Democrat Lisa Escárcega was leading Republican Sydnnia Wulff in the race to represent Denver on the Colorado State Board of Education, 74.8% to 22.3%, with two-thirds of votes counted Tuesday.
Escárcega, who retired as head of the Colorado Association of School Executives, and Wulff, an attorney, are , which includes Denver and parts of Arapahoe County. Either would be a newcomer to the board, after the previous District 1 representative, Val Flores, .
In District 7, which includes much of Jefferson and Adams counties, Democrat Karla Esser led Republican Nancy Pallozzi, 62.5% to 37.5%. One of the two candidates will replace incumbent Jane Goff, who couldn’t run again because of term limits.
The only incumbent in a state Board of Education race is Republican Joyce Rankin, who represents District 3, covering most of western Colorado. She was leading challenger Mayling Simpson, a Democrat, 54.4% to 45.6%.
The Board of Education oversees the Colorado Department of Education and appoints its commissioner; creates regulations to implement state education laws; and makes decisions under the state’s accountability system, such as whether low-performing schools have done enough to improve.