After a surge of late-to-drop votes were counted Thursday morning, former Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce head Kelly Brough has maintained second place in the Denver mayoral election.
That's despite a surge of late votes counted for criminal justice advocate and grassroots candidate Lisa Calderón, who hoped ballots turned in on Election Day could help her make the June 6 runoff.
Currently, Mike Johnston has 24.45% of the vote; Kelly Brough has 20.04% of the vote; and Lisa Calderón has 18.17% of the vote.
Since Tuesday's election, Brough has held second place when it comes to votes received. That was largely based on voters who cast their ballots ahead of election day. Her campaign has noted that she does particularly well in the 65-and-up demographic, and that group tends to vote earlier than younger Denverites.
"I am the only candidate whose public and private experience makes me uniquely positioned to hit the ground running on Day One and get things done," Brough said in a statement sent out following the release of the latest vote results. "We can't ignore that Denver faces some challenges at this time in its history, and I'm the only candidate who has ever managed the city. Our residents want and need an optimistic, hands-on leader with real world executive experience."
Calderón issued a statement as well, thanking voters and noting that her campaign "came so close to the frontrunners with millions of dollars from corporate interests and out-of-state billionaires backing them."
Who has she endorsed? Neither Brough nor Johnston yet.
"I ran this campaign because corporate-backed candidates will never get us to liberation, racial equity or gender justice for marginalized groups and working people," she added.
According to the Denver Clerk & Recorders office, there are about 2,400 votes left to be tabulated.
This article has been updated with statements from Brough and Calderón.
