Kraft-Tharp
Kerr
Inman
Szabo
Paul Albani-Burgio
palbaniburgio@coloradocommunitymedia.com
It looks like the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners will be made up entirely of Democrats for the first time since the mid-1880s.
With 99% of the estimated vote in as of Wednesday morning, Democrat Tracy Kraft-Tharp is leading the race to be the next commissioner in District 1 while Democrat Andy Kerr was leading in the District 2 race with 94% of the estimated vote in.
Kraft-Tharp leads incumbent Republican Libby Szabo 52% to 43.5% while Kerr led 55.6% to 44.4% over his Republican opponent Joni Inman.
Kraft-Tharp, has represented Colorado House District 29, which includes eastern Arvada and western Westminster, since 2013. She is an Arvada resident.
Kerr, who lives in Lakewood, most recently served a term in the Colorado State Senate, where he represented District 22 from 2012 t0 2019. He previously represented House District 26, which encompasses most of Lakewood, in the Colorado House of Representatives.
When reached by phone just before 7:3o p.m. on Wednesday, Kraft-Tharp said she was “thrilled” with the results.
“We have the first returns and it looks like we are about 10% ahead which is just tremendous,” said Kraft-Tharp.
However, she also brought up her opponent, who she said should be recognized for her contributions to Jeffco.
“I definitely want to recognize the work Libby has done serving Jeffco” Kraft-Tharp said. “We need to recognize that.”
Kerr said he was also “very happy” with the results.
“The voters in Jeffco have overwhelmingly spoken that they want to make sure we have a county government that is very responsive to the needs and health concerns of citizens and a county where wildfire mitigation, transportation, affordable housing and public health are all top priorities for our community,” said Kerr.
Despite their large leads, both Kerr and Kraft-Tharp said they were not yet ready to declare victory in their races.
“I’ve seen weird things happen in the past but the early numbers and everything pretty much speak for themselves,” he said. “I don’t think it’s my place to declare victory, I think this is a victory for all the citizens of Jeffco that have been able to overwhelmingly come together.”
