Trisha Calvarese’s selection as the Democratic nominee for the June 25 special election in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, a race that will determine who serves out the rest of former U.S. Rep. Ken Buck’s term, is being challenged in court.
A lawsuit filed Wednesday in Denver against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold alleges that Calvarese was ineligible to be selected by delegates at a special Democratic convention last week because of a provision in state law known as 1–4-402. It says that “any candidate nominated by a political party must be affiliated with the party for at least twelve consecutive months prior to the date the convention begins, as shown in the statewide voter registration system.”
Calvarese’s state voter file shows she registered in Colorado and as a Democrat on Dec. 16, 2023, less than four months before she was appointed as the party’s nominee. She voted in the presidential primary election in March. Calvarese said Thursday that she’s aware of Glasser’s complaint and plans to fight it.
The person who filed the lawsuit is James “Jim” Glasser, a Castle Rock Democrat. In a brief interview Thursday with The Colorado Sun, Glasser declined to say which Democratic candidate he was supporting in the race — “that’s irrelevant.”
Glasser also said he’s not paying for the legal action personally, and he declined to say who is — “I’d rather not.”
But Democrat John Padora, who ran against Calvarese for the Democratic special election nomination, has been making allegations since Saturday that Calvarese is ineligible to be the nominee.
Padora’s spokesperson Saturday afternoon sent an email blast to reporters making the same 1–4-402 claims that Glasser’s lawsuit is making.
“Our intention is simply to hold the party leadership accountable for this discrepancy,” Padora, an addiction recovery advocate who lives in Severance, said in a written statement earlier in the week. “This is about following the order of law and ensuring these important processes are upheld with the utmost integrity.”
Padora’s spokesperson, Katherine Garcia, said the Padora campaign isn’t funding the lawsuit. When asked if the campaign had anything to do with the lawsuit, Garcia said: “We have no relationship with the attorney or the plaintiff.”
She added: “We have no further comment on this.”
Padora lost to Calvarese in the special election nomination convention on April 3 with 35.5% of the delegate vote to Calvarese’s 64.5% after three rounds of voting. (Candidates had to secure a majority of the vote to win. The lowest vote-getter was dropped off each round.)
Randy Jones, a spokesman for Ike McCorkle, another Democrat who sought the nomination and came in third, said Thursday that the McCorkle campaign wasn’t behind the lawsuit.
“Wasn’t us,” he said.
The lawsuit was filed as Democrats in the 4th District were gathering Thursday night for a nominating convention to select the party’s nominees for the separate primary election in the district that will also be held June 25. Calvarese, Padora and a third candidate, political scientist Karen Breslin, were running to make the primary ballot.
They needed to receive at least 30% of the delegate vote to advance. Calvarese received 58% of the vote, while Padora received 24% and Breslin received 8%.
McCorkle made the primary ballot by gathering voter signatures.
The Colorado Democratic Party disagrees with Padora’s interpretation of the law.
“CDP rules are clear that a candidate simply has to be a Democrat for at least 12 months immediately preceding the convention,” Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib said in a written statement. “Ms. Calvarese says she meets this requirement. There is no residency requirement for Congress that prevents her from being the nominee.”
In other words: Even though there may appear to be a residency requirement in state law, there’s not one in the U.S. Constitution, and so state requirement is moot. (U.S. House candidates must live in the state where the district that they are running to represent is, but they don’t have to live in the district.)
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Calvarese, a Colorado native who until recently was living in Pennsylvania, told The Sun earlier this week that “I’m in compliance with the statute.”
“I’ve been registered as a Democrat since college,” said Calvarese, a former congressional and campaign staffer who lives in Highlands Ranch.
A spokeswoman for Griswold, the secretary of state, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
“At this time the department has not been served with a lawsuit on this matter,” said Kailee Stiles, the spokeswoman.
With Election Day fast approaching — ballot certification happens April 26 — there may not be enough time anyway for the lawsuit to be resolved or the vacancy committee to meet again and select a new Democratic nominee.
Calvarese is set to face former Parker Mayor Greg Lopez, a two-time failed Republican gubernatorial candidate, in the special election. The 4th District is the state’s most Republican-favorable congressional district, meaning Lopez is the overwhelming favorite to win.
Buck, for instance, won his last two elections by at least 23 percentage points over McCorkle, who ran to represent the district in both 2020 and 2022.
Padora, a Pennsylvania native, registered to vote in Colorado on Oct. 29, 2021, after he and his family moved here from the Keystone State.
His voter file shows he didn’t vote in the March presidential primary, though he cast ballots in the November elections in 2023, 2022 and 2021. He also voted in the 2022 primary.
Glasser, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, said he will vote in the special election for whomever gets the Democratic nomination.
“If Patricia gets the nomination, I’ll vote for her,” he said. “I’ll vote for whoever gets the Democratic nomination.”
It’s unclear how Glasser’s lawsuit may affect the primary election in the 4th District.
Buck resigned effective March 22. His term ends in early January 2025.