DougCo News
Openings, closings, and what's changing across Douglas County.
The Case for Greg Lopez: Why the Independent Candidate for Colorado Governor Is the Right 2026 Vote for Independents and Republicans
Greg Lopez, the unaffiliated former Parker mayor and congressman, is the third name in the Colorado governor race 2026. For Douglas County independents and Republicans who think the state got worse under Polis and cannot vote for Victor Marx, here is the case for marking it.
Who Is Judge Kolony Fields? Appointed by Polis in 2019, Rated 7-0, Retained in 2022 With 72 Percent, and on the Douglas County Ballot This November
The former public defender and Jefferson County magistrate hears misdemeanors and traffic in Castle Rock and was named the county's presiding county judge in January 2025. Who appointed her, how the county voted on her in 2022, and what the commission and its survey say.
Who Is Judge Lawrence Bowling? Appointed by Ritter, on the Douglas County Court Since 2011, Rated 7-0 With 92 Percent of Attorneys in Favor, and on the Douglas County Ballot This November
The longest-serving trial judge on the county's ballot hears misdemeanors and traffic cases in Castle Rock. Who appointed him, the one date the state's own documents disagree on, how the county has voted on him three times, and what sixty survey respondents said this year.
Who Is Judge Daniel Warhola? Appointed by Polis in 2024, a Former Federal and State Prosecutor Rated 6-0, and on the Douglas County Ballot for the First Time
The Franktown prosecutor joined the 18th Judicial District bench in August 2024, moved with it into the new 23rd, and took over a full criminal docket a year later. Who appointed him, whose seat he filled, what the commission and its survey say, and the case where he threw out ten charges over the prosecution's discovery failures.
Who Is Judge Theresa Slade? Appointed by Hickenlooper in 2012, Rated 7-0 With a Survey Score Tied for Lowest on the Ballot, and on the Douglas County Ballot This November
The longest-serving district judge on the ballot now sits in Elbert County, and her survey score fell for six straight years before a small uptick this year. Who appointed her, how Douglas and Elbert voted on her in 2014 and 2020, what the commission said each time, and the May ruling the Court of Appeals rejected.
Who Is Judge Andrew Baum? Appointed by Hickenlooper in 2017, Rated 7-0, Retained Once Before, and on the Douglas County Ballot This November
The Army JAG officer turned Denver prosecutor runs Douglas County's domestic relations docket and its treatment courts. Who appointed him, how the county voted on him in 2020, why his survey score has slid, and the $850,000 sanctions order the Court of Appeals sent back.
Who Is Judge Grant Sullivan? Appointed by Polis in 2023, the State's Lawyer in the Trump Ballot Case, Rated 9-0, and on Every Douglas County Ballot This November
He spent twelve years in the Attorney General's office, including the 2023 case over Donald Trump's place on Colorado's primary ballot, before Polis put him on the Court of Appeals. Who appointed him, what the commission and its small survey say, and the one published argument against him.
Who Is Judge Karl L. Schock? Appointed by Polis in 2022, a Former Federal Appellate Prosecutor Rated 9-0, and on Every Douglas County Ballot This November
He argued the government's appeals in the 10th Circuit for seven years before Polis put him on the Court of Appeals. Now he is standing for retention for the first time. Who appointed him, whose seat he took, what the commission said about his dissents, and why the ballot lists no party.
Who Is Judge Pax Moultrie? Appointed by Polis in 2023, Rated 9-0, Retained Once Before in Denver, and on Every Douglas County Ballot This November
A former Denver Juvenile Court judge who became the Court of Appeals' first Black member in four years, she is standing for retention on this court for the first time. Who appointed her, whose seat she took, how Denver voted on her in 2022, and what the commission and its surveys say.
Who Is Judge Katharine E. Lum? Appointed by Polis in 2022, Rated 9-0 With Every Respondent in Favor, and on Every Douglas County Ballot This November
A family law appellate lawyer who clerked for Justice Gregory Hobbs, she is standing for retention for the first time. Who appointed her, whose seat she took, what the commission called her, and why the ballot lists no party.
Who Is Judge Elizabeth L. Harris? Appointed by Hickenlooper in 2015, Rated 9-0 After a 6-3 Vote in 2018, and on Every Douglas County Ballot This November
A former federal public defender and appellate lawyer, she is asking for a second eight-year term. Who appointed her, what the commission said about her timeliness in 2018 and again this year, how Douglas County voted on her last time, and the records case the Supreme Court reversed in March.
Who Is Justice William W. Hood III? Appointed by Hickenlooper in 2013, Rated 9-0, Colorado's Next Chief Justice, and on Every Douglas County Ballot This November
The only Supreme Court justice on the Douglas County ballot is a former 18th Judicial District prosecutor whose colleagues just picked him to run the court. Who appointed him, how he did in 2016, what the commission and its surveys say, and the May ruling people are searching for.
