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The Democratic caucuses of the House of Representatives have postponed the leadership election scheduled for Thursday. This is because the election campaign for Speaker of the House has come to depend on the votes of candidates who have not yet formally won the election.
The caucuses convened the 46 members of Congress who have all currently won the House elections. However, Denver House Speaker Alec Garnett said three of the lawmakers were not officially declared winners in their respective elections.
Those members were still allowed to vote, but Garnett said a leadership election could not be called if it was decided by fewer than the margin of provisional voters.
The first round of voting for the new Speaker of the House ended with an inside-margin result, meaning the candidates were split by three votes or less.
The three nominees for speakers were Rep. Julie McCluskey of Dillon, Rep. Chris Kennedy of Lakewood and Rep. Adrian Benavidez of Adams County. Garnett did not disclose which candidate won the vote. Voting is anonymous, so it is impossible to know who the three interim members voted for.
A new date for the House Democratic leadership election will be chosen after the three ongoing races have been convened.
If all three Democratic candidates win the election, Thursday’s vote will become official and determine the next Speaker of the House. If any of the 3 candidates lose the race, the vote will be repeated without the losing candidate.
The three interim Democratic candidates are Stephanie Vigil of District 16 (Colorado Springs), Bob Marshall of District 43 (Highlands Ranch) and Eliza Hamrick of District 61 (Centennial), according to the Colorado House Majority Project. is.
But the Associated Press has yet to call for five Colorado House elections, the other two being Rep. Mark Snyder of the 18th District (Colorado Springs) and Jennifer Parenty of the 19th District (Boulder and Weld counties).
Garnett said he is confident all Democratic candidates will win the race, but the current division is too tight.
Parenti beat Republican Rep. Dan Hoog by just 56 votes in the 19th District, according to the results from the Office of the Secretary of State as of 4:20 p.m. Thursday.
In the 16th, 43rd and 61st Wards, Democratic candidates lead with 596, 669 and 947 votes respectively. Snyder has the biggest lead in an unconvened election in the 18th District election, where he won by just under 2,300 votes.
Postponing the elections, however, has other, more direct consequences.
One of the trio running for Speaker of the House, McCluskey currently chairs the Joint Budget Committee. Or she’s chairing until Monday, when the JBC begins work on her 2023-24 state budget. At that point, Senator Rachel Zenzinger of Arvada will become the next speaker. McCluskey, however, will remain on the committee unless the leadership election is resolved.
There’s also the question of whether Rep. Leslie Herod, another JBC House Democrat, wants to continue on that panel, given that she’s running for mayor of Denver. That means the committee could be joined by her two new members from the House Democratic Caucus.
Members of the JBC have said in the past that it takes a year, often longer, to catch up with the budget process.
McCluskie acknowledges that JBC’s learning curve can be steep. She said she encourages parliamentarians to attend JBC hearings and briefings so that they can gain knowledge about the budget, but attending hearings and committee members on a daily basis He also acknowledged that there is a difference in being
“I think all lawmakers need to be involved and present in understanding the budget and what it looks like.”
“that’s right [this situation] It’s not ideal,” McCluskie said. “I hope all races are resolved.”
She added that several members have expressed interest in the committee, including the JBC, and three potential speakers are discussing the urgency of committee appointments.
She hopes the delay in results will be resolved within the next 24 to 48 hours, but added that “steps will be taken” in case the race is not resolved by Monday.
“One day at a time,” she said.
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