# 2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election

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vte :
The 2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election took place on November 8, 2016, to elect the next CU Regent. Incumbent Republican CU Regent Steve Bosley was term-limited and could not seek re-election. Republican candidate Heidi Ganahl narrowly won the general election by 2.2%, defeating Democratic candidate and former Majority Leader of the Colorado House of Representatives Alice Madden. With this win, Republicans maintained their majority in the CU Regents, which lasted until 2020.
This was the last election for this at-large seat. It would later be abolished in 2022, reducing the at-large seats down to one. To date, this is the last time Republicans won a statewide election in Colorado.

## Background

The State Board of Regents' nine voting members are chosen in biennial partisan elections and serve staggered six-year terms. One regent is elected to represent each of Colorado's congressional districts and two at the time were elected by the state at-large.

### Members after the 2016 elections

| District | Representative | Party | Residence | Term expired |
| 1st | John "Jack" Kroll | Democratic | Denver | 2023 |
| 2nd | Linda Shoemaker | Democratic | Boulder | 2021 |
| 3rd | Glen Gallegos | Republican | Grand Junction | 2019 |
| 4th | Sue Sharkey | Republican | Castle Rock | 2023 |
| 5th | Kyle Hybl | Republican | Colorado Springs | 2019 |
| 6th | John Carson | Republican | Highlands Ranch | 2021 |
| 7th | Irene Griego | Democratic | Lakewood | 2021 |
| At large | Heidi Ganahl | Republican | Boulder | 2023 |
| At large | Stephen C. Ludwig | Democratic | | 2019 |

## Republican primary
### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Heidi Ganahl | 268,275 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 268,275 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Alice Madden | 235,707 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 235,707 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Results

2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Heidi Ganahl | 1,293,651 | 51.11% | +0.59% |
| | Democratic | Alice Madden | 1,237,693 | 48.89% | +4.95% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,531,344 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### By congressional district

Ganahl won 4 of 7 congressional districts.
| District | Ganahl | Madden | Representative |
| 1st | 32% | 68% | Diana DeGette |
| 2nd | 45% | 55% | Jared Polis |
| 3rd | 56% | 44% | Scott Tipton |
| 4th | 64% | 36% | Ken Buck |
| 5th | 65% | 35% | Doug Lamborn |
| 6th | 51% | 49% | Mike Coffman |
| 7th | 47% | 53% | Ed Perlmutter |

## Analysis

Heidi Ganahl won the election by a 2.2% margin. This is the most recent Republican win in a statewide election in Colorado. Ganahl was competitive in the suburbs of the heavily populous North Central Colorado Urban Area, which contains the state capital Denver plus its surrounding suburbs Aurora, Thornton, Lakewood, and Broomfield; in addition to other major cities Boulder and Fort Collins, home to the University of Colorado and Colorado State University respectively. Ganahl won Jefferson and Larimer Counties, and kept Adams and Arapahoe Counties close as well as the city of Broomfield. Ganahl ran up the margins in suburban Douglas and El Paso Counties, getting 66.5% of the vote in Douglas and 64.3% of the vote in El Paso.
Alice Madden won a long row of counties along the Rocky Mountains from Routt in the north to La Plata in the south, which contains a number of liberal leaning ski resort towns like Telluride, Aspen, and Steamboat Springs, however she was not able to perform that well in them. Despite Madden underperforming other Democrats in 2016, she was able to do well in southern Colorado, where there is a higher Hispanic population. Most notably, she was able to win Conejos, Huerfano, and Pueblo Counties, and did very well in Las Animas and Saguache Counties.