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Democratic Caucuses Pick Early Frontrunners In Colorado Governor’s Race

Colorado caucuses took place last night.
Sandra Fish for KUNC
Colorado caucuses took place last night.

In a nonbinding straw poll, Democrats gave Cary Kennedy a decisive victory in caucuses for Colorado governor. She took 50 percent of the vote. Congressman Jared Polis came in second with 33 percent and former state senator Mike Johnston finished a distant third with 8 percent.

One high-profile Democrat, Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne, is not going through the caucus process.

"Tuesday's turnout -- which was stronger than turnout in both 2014 and 2010 -- shows that Democrats are fired up and motivated to elect Democrats up-and -down the ballot in 2018," said Colorado Democratic Party Chair Morgan Carroll.

There is a large field of gubernatorial candidates ahead of elections in November as John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, must leave office because he is term-limited.

Republicans didn't conduct a straw poll during caucuses Tuesday evening (March 6, 2018), but State Treasurer Walker Stapleton is seen as the front runner among GOP candidates.

To qualify for the June primary, candidates must get 30 percent of the delegates at their party's state assembly or petition onto the ballot.

Both the Republican and Democratic state assemblies are in April.

Capitol Coverage is a collaborative public policy reporting project, providing news and analysis to communities across Colorado for more than a decade. Fifteen public radio stations participate in Capitol Coverage from throughout Colorado.

Copyright 2021 KUNC. To see more, visit KUNC.

Bente Birkeland
Bente Birkeland has been reporting on state legislative issues for KUNC and Rocky Mountain Community Radio since 2006. Originally, from Minnesota, Bente likes to hike and ski in her spare time. She keeps track of state politics throughout the year but is especially busy during the annual legislative session from January through early May.