Douglas County Election Notebook: Commissioners Hand Lockheed a 35-Year Tax Break, the Early Ballots Come Back Less Republican, Crystal Ball Moves CD4 Toward Laubacher, and Two More Complaints Land on Marx
Twelve days out. The board approved a 100 percent, 35-year rebate and up to $2.7 million in cash for Lockheed Martin the same week the state's first ballot-return counts showed Republicans at 31 percent of Douglas County's early returns, down from 35.5 at this point in 2024; Sabato's Crystal Ball moved the 4th District to leans Republican; Darcy Schoening filed two more complaints against Victor Marx; and a Denver judge kept Amendment 87 on the ballot.
Who Is Judge Victoria Klingensmith? Rated 6-1, Opposed by 3 of 4 Attorneys Surveyed, and on Every Douglas County Ballot This November
The Castle Rock district judge who let the commissioners' ballot wording stand is up for retention herself. The commission says she meets standards. The lawyers who answered its survey mostly said no.
Colorado Treasurer Race 2026: Jeff Bridges vs Kevin Grantham, and the Douglas County Numbers
The state's banker is on your ballot, and the two men who want the job disagree about what the job is. The Democrat, who chairs the legislature's budget committee, wants to move billions in state investments out of Wall Street and into Colorado housing and infrastructure. The Republican, a former Senate president, says the treasurer's job is to protect the money, not to spend it on ambitions. Douglas County has voted Republican for treasurer by 12 to 20 points the last two times.
Who Is Judge Rebecca Rankin Freyre? Appointed by Hickenlooper in 2015, Rated 9-0, and on Every Douglas County Ballot This November
She is one of six Court of Appeals judges asking Douglas County voters to keep her for another eight years. Who appointed her, what she did for 25 years before the bench, what the performance commission and its surveys say, and why there is no voting record to look up.
Douglas County Voting Guide 2026: What the Republican and Democratic Party Guides Recommend, Side by Side
Both county parties have published a slate card for Nov. 3. On the 14 statewide measures they disagree on twelve and agree on two. On the county's own questions they take opposite sides of every one. Here is every recommendation, next to our page on what each item actually does.
Castle Pines Annexation: What Ballot Questions 300 and 301 Would Change, and the 795-Acre Crowsnest Fight Behind Them
Two citizen-written charter amendments ask Castle Pines voters to take the final say on any annexation over 20 acres away from the City Council. The council adopted an annexation policy and a resolution against the idea on the same August night. Here is the ballot text, the city's own arguments each way, and the development that started it.
Douglas County Colorado Voting Locations: Four Voting Centers Opened Monday, 23 Drop Boxes Are Open, and the Hours Through Nov. 3
In-person voting began Monday at four Voter Service and Polling Centers in Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch and Parker. Nine more open Oct. 30 and the last ten Nov. 2. Every address, every hour, what a center can do that a drop box cannot, what to bring, and the deadlines that do not move.
The First Poll of Boebert vs. Laubacher Is 45 to 40. The People Who Paid for It Want Her Gone.
A Democratic firm's survey of 403 likely voters, commissioned by a solar-industry super PAC that is spending $1.5 million against Lauren Boebert, has her five points up with a 39 percent favorable rating. What the numbers say, what the sponsor wants them to say, and the two subsamples that matter for Douglas County's governor and Senate pages.
Every Douglas County Ballot Has a Train Tax on It. Only 5,967 Voters Were Supposed to Get One.
All 289,000 Douglas County ballots carry Ballot Issue 7A, the Front Range Passenger Rail sales tax, when only 5,967 voters in Sterling Ranch are supposed to vote on it. The clerks were never sent the district's new boundary; the district's general manager says that is on him; the state says those votes will not be counted.
Lauren Boebert Is Going to Lose
Okay, not exactly. But this is the year it happens if it is ever going to happen, and here are the reasons the people rating this race Solid Republican are missing. Our model, our arithmetic, and the case against us.
Who Is Nate Marsh? The Prosecutor Running to Take Back House District 43
A senior deputy district attorney who has spent five years in the Douglas County Family Violence Unit, grew up in Highlands Ranch, and is running on cashless bail, prison for violent offenders, TABOR and parental rights, with the police unions and the Colorado Chamber behind him and less money than the incumbent.
Who Is Bob Marshall? The Only Democrat Douglas County Has Sent to the Capitol Since 1966
A retired Marine lieutenant colonel and former IRS tax litigator who was a Republican for 30 years, holds Highlands Ranch's House seat by 405 and then 1,373 votes, voted against his own party's assault-weapons ban, and has sued the school board, his own chamber and now the county commissioners.
