AURORA | When Arapahoe County Republicans get their primary ballots in the mail next week, the race for district attorney won’t be as crowded as it once appeared.
Just two candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for 18th Judicial District’s top prosecutor: George Brauchler and Leslie Hansen.
Brauchler won the top spot at last spring’s Republican Party assembly, edging out Hansen, who many assumed was the front runner, as well as topping John Topolinicki and Robert Wareham. Topolinicki and Wareham both scrapped their campaigns after the rough showing at the assembly.
Hansen, however, soldiered on and petitioned her way onto the ballot.
Rich Coolidge, a spokesman for the Colorado secretary of state, said Hansen needed to turn in 1,000 ballots in April to secure her spot on the primary ballot. She turned in 1,791 and 1,487 were accepted, he said.
Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Nancy Doty said that because Brauchler won at party assembly for the judicial district, which includes Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, he will have the top spot on ballots that go out Monday.
This primary is being conducted all by mail, Doty said, meaning there are no polling places. Only active voters registered with the Republican Party will vote in the election, she said.
Hansen currently works in the DA’s office and many in local political circles have seen her as the eventual successor to the current DA, Carol Chambers.
Brauchler, a former Jefferson County prosecutor, challenged Chambers in the 2008 Republican primary but lost after a bruising primary battle. He has touted his standing as someone outside the DA’s office throughout the campaign.
Whoever wins the nomination next month will face former prosecutor and Arapahoe County Court Judge Ethan Feldman. Feldman is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
In addition to being split across multiple counties, Aurora is also spread across two judicial districts. On the north side of Colfax, Adams County voters will be voting for a new DA in the 17th Judicial district, which also includes Broomfield County.
Just one candidate has announced plans to fill outgoing DA Don Quick’s seat. Dave Young, one of Quick’s chief deputies, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
No Republicans have announced plans to seek the seat, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
In 2008, Quick, a Democrat, ran unopposed. He backed a measure in 2010 that would have extended the DA’s term limit to three, but voters shot the measure down.
Reach reporter Brandon Johansson at 720-449-9040 or bjohansson@aurorasentinel.com