The 2024 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election took place on November 5, 2024, to elect an at-large member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents. Incumbent Democratic CU Regent Lesley Smith did not seek re-election and successfully ran in the state house instead after serving a single term, leaving the seat open.
Democratic nominee Elliott Hood won the general election with 50.5% of the vote, defeating Republican Eric Rinard, who received 46.5%. T.J. Cole of the Libertarian Party and Thomas Reasoner of the Unity Party of America also appeared on the ballot but finished far behind. With Republicans and Democrats both holding four district seats, Hood’s victory preserved a narrow 5–4 Democratic majority on the Board of Regents.
This was the first statewide election since the 2020 United States Senate election in Colorado in which a Democrat won by a margin of less than ten percentage points.
Background The State Board of Regents' nine voting members are chosen in biennial partisan elections and serve staggered six-year terms. One regent is elected to represent each of Colorado's congressional districts, and one is elected at-large by the entire state electorate.
Members after the 2024 elections
University of Colorado Board of Regents District Regent Party Term expires 1st Wanda James Democratic 2029 2nd Callie Rennison (Chair) Democratic 2027 3rd Ray Scott Republican 2031 4th Frank McNulty Republican 2029 5th Ken Montera (Vice Chair) Republican 2031 6th Ilana Dubin Spiegel Democratic 2027 7th Nolbert Chavez Democratic 2027 8th Mark VanDriel Republican 2029 At large Elliott Hood Democratic 2031
Democratic primary Elliott Hood narrowly won the Democratic primary.
Results
Republican primary
Results
General election
Results
Analysis Elliott Hood’s victory reflected continued Democratic strength in the Denver metropolitan area and along Colorado’s Front Range Urban Corridor. Hood performed the best in Boulder and Denver.
Eric Rinard nevertheless outperformed the 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in several areas, particularly within traditionally suburban and urban Republican strongholds such as Douglas County and El Paso County, where Rinard earned over 57% of the vote in each. He also kept margins relatively close in the populous suburban counties surrounding Denver and Boulder, preventing a Democratic landslide in the region. In addition, Rinard performed notably well for a Republican in several mountain and ski resort counties.
See also 2024 United States presidential election in Colorado 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado 2024 Colorado elections 2016 Colorado State Board of Regents at-large election
References