Denver held its nonpartisan mayoral primary on Tuesday, and Mayor Michael Hancock was forced into a June 4 general election after he failed to win a majority of the vote. Hancock, who is seeking a third term, took 39%, while fellow Democrat and urban planner Jamie Giellis beat criminal justice activist Lisa Calderón 26-17 for the second-place general election spot. If Giellis wins next month, she would be the first woman elected mayor.
Under Hancock, Colorado's largest city has seen rapid growth and a generally strong economy, and the Mile-High City is currently rebuilding major cultural and infrastructure projects. However, the city has also been dealing with rising housing costs, and Hancock has been criticized for "homeless sweeps" that clear out homeless encampments on the sidewalks and in parks. Last month, the city auditor also issued a report calling Denver’s approach to homelessness “fragmented and understaffed.”
Giellis, who has been a key figure in redeveloping the River North Art District (RiNo), has pledged to stop "runaway development," and “pay-to-play,” though her primary foes argued that she was too close to developers. Giellis has also focused on rebuilding Denver’s streetcar network.
Hancock has also had to deal with the fallout from a scandal. Last year, texts from 2012 became public where Hancock told a member of his security detail named Leslie Branch-Wise that she looked "sexy" in black and asked her if she had an interest in pole dancing. Hancock apologized for these messages, but argued that he didn't see them as sexual harassment. Branch-Wise didn't agree, and she later said that she believed a $75,000 settlement she received from the city in 2013 to settle another matter was really to keep her quiet about this.
However, last April, the City Council announced that, while it viewed Hancock's behavior as "unacceptable," they would not investigate it. The matter was largely been out of the news since last year, but Giellis has hit Hancock over this story, saying in late April that it was “top-of-mind” for voters.
Hancock is the first incumbent mayor to be forced into a runoff since 1995, but that doesn’t mean he’s doomed. That year, Mayor Wellington Webb took just 43% in his primary, but he won re-election the following month with 54%. Eight years earlier, Mayor Federico Peña earned just 37% in the primary, but he managed to win the general election with 51%.
Hancock, who outraised Gillis $2.1 million to $506,000 for the primary, will likely also have a financial advantage over the next month. However, the mayor only enjoyed a small $139,000 to $109,000 cash-on-hand edge on May 1, so both candidates will at least begin the general election with a similar amount of money.