Pueblo County quietly released a new batch of vote totals Nov. 8 that showed all frontrunners holding on to their leads in their respective races, though some candidates and ballot issues are closing the gap.
The new results released by the Pueblo County Elections Department on Friday night encompass 3,446 additional votes.
Hereâs where things stand in Puebloâs 2024 races as of Nov. 9.
Pueblo commissioners races still too close to call
The closest race, for the District 2 seat on the Pueblo Board of County Commissioners, saw leader Paula McPheeters, a Republican, extend her lead over incumbent Democratic Commissioner Daneya Esgar, as McPheetersâ advantage grew from just over 1,300 to more than 2,000 votes.
In the BOCC District 1 race, Democrat Miles Lucero saw his lead shrink by more than 600 votes: initial results on election night showed him with a 3,203-vote lead on the second-place candidate, but Republican Steven Rodriguez closed some of the gap with the latest results and now trails by 2,593 votes.
Incumbent District 1 Commissioner Eppie Griego, who ran as an independent after splitting ways with the Pueblo County Democratic Party in 2023, fell insurmountably behind the pack in the early stages of the election. He has now collected a total of just 14,223 votes.
If Lucero and McPheeters hold on, the Pueblo BOCC would have a Republican majority, joining the Pueblo Mayorâs Office and Pueblo City Council in being led by Republicans. If Rodriguez can make a comeback and McPheetersâ lead holds, the BOCC would be comprised entirely of Republican commissioners.
Less than two years ago, prior to current Commissioner Zach Swearingenâs election, all members of the BOCC were Democrats. Prior to Swearingen, Pueblo voters hadnât elected a Republican to the BOCC in decades.
Colorado House incumbents maintain significant leads
Other notable results in the countyâs latest vote dump include Democrat Matthew Martinez, the incumbent in Colorado House District 62, and Tisha Mauro, the Democratic incumbent in House District 46, maintaining their leads. Martinez had collected 54.18% of the vote in his race as of 11:45 p.m. Nov. 8, while Mauro had collected 53.15% of the vote in her contest.
Two other Colorado House races representing portions of Pueblo County were already decided prior to Friday, as incumbent Republican Reps. Ty Winter, of HD-47, and Stephanie Luck, of HD-60, handily won their reelection bids.
Where things stand with Pueblo ballot questions
Pueblo ballot issues 2A, 2B, 2C, and 4A were all less than 2,000 votes apart as of the latest results, but ballot issue 2D’s failure was seemingly solidified with the latest tally, as “No” votes led “Yes” votes by more than 5,600.
For the measures seeking to update Pueblo City Charter, 2A is currently on track to pass, leading by 1,167 votes; 2B is trailing by a razor-thin margin of just 195 votes; âYesâ on 2C continues to lead by 1,991 votes; and 2D appears to have officially failed, as âNoâ votes currently lead by a total of 5,641.
County ballot measure 4A, which would increase the mill levy to provide funding for Pueblo County School District 70, remains trailing by 1,621 votes.
How many votes remain uncounted?
How many votes Pueblo County has left to count is currently unclear. The county released âfinal unofficial election resultsâ just after 1 a.m. on Nov. 6, but county officials later backtracked on those unofficial results being final, saying no in-person votes were counted on Election Day.
Pueblo County Elections Director Dan Lepik told the Chieftain Nov. 7 that “roughly 5,996” people voted in person on Election Day. With the 3,446 new votes tabulated Friday night, there were at least 2,550 votes left to count.
However, the elections department is also continuing to collect ballots from military voters, overseas voters, those who need to cure their signatures, and those who turned in a ballot without a signature.
“Anybody who did not cure their signature or did not sign their envelope have eight days after Election Day to get those to us,” Lepik said in a video posted to the county’s Facebook page Nov. 7. “Those ballots will be processed and counted on the ninth day.”
More on Pueblo’s 2024 election: Pueblo County backtracks on âfinalâ election results, says in-person votes remain uncounted
Chieftain Editor Zach Hillstrom can be reached at zhillstrom@gannett.com, or on X, at @ZachHillstrom. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Here’s who’s winning Pueblo County races as of Nov. 9
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