How Colorado teachers unions won big in 2025 election

State of play: More than 80% of the candidates endorsed by the Colorado Education Association won their races against reform-minded Democrats and conservative rivals, the union said in a press release.

• The victories included four seats — and the majority — on the Denver School Board, as well as wins in Brighton, Grand Junction and Douglas County.

What they're saying: "If you're in a blue city and you're a blue voter, you're going to vote for the true-blue candidates — and the true-blue candidates were the union candidates," Van Schoales, a longtime supporter of the Democratic brand of education reform, told Chalkbeat.

Zoom in: The four candidates — Xóchitl Gaytán, Amy Klein Molk, DJ Torres and Monica Hunter — backed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, the district's union, decisively defeated their challengers.

Hunter credited the victories to their focus on teachers, whether promises to increase pay or create smaller classrooms.

• "They've seen so much on a global and federal level and they're worried about their kids. They know they can trust teachers," she said.

Likewise, Parker Baxter, the director of the Center for Education Policy Analysis at the University of Colorado Denver, credited the national mood for shifting the races.

• "It is possible that people who voted in this election thought they were voting to protect public education in Denver," he said, referring to attempts by the Trump administration to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. "It's very difficult to disentangle the atmospherics."