James Mejia, who finished 1,491 votes behind Michael Hancock for a spot in the June 7 runoff, conceded the mayoral race Thursday morning.
“After verifying all votes that were counted Wednesday, I called Michael Hancock to congratulate him on making it to the runoff,” Mejia wrote on his campaign Facebook page before heading off to Thursday’s debate between Hancock and Chris Romer.
Asked whether it was hard to watch from the sidelines when he was so close to being in the spotlight, Mejia grinned: “Let’s keep some perspective. I got to wake up this morning with my wife and daughter — and that was pretty cool.”
Mejia said he was still uncertain which of the two candidates he’ll endorse, adding that he expected to speak with both men later Thursday.
“I don’t look at it as being solely my decision, but my team’s as well,” Mejia said of a group that includes former Denver Mayor Federico Peña.
Later Thursday, Romer picked up the backing of Theresa Spahn, who finished fourth Tuesday with 3,332 votes. Romer said he grew more and more impressed with the former magistrate judge during the series of candidate forums, particularly with regard to replacing Police Chief Gerry Whitman.
