A pair of recounts in razor-close state legislative races confirm that Democrats will no longer have a supermajority in the Colorado House of Representatives when lawmakers return to the Capitol in Denver next year.
The recount in House District 16 in Colorado Springs resulted in a net gain of three votes for Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Vigil, but she still lost her reelection bid to Republican Rebecca Keltie, a defense contractor.
Meanwhile, the recount in House District 19 didn’t change former state Rep. Dan Woog’s victory over Democrat Jillaire McMillan. Woog, a Republican, picked up an extra vote, expanding his victory to 110 votes.
The recount results were announced Thursday evening. Colorado law requires an automatic recount when the difference between the top candidates is less than 0.5% of the winner’s vote total.
Republicans flipped a third House seat in the Nov. 5 election. Democratic state Rep. Mary Young of Greeley also lost her reelection bid in House District 50 to Republican Ryan Gonzalez.
The three flipped seats will reduce the Democratic edge in the House to 43-22 from 46-19.
That’s a major divide. Still, the results are a disappointment for Democrats, who had hoped to win one more seat in the Senate and keep their House advantage to achieve a rare, veto-proof supermajority in both chambers at the Capitol.
The 2025 legislative session begins Jan. 5.