Colorado House District 45 Candidates 2026: Max Brooks vs Michael Clarkson
Castle Rock's House seat has a first-term Republican who is also a sitting town councilman and cannot run for both. Max Brooks, who won 62 percent in 2024, faces Democrat Michael Clarkson and Libertarian Caryn Ann Harlos. The 2022 and 2024 numbers, Brooks's council and Capitol record, Clarkson's platform, and the money.
Colorado House District 44 Candidates 2026: Anthony Hartsook vs Richard Bowness
Parker's House seat already had its fight: the Republican caucus chair beat a floor-nominated challenger in June. Now Anthony Hartsook faces Democrat Richard Bowness, who is running on the data center opening in Parker, and Libertarian John H Sutton. The 2022 and 2024 numbers, the primary result, both platforms and the money.
Colorado House District 39 Candidates 2026: Brandi Bradley vs Christian Schilder
The county's big rural House seat, from Roxborough Park and Castle Pines down to Larkspur, has a two-term Republican who won it at 58 and 59 percent and carries this year's Second Amendment Protection Act. Her Democratic challenger has filed, won his primary and raised money, and published nothing we can find.
Colorado Senate District 30 Candidates 2026: John Carson vs Kevin Leung
The Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Castle Pines and Roxborough seat has an incumbent who has never been on its ballot. John Carson, appointed in January 2025, faces Kevin Leung, a former school board director. The 2022 numbers, the candidates' records, where they stand on taxes, schools and growth, and the money, which is tied.
Colorado 6th Congressional District 2026: Jason Crow vs Jason Clark, and the Sliver of Douglas County That Votes in It
Only about 3,600 Douglas County voters cast a ballot in the 6th District race in 2024, against 244,000 in the 4th. If your ballot says District 6 under U.S. House, this page is for you. Four-term Democrat Jason Crow, an Army veteran from Aurora with $2.9 million in the bank, faces Republican Jason Clark, a West Point graduate and Aurora small-business owner whose committee shows no money raised. Every rating calls the seat safe for Crow.
Douglas County Halloween Events: Every Verified 2026 Date, Weekend by Weekend
Eight confirmed Halloween dates from the first Ghostly Stories walk on October 7 to Last Stop at the Mansion on October 31: a free trick-or-treat trail in Castle Rock, a pumpkin derby and $42 bonfire in Castle Pines, Parker's ticketed Trunk or Treat, costumed paddlers on Chatfield, and a candy run built for homeschoolers.
Who Is Dan Smith? The Democrat for Douglas County Treasurer
A corporate finance veteran from Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley who has spent eight years as a citizen watchdog on the school district's money, who built his own property tax comparison tool after saying no such thing exists today, and who argues the job should not be partisan at all.
Who Is Tim Dietz? The Republican for Douglas County Treasurer
A sitting Castle Rock councilman and Navy veteran who won his primary by 22 points, who has written more detail about how the treasurer's office works than almost any candidate on this ballot, and whose campaign site never says where he works.
Douglas County Colorado Voter Guide 2026: Every Race and Measure on the November 3 Ballot
Your ballot was mailed Friday, October 2, and it is the longest this county has seen in years: a three-way governor's race, 14 statewide measures, seven county offices, a $54 million school tax, three dueling questions about expanding the commission, 13 judges, and council races in Castle Rock and Parker. Here is how to work through it, with every deadline.
Who Is Irene Bonham? The Democrat for Douglas County Commissioner District 1
A Parker nonprofit leader who built her public profile helping beat the commissioners' home rule plan, then ran unopposed for the nomination to replace a term-limited commissioner. Her biography, her six-plank platform, the endorsement the county Republican Party is running against her, and the money.
Who Is Jake Bockenfeld? The Republican for Douglas County Commissioner District 1
A concrete company executive who has never held office, who beat a sitting Parker councilman twice to get here, who opposes adding two seats to the board he is running for, and who called new arrivals from Denver and Aurora locusts before calling it a figure of speech.
Judges on the Douglas County Ballot 2026: What the Performance Commissions Said About Each One
Thirteen judges appear on the Douglas County ballot with no opponent, just a yes or no. Every one of them was found to meet performance standards, but the votes and the survey numbers behind those findings are not identical. Here is each judge, what the commission wrote, and how the new 23rd Judicial District decides who is on your ballot.
Castle Rock Town Council 2026: District 3 and District 5 Candidates
Two open seats, five names, and two campaign websites among them. Both incumbents are leaving, one because the town's term limit says so and one because he is on the same ballot for the statehouse. What we could find on each candidate, what the town says the districts cover, and how these seats voted in 2022.
