First-Time Latino Denver Dem. Candidates Create New Cohort

DENVER, CO –In Denver’s Statehouse races, where open seats generated primaries in June, a cohort of progressive newbie Democratic candidates were the top vote-getters, and most of them are Latino. After winning elections, in heavily Democratic districts, they will bring a new team of Latino progressive representation to the statehouse.

State Sen. Dist. 32 (Open)

Rodriguez won easily with 27,697 votes, or 70.88 percent against the 9,911 votes (25.36 percent) cast for Mark Calonder (Republican) and the 1,470 (3.76 percent) for Peter Lucas Smith (Independent) in final returns. The seat is open because Incumbent state Sen. Irene Aguilar is term-limited. Democrat Robert Rodriguez 49, has served as former vice chair of the Democratic Party of Denver but ran for the first time in the June Democratic primary. Rodriguez was specifically working to boost minority representation in local politics, and now he will be that representation himself. Rodriguez beat out two other opponents in the June primary.

“If I want to represent my values — look at everything through a lens of how it affects people, rather than how it benefits corporations, I can only trust myself. So I waded in,” Rodriguez told the Denverite in June.

State Sen. Dist. 34 (Open)

Julie Gonzales (Democrat) easily won with 25,258 votes, or 82.14 percent, against Gordon Alley (Republican), who won 5,492 votes (17.86 percent). Incumbent state Sen. Lucia Guzman is term-limited. A graduate of Yale University, Gonzales co-founded the leading Hispanic nonprofit advocacy group the Colorado Latino Forum and pushed for a hotly contested 2013 bill to allow undocumented immigrants to attend college and pay in-state tuition.

State House Dist. 4 (Open)

Serena Gonzalez-Gutierrez was the top vote-getter winning 13,394 votes (81.79 percent) against stealth Republican Robert 'Dave' John who got 2,983, or 18.21 percent. House District 4 State Rep. Don Pabon was term-limited. Gonzalez-Gutierrez, daughter of Denver 1960s Chicano activist Corky Gonzalez has worked many years with juveniles in the criminal justice system, but taking part in Emerge Colorado trained her to run for office, she said.

State House Dist. 5 (Open)

Businessman Alex Valdez was top vote-getter in final returns, winning 12,096 votes, or 78.09 percent against Katherine E Whitney (Republican) and Libertarian Rory Lamberton, who received 2,990 (19.30 percent) and 404 (2.61 percent) respectively. State House Democratic Chair Crisanta Duran is term-limited out. Valdez founded residential solar company EcoMark Solar. His campaign describes him as a “Proud member of the LGBTQ community.” Valdez, who grew up in Aurora, was a Democratic precinct captain in House District 5 and a protege of Duran.

Images via candidate websites