Mike Johnston announces victory in the Denver mayoral election

Mike Johnston, a former Colorado state senator backed by millions of dollars in outside spending, declared victory Tuesday night in Denver’s mayoral election, defeating a candidate who had been vying to become the first woman to hold the office.

From 10 p.m., Mr. Johnston was pulled ahead with about 54 percent of the vote in the second round, which is nonpartisan even though both candidates are Democrats. His opponent, Kelly Brough, a former head of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, had about 46 percent. Mrs Brough relented minutes later.

Tens of thousands of ballots were still to be counted Tuesday evening, and the city said official results would not be released until later this month. But Mr Johnston maintained a steady lead throughout the evening after the polls closed.

“We can build a city big enough to keep us all safe, to house us all, to support us all,” Johnston said in a victory speech Tuesday evening. “That’s our Denver dream.”

Mr. Johnston, 48, and Ms. Brough, 59, had emerged as the top contenders in the April general election from a crowded field of 16 candidates to win Mayor Michael B. Hancock, a Democrat who has been in office for 12 years. to replace. Time limits left him unable to run.

Both candidates had said they wanted to make room for more affordable housing, invest in homeless services and improve diversity in police recruiting in the Colorado capital. But Mr. Johnston seemed to be getting more support from left-wing voters and from wealthy donors out of state.

Ms Brough said in a speech that she called Mr Johnston to relent. “We wanted to restore the Denver promise,” she said. “And I still believe in this campaign and the work we’ve done.”

A handful of more progressive candidates had significant voter support ahead of the April 4 election, but they seemed to undermine each other’s momentum as the first round of voting approached.

Tami Matthews, 53, a marketing executive, said she voted for Mr Johnston in the second round because he seemed like a creative politician who was more progressive than Ms Brough. She said she appreciated his support for more regulation to tackle climate change, as well as his plans to build small communities of tiny houses for the city’s homeless population.

Denver voters were excited about the idea of ​​having a woman as mayor, Ms. Matthews said. “But I think there were so many other better female candidates,” she added, talking about progressive candidates who failed to make it through April’s election.

Still, she said she voted for Mr. Johnston both times, even though she wasn’t happy about reports of his out-of-state donations. “That gives me some heartburn,” said Ms. Matthews.

In the 12 years under Mr. Hancock’s administration, Denver has experienced major population growth — despite some losses during the coronavirus pandemic — and many of the challenges that come with it. Housing costs have risen and homelessness has become worse.

“Whoever wins I think will have a fair mandate, at least for a while, to make some pretty significant policy changes in these areas,” said Seth Masket, the director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver, in an interview before the first results were in. “I think a lot of other mayors of similar sized cities will look to Denver just to see what comes out of this.”

Mr. Johnston – a former teacher, principal and education advisor to President Barack Obama – was first elected to the state senate in 2009 and served until 2017, when he reached his term limit. He has since run unsuccessfully for both Governor and Senate of the United States.

More recently, he served as the CEO of Gary Community Ventures, an organization that combines philanthropy, investment and political funding. There, he played a leading role in advancing Proposition 123, an initiative to spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on affordable housing. It was approved by voters in Colorado last year.

Before becoming chief executive of the city chamber of commerce, Ms. Brough was Denver’s chief of human resources and served as chief of staff to former mayor John Hickenlooper, who is now a US senator.

It was endorsed by city and state Democratic leaders, as well as the city’s police union and the Republican Party. But statements of support from some of the Progressive candidates knocked out of April’s election bolstered Mr Johnston’s chances in the runoff.

His campaign also benefited from much more outside spending than Ms Brough’s, public records show.

Advancing Denver, a super-PAC that supported Mr. Johnston but was not formally affiliated with his campaign, received more than $2 million from backers including Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, and Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire and former mayor from New York City.

Both men also supported Mr Johnston’s unsuccessful candidacy for governor in 2018. That reported the Colorado Sun.

A Better Denver, a super PAC that supported Ms. Brough’s candidacy, was funded by donors, including the National Association of Realtors, who spent more than $400,000.

Although Tuesday was Election Day, votes for the second round have been pouring in since last month. That’s because registered voters in Denver receive their ballots in the mail, giving them the option to return it, drop it off, or show up in person to vote on Election Day. Mrs Brough delivered her ballot paper last week and Mr Johnston submitted his on Sunday.