Elisabeth Epps takes lead over Katie March in Colorado’s tightest statehouse primary race – The Denver Post

Colorado’s most expensive and bitterly contested statehouse primary race has also turned out to be its closest.

Elisabeth Epps took the lead Wednesday over Katie March in the Democratic primary for House District 6. Ballot returns posted just before 5 p.m. showed Epps with 7,460 votes and March with 7,087 — a gap of 2.56%, which is far outside the margin needed for a recount.

Though this is only a primary election, the winner is all but guaranteed to win a seat in the legislature because the district is among the most heavily Democratic in the state. A Republican named Donald Howell will be on the ballot in November, but he has done no fundraising and when reached by phone recently, he said he has no real plans to campaign.

The March campaign remains hopeful it can regain the lead. Another round of ballot returns is expected Thursday afternoon, elections officials said.

“(W)e’re going to wait for tomorrow’s results,” March texted.

The Epps campaign could not be reached immediately for comment.

Momentum has been on the side of Epps. Initial returns showed March slightly ahead, but Epps is popular among younger voters who in many cases wait until the last day or two of the primary to return their ballot. Those ballots cast at or near the last minute are also counted later, which explains why results have shown Epps gradually gaining on March — the race was virtually tied as of late Tuesday — then overtaking her.

House District 6 runs south of Colfax Avenue from the Capitol building east to the Aurora border, and into Lowry and Windsor Gardens. The race has attracted far more attention and spending than any other Colorado statehouse race this year because it is a significant battle within a larger war for the future of the Democratic Party, both in Denver and beyond. Epps is a leftist who seeks to abolish the criminal justice system as constructed, and she has a strong grassroots following. Katie March is a more moderate Democrat who spent five years working at the Capitol in the state House majority caucus, and she is backed in part by powerful and well-moneyed lobbying interests.

Alton Dillard, spokesman for the Office of the Clerk and Recorder in Denver, said the office will release yet more ballot returns, though he could not give a figure for how many ballot remain to be counted in this race. March said her camp estimates about 3,500 remain.

If the margin stays tight enough that no clear winner emerges, it could be a while before the public has a final answer; ballots from overseas, plus unsigned ballots and ballots with unclear signatures will be counted through July 6, Dillard said.

In the unlikely event that this race heads to a recount — the margin would have to be extraordinarily narrow to reach that point — the recount wouldn’t be held until after the election is certified on July 18, Dillard said.

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