and absentee ballots are also withheld to provide for anonymity.