Edie Hooton wins CU regents Democratic primary
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The University of Colorado Boulder. Photo: George Rose/Getty Images
Former state Rep. Edie Hooton won the three-way Democratic primary race for the University of Colorado's 2nd Congressional District seat, with both the Daily Camera and Boulder Reporting Lab calling the race Wednesday morning.
Why it matters: Hooton will now be the favorite in November to claim the only regent's seat without an incumbent running this cycle.
The latest: Hooton had 42% of the appoximately 93,000 votes counted as of 8:14am Wednesday. She was the most politically experienced of the three candidates, serving as state representative for District 10 from 2017 to 2023.
- Murray Smith, a geospatial data scientist and the only CU alumnus in the race, had 30% of the vote while Kubs Lalchandani, a Boulder tech attorney, had 28%.
The intrigue: Hooton overcame a late controversy after firing her campaign manager for falsely posing as a CU parent on Reddit and criticizing an opponent in an anonymous post.
What they're saying: "I'm very grateful to my neighbors and friends and endorsers. They were so supportive, and they put a lot of trust in me," Hooton told the Daily Camera.
The other side: Marty Neilson, the chief financial officer for an energy company, was the only Republican to enter the race.
Context: Callie Rennison, the current regent for CD-2, did not seek re-election after coming under fire for helping appoint a Republican chair despite Democrats holding the majority.
- Congressional District 2 covers 11 counties, including Boulder County, Broomfield County, Eagle County, Gilpin County, Larimer County, Summit County and part of Weld County.
The big picture: This was the only competitive primary of the three CU regents races this cycle, with incumbent Democrats Ilana Spiegel and Nolbert Chavez running for re-election in their districts.
What we're watching: All three districts are historically left-leaning, meaning the board of regents is likely to remain under Democratic control come November.