Democrat Trisha Calvarese will remain on the June 25 special election ballot in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, a Denver judge ruled Wednesday in throwing out a lawsuit seeking to dislodge her.
Calvarese “has presented a good faith effort to comply with applicable regulations and has not acted to mislead the electorate,” Denver District Court Judge David Goldberg wrote.
The ruling came after a one-hour court hearing Tuesday in a lawsuit trying to keep Calvarese off the ballot based on the allegation that she hadn’t been registered as a Democratic voter in Colorado for long enough to qualify as her party’s nominee for the contest.
State law says “any candidate nominated by a political party must be affiliated with the party for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the date the convention begins, as shown in the statewide voter registration system.” Calvarese, a Colorado native who lived elsewhere until she recently moved back to the state, didn’t register to vote in Colorado until Dec. 23, less than four months before a Democratic committee selected her to be the party’s nominee in the special election.
It’s unclear if James “Jim” Glasser, a Castle Rock Democrat who filed the lawsuit, plans to appeal the ruling. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office plans to set the ballot Friday.
Calvarese will face Republican Greg Lopez, a former Parker mayor, in the June 25 special election that will determine who serves out the rest of U.S. Rep. Ken Buck’s term. Buck left Congress on March 22, setting up Colorado’s first special congressional election since 1983.
The 4th District is the state’s most Republican-favorable congressional district, meaning Lopez is the overwhelming favorite to win.
“This court case was a distraction and we’re glad this is settled,” Democratic Party Chairman Shad Murib said. “Defeating Lopez deserves the full attention of our party — it certainly has mine.”
Calvarese will also appear on the Democratic primary ballot in the 4th District on the same day, where she faces two other candidates. Lopez is not running in the district’s crowded Republican primary, which includes U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert.
Calvarese posted a statement on social media after Wednesday’s ruling: “One of my Democratic opponents colluded with the Republicans to take me to court and kick me off the ballot. We beat them in court. We will beat them on the ballot. We are going to beat Boebert in November.”
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Mario Nicolais, Calvarese’s attorney, argued in court Tuesday that Goldberg should let her remain on the ballot and direct the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office not to change the special election lineup.
“It would be wrong for the Secretary of State to certify that ballot and deny someone who meets the constitutional requirements access to that ballot,” said Nicolais, who is also a Colorado Sun opinion columnist. “She’s been a Democrat her whole life. She registered as a Democrat when she first could.”
But John Zakhem, the attorney for Glasser, disagreed.
“I don’t think there’s a good faith way to argue that the secretary of state can do anything but conclude that Ms. Calvarese does not qualify,” said Zakhem, who has represented Republicans, including the state party, in the past. “We can’t have a free-for-all ballot system.”
It’s unclear who paid for Glasser’s lawsuit. Glasser said he didn’t pay for his lawyers himself, but he would not tell The Sun who was paying for Zakhem’s representation.
Calvarese’s Democratic primary opponents — Ike McCorkle and John Padora — denied involvement.
McCorkle, Padora and Karen Breslin, another Democrat who was running in the primary but didn’t make the June 25 ballot, filed a complaint with the Colorado Democratic Party challenging Calvarese’s candidacy. The party dismissed it.