A race for a House seat in northern Colorado is shaping up to play a pivotal role in the future of two of the state’s largest counties and the power dynamics under the Gold Dome in Denver.
House District 19 (HD19) roughly stretches from E. Baseline Rd. near Lafayette north to Highway 66 outside Del Camino and from the farmland east of Firestone west to N. 95th St. outside Boulder. The district was relocated from the west side of Colorado Springs during redistricting in 2021. It was a historically reliable Republican seat until Democrat Jennifer Parenti of Erie won it by more than 1,400 votes – or three percentage points — in 2022.
Parenti announced she was dropping out of the race in July. The following month, a vacancy committee appointed Jillaire McMillan to replace Parenti on the November ballot, where she will face off against former state legislator Dan Woog. Data from Colorado’s nonpartisan Independent Redistricting Committee suggests the district leans slightly in Woog’s favor.
HD19 election could be a bellwether for the future of the rural Weld and Boulder county communities contained in the district. The election is happening at a time when cities in the district like Erie are building hordes of new housing while simultaneously adding new regulations to restrict oil and gas developments. Meanwhile, the tri-town area of Dacono, Frederick, and Firestone have each overhauled their Boards of Trustees while dealing with their own growth booms.
McMillan said these growing pains are part of the reason why she thinks it’s important to listen to both Democrat and Republican voters alike.
“I want to listen to everybody and do it in a way that leads to productive solutions to issues that a lot of people care about,” McMillan told the Colorado Times Recorder in an interview.
McMillan, a small business owner and mother of four, admits that Woog has had a head start on her in terms of canvassing and fundraising. He also has some name recognition because he served in the House from 2020 to 2022.
“He’s had more time to get out in front of voters, but I feel confident that I can do the work that needs to be done,” McMillan said.
The race is also happening at a time when many voters in Colorado are asking lawmakers to address real-world issues like rising property taxes, school disinvestment, and underfunded roadway projects instead of so-called “culture war” issues. Parenti cited the lack of civility under the Gold Dome and a “culture that rewards special interests” as two reasons she left politics.
In August, Woog told Jimmy Lakey on the KCOL Mornings Show that he’s running to fix “the things that aren’t going well, and the things that are hurting our constituents.” He said on air that the rising cost of living and business taxes are the top two issues his voters care about.
At times, Woog has also played a part in the fights that made Parenti give up her seat. Woog denied the results of the 2020 election where President Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump by more than 7 million votes. He has also voiced support for increasing the role of churches in politics, according to a post on his Facebook page.
Woog — whose campaign didn’t return a request for comment — has also spread the baseless story that Venezuelan gangs are rampant at an apartment complex in Aurora. Aurora officials have consistently denied that a gang has taken over, and advocates have raised alarms about the narrative detracting from the complex’s substandard housing conditions.
“We cannot have a well-run state and a good economy, which is what I want, when we have some of the highest crime rates in the country,” Woog told KCOL.
Federal crime data shows that violent crime in Colorado increased between 2012 and 2022 while the national average trended downward. However, data from the Colorado Bureau of Investigations shows that violent crime and property crime rates are decreasing. The disparity between these two datasets is caused by the kinds of crimes that federal and state agencies investigate as well as reporting requirements for each entity.
To McMillan, the stark differences between her campaign and Woog’s show the importance of coalition building. She said she often interacts with Republicans at her church and has heard many say they are tired of the extremism that has plagued the party for several years.
“I recognize that HD19 is not all Democrats, and while I’m going to need those Democrats to vote for me, I’m also going to need some people who are willing to say, “I don’t always vote for a Democrat, but this time I will,” because they see a need someone that they can trust as a legislator,” McMillan said.
It may seem farcical that Colorado Democrats have a lot at stake in the HD19 race, given that they control the state government and the Governor’s office. But Democrats can only afford to lose two seats if they want to keep their two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. That supermajority allows them to override the governor’s vetoes without Republican support. Currently, Democrats hold a 46-19 majority in the House.
There are five other districts outside of HD19 where Democrats were elected to office by 1,500 or fewer votes. Most of these districts lean in the GOP’s favor.
