🫏 Happy Wednesday! We've woken up in a blue world in a blue House (and Senate).

• 🎵 Sounds like: Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65

🗳️ Situational awareness: According to the County Clerk's Office, 118,836 votes had been counted as of 10:45pm yesterday.

• We expect more results overnight and later today.

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny skies — highs in the 50s.

Today’s newsletter is 869 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Mayor Aaron Brockett won reelection yesterday, defeating five challengers to secure a final term.

Why it matters: His victory brings continuity to City Hall as Boulder grapples with budget shortfalls, housing affordability challenges, public safety concerns and major development decisions.

Driving the news: Brockett defeated a crowded field that included City Council member Taishya Adams, Jameson "Jamo" Goldstein, Lisa Ann Jacobs, Aquiles La Grave and "Grateful" Fred Smith, according to the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder's Office.

• Elected in 2023, Brockett became Boulder's first directly elected mayor.
• The city uses ranked-choice voting for its mayoral elections, allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference rather than selecting just one.

By the numbers: Brockett received 12,878 first-choice votes (49%), just short of the majority needed to win outright.

• Smith and Goldstein were eliminated in the first two rounds, and redistributed votes pushed Brockett over the 50% threshold in the third round.
• Results showed he finished the ranked-choice process with 13,158 votes — just 116 more than needed to win.
• La Grave finished second with 7,079 first-choice votes (27.14%), followed by City Council member Taishya Adams with 4,719 (18.09%).

Zoom out: All three incumbent council members, Tina Marquis, Ryan Schuchard and Tara Winer, appeared headed for reelection as of 10:45pm yesterday.

• Newcomer Jill Grano was second in overall votes to Marquis and set to claim one vacant seat.
• Sam Fuqua was in fifth for the final spot, leading sixth-place Ryan Jamieson by about 2,000 votes.

The bottom line: Despite Boulder's mounting budget challenges and the likely rejection of a council-endorsed $400 million bond issue, voters didn't opt for change at City Hall.

Share this story

Boulder County voters appear set to expand the Board of County Commissioners from three to five members, though how they'll be elected remains unsettled.

Why it matters: The expansion sets the stage for a major restructuring of county government, adding two commissioners and changing how residents are represented.

By the numbers: The expansion had 65.57% support (70,165 votes), compared with 34.43% opposed (36,838 votes) as of results at 10:45pm yesterday.

• Voters narrowly favored a hybrid system, with three commissioners elected by district and two countywide, 52.35% (52,172 votes) to 47.65% (47,493 votes).
• The alternative would elect all five commissioners by district.

What's next: A redistricting commission will convene in 2027 to draw new districts before voters elect two additional commissioners in November 2028.

• The five-member board will take office in January 2029, according to Boulder County.

Zoom out: Voters appear set to reject a $400 million recreation and safety bond, while a companion measure to increase the city's borrowing capacity was leading.

• A Boulder vacancy tax and a Boulder County early childhood tax were also ahead as of last night.

A blue tsunami swept across Colorado in yesterday's midterm election, with Democrats winning every statewide race and gaining ground in ruby-red districts.

Why it matters: Colorado's blue streak deepened with voters embracing progressive candidates and policies, my Axios Denver colleague John Frank reports.

• The results delivered a stinging rebuke of President Trump and exposed the Colorado Republican Party's struggles to recruit competitive candidates and fundraise.

Here are some election night takeaways:

Democrats claimed all five statewide races with roughly 60% of the vote in each, secured a supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature and appeared competitive in all eight congressional districts.

• Colorado Democrats also helped their party secure majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.

The biggest surprise: Democrats didn't just win. They won big — even in Republican strongholds where Trump won by 9+ percentage points in 2024.

• In the 4th District, Republican Lauren Boebert trailed Democrat Eileen Laubacher, a first-time but well-funded candidate, state figures show.
• Jessica Killin led Republican Jeff Crank, according to preliminary state tallies. If she wins, she'd be the first Democrat ever elected to represent the 5th Congressional District in El Paso County.

Voters didn't write progressives a blank check. Conservative-backed measures fared better than Republican candidates in early vote totals.

• Two measures to toughen criminal penalties for fentanyl and human trafficking drew majority support in early vote counts.
• Two proposals restricting surgery and sports participation for transgender youth also led in preliminary results last night.

Go deeper

The victim in a University Hill shooting on Halloween night was identified as Luca Hanlon, 19, a second-year media production student at CU.

💻 Shortly after polls closed, a bot attacked the Colorado Secretary of State's election reporting website yesterday, Secretary Jena Griswold told Axios Denver.

• The attack targeted the vendor that provides the web-facing results page but not the vote tallies from county clerk offices. The issue was quickly resolved after a security upgrade.

🍕 Mitchell ordered a couple of pies from Krave It in Longmont for election night.

Thanks to Gigi Sukin for editing.