Colorado Attorney General Race 2026: Griswold vs Allen From Douglas County
The attorney general is the state's lawyer, and for two years that has meant the lawyer across the table from Douglas County's own lawsuits. The seat is open. The Democrat is the secretary of state who has run here twice; the Republican is the El Paso County DA endorsed by this county's sheriff, its district attorney and its state senator.
Colorado Secretary of State Race 2026: Gonzalez vs Wiley From Douglas County
The office that runs Colorado's elections with the county clerks, and registers the state's businesses, is open. The Democrat is the Jefferson County clerk and an election lawyer who defends the mail-ballot system. The Republican is a former Libertarian Party director who wants one-day in-person voting, no machines and a re-registration of every voter. What the county's own numbers say, and what changes here.
Colorado Senate District 4 Candidates 2026: Teddy Collins vs Justin Kurth
Mark Baisley's run for U.S. Senate leaves the eight-county district open. A Colorado Springs firearms dealer with Baisley's endorsement faces a Marine veteran and former 911 dispatcher from Fremont County. What the seat covers in Douglas County, what each candidate says on water, taxes, schools and public safety, and what the county's own numbers say.
Parker Town Council 2026: Five Candidates for Three Seats
Three sitting councilmembers, a 26-year police veteran who says Parker Road fixes should come before new density, and a first-time candidate who wants lower taxes. Every Parker voter picks three, and two of the incumbents have endorsed the third.
Douglas County Assessor Candidates 2026: Toby Damisch vs Kara Garr, and What the Assessor Actually Controls About Your Tax Bill
The assessor sets the value on your house that every tax bill starts from. The incumbent, a planner by training, ran the 2023 valuation surge and the flat 2025 cycle; the challenger, a public-administration professional, is running on making the process understandable and the appeal winnable. Neither sets your tax rate.
Sheri Davis vs Jim Oehler: The Douglas County Clerk and Recorder Race, and Why Amendment 84 Makes It Matter
The clerk runs your elections, your car registration and the county's property records. The incumbent has more than 25 years in the office and a national elections certification; the challenger is a journalist-turned-engineer who says elections should be free of political influence. Whoever wins would implement Amendment 84 if voters pass it.
John Hickenlooper vs Mark Baisley: The U.S. Senate Race, With Douglas County's Own State Senator on the Ballot
Every rating calls it safe for the incumbent, and the money is 74 to 1. What the race means here is different: the Republican is the state senator for the county's rural edge, his run is why that seat is open, and his result in Douglas County will be read as a verdict on the county's Republican brand.
Is Douglas County, Colorado Republican or Democrat? Red or Blue in 2026, Race by Race
The Republican margin for governor here was 1,290 votes last time. The congresswoman won the county by half a point. The Democrat for commissioner drew more primary votes than the Republican. Race by race, the numbers that say Colorado's most reliably red large county could vote blue on November 3, and the numbers that say it will not.
Laura Cavey vs Amelia Thomas vs Stu Butler: Who Is Running for Castle Rock Mayor, and What Each Would Do About Water and Growth
The mayor pro tem with the firefighters' endorsement, a downtown business veteran who says he has no next campaign to protect, and a Castle Rock native running as the outsider. A three-way race for a four-year term in a town that has doubled since the first candidate moved in.
Your Douglas County Ballot, Top to Bottom: Every Line on the November 2026 Sample Ballot, in Order, With Our Page on Each
The county's sample ballot runs four pages and 60-some contests and questions, some of which you will not see because they belong to a sliver of the county. Here it is in the order it lands on your counter, with a link to what we have written on each item and a note on who actually votes on it.
What Does the 2026 Ballot Cost Your Douglas County Household? A Calculator for 5A, Amendment 87, NN and 137
Four questions on your ballot move money in or out of your house: the school override, the graduated income tax, and two measures that shrink TABOR refunds. Enter your home value and taxable income and see the total, then uncheck any measure to model it failing.
Bob Marshall vs Nate Marsh: Highlands Ranch's House District 43, the Closest Legislative Seat in Douglas County
A retired Marine lieutenant colonel who was a Republican for 30 years and now holds the seat as a Democrat, against a Douglas County prosecutor who says it is one of the most winnable Republican pickups in the state. Marshall won by 400 votes in 2022 and 1,373 in 2024. He is also the man suing the county commissioners over your ballot.
What Do the 14 Colorado Ballot Measures Mean for Douglas County?
Seven constitutional amendments and seven propositions, thirteen of them from citizen petitions, which has not happened since 1974. Each one in plain English, who is behind it, what it takes to pass, and what changes in Douglas County if it does.