More county primary candidates confirmed
Democrats and Republicans chosen for ballots in state, U.S. congressional races
As the June 25 primary election draws closer, Boulder County’s Democratic and Republican parties are continuing to confirm more candidates for their respective ballots.
Three politicians were designated to the Democratic primary ballot at assemblies held Wednesday evening, according to Boulder County Democratic Party Chair Amy Weinstein.
State Rep. Jennifer Parenti is running to represent House District 19, which includes Longmont, Erie, Firestone, Frederick and Dacono. University of Colorado Regent Lesley Smith is running to represent House District 49, which encompasses the western flank of Boulder plus Lyons, Jamestown, Nederland, and a swath of the Rocky Mountains running from Georgetown and Empire to the northern state border. State Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis is running to represent state Senate District 17, which includes eastern Boulder County, southwestern Weld County and northwestern Broomfield County, including Lafayette, Longmont and Erie.
Boulder County GOP Chair Tara Menza said several more Republican primary candidates have also been confirmed. Marshall Dawson will be running as a candidate for the 2nd Congressional District of the U.S. House of Representatives, which includes Boulder and Fort Collins and runs up to the northern state line. That seat is currently occupied by Rep. Joe Neguse, a Democrat.
Other recently confirmed GOP candidates include pastor Steve Ferrante for House District 49, Dan Woog for House District 19, Tom Van Lone for Senate District 17 and Eric Rinard for the CU Board of Regents.
While candidates for a few races still have yet to be confirmed, both parties have already held their caucuses and most of their planned assemblies to identify which candidates will head to the primary.
Candidates can be confirmed for the primary ballot via either of two methods. They can go through the caucus and assembly process and be confirmed to the ticket by receiving at least 30% of delegate votes. Or, as an alternative, a candidate can gather
enough signatures on a petition and be added to the ballot.
Some candidates use both the petition and the assembly process. Candidates that have already petitioned onto the ballot who also choose to go to assembly only need to receive 10% of delegate votes, so they have a lower bar to clear. However, if they don’t meet that threshold, they will not be listed on the primary ticket even if they received sufficient petition signatures.
The Daily Camera is keeping a running list of primary candidates in each race. The following candidates have been confirmed for this year’s primary ballot via petition, assembly, or both. Incumbents are designated with italic text.
2024 primary election: Confirmed Boulder County Democrat and GOP candidates
Boulder County Commissioner District 1: Claire Levy (D) Boulder County Commissioner District 2: Marta Loachamin (D), Donald “Don” Lewis (R) Boulder County Coroner: Jeff Martin (D) 20th Judicial District Attorney: Michael Dougherty (D) CU Board of Regents: Eric Rinard (R) State House District 10: Junie Joseph (D) and Tina Mueh (D) State House District 11: Karen Mccormick (D); Steven Altschuler (R), Terri Goon (R) and Katherine Reeves (R) State House District 12: Kyle Brown (D); Robert Mahler (R), Christian Suarez (R), Mark Milliman (R) State House District 19: Jennifer Parenti (D), Dan Woog (R) State House District 49: Lesley Smith (D), Max Woodfin (D), Steve Ferrante (R) State Senate District 17: Sonya Jaquez Lewis (D), Tom Van Lone (R) State Senate District 18: Judy Amabile (D) and Jovita Schiffer (D) U.S. House of Representatives, Second Congressional District: Joe Neguse (D), Marshall Dawson (R)
In addition to the above races, there will also be elections in 2024 for the Colorado State Board of Education and the U.S. president.
Democratic primary candidates for the 2nd Congressional District U.S. House seat and the State Board of Education seat for the same district will be confirmed at an assembly Thursday night, and the Democratic CU Board of Regents candidates will be confirmed on Saturday.
The Colorado Democratic Party will hold its state assembly and convention starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday. At the Republican state assembly, which took place last Saturday in Pueblo, Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams sparked outrage and made local and national headlines after booting reporter Sandra Fish from the event.
While the presidential primary was held in March, the primary election for all other candidates will take place on June 25. Voters should plan to vote in-person or return their ballots by 7 p.m. that day.
This year’s general election is set for Nov. 5.