Newell and Clapp both caucused with their respective parties after the election, but Republican Senate leaders held off making committee assignments until after the District 36 race was decided. Democrats went ahead and treated Newell as the victor, assigning her to the Judiciary, Local Government and Energy, and Health and Human Services committees.

With Newell’s election official, Senate Democrats hold a majority of 21 seats to 14 in the upper chamber, an increase of one seat since the previous session.

Newell claimed victory on election night but the next morning withdrew it as the lead inched back and forth while the Arapahoe County clerk’s office sorted through absentee and provisional ballots, finally completing the count late Monday night. State law mandates a recount if the margin of victory is less than 0.5 percent of the total vote, but Clapp said she doesn’t plan to contest the results. Clapp’s statement said she didn’t think it would be “in the interest of the public or the taxpayers to go through a lengthy or potentially divisive contested recount.”

The clerk’s office spent nearly two weeks examining provisional ballots — cast by voters whose names didn’t show up on poll books but who believed they were registered — with representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties and the parties’ attorneys weighing in to determine eligibility.

“I am convinced that the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder, her staff, and the members of the bipartisan canvass board have done a good job in ensuring the accuracy and transparency of the election,” Clapp said.

The district includes parts of Centennial and Englewood in the south metro suburbs and has been represented by Republicans as long as local officials can remember. The incumbent state senator, Steve Ward, gave up the seat to run for Congress but lost in a primary to Secretary of State Mike Coffman, who easily won election to represent the 6th Congressional District.

Clapp has to be wondering whether her disappearance from the campaign trail in October cost enough votes to make the difference in so close an election.

On another note, Clapp’s gracious and timely concession serves as an example for at least one other Republican who lost a traditional GOP seat. That’s right, 15 days after losing her seat in a landslide, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave still hasn’t concededor congratulated the winner, Democrat Betsy Markey.

Newell has held a slim lead — sometimes as little as 54 votes out of more than 60,000 cast — as Arapahoe County elections officials poured over as many as 4,000 provisional ballots in the two weeks since Election Day, but she withdrew her claim of victory over the elusive Clapp as the lead seesawed the day after the election. Both Clapp and Newell caucused with their parties as Republicans and Democrats organized the next legislative session, but incoming Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry last week held off making GOP committee assignments until the race is called.

Republican state Sen. Mike Kopp told the Rocky on Wednesday that Clapp’s concession is imminent, even if the results compel a recount — if the spread between candidates amounts to 0.5 percent of votes cast. As of 9:51 p.m. Tuesday night, the Arapahoe County Web site showed Newell with 50.18 percent vs. Clapp’s 49.82 percent, a 0.36 percent gap.

“You have to give credit to the Democrats for a very successful effort in that district in particular,” Kopp told the Rocky. “Our candidates faced a nearly overwhelming head wind.”

The heavily Republican district in the suburbs south of Denver has been represented by state Sen. Steve Ward, who gave up the seat to run for the GOP nomination for Congress in the 6th District. Ward lost that race to Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman, who easily won election.

Newell hadn’t yet claimed victory Wednesday afternoon but sounded a cautiously optimistic tone on her campaign Web site, asking supporters to “please join me in envisioning a smooth, fair and just result!”

Dave Rose made headlines a week ago when he withdrew his concession in the House District 30 race against Republican Kevin Priola — pointing to as many as 11,000 provisional ballots countywide, which he hoped would erase a 576-vote deficit. “I’m not by any means ready to concede,” Rose told the Brighton Blade the morning after the election.

As the Adams County clerk’s office released figures showing only dozens of provisional ballots might be counted in the House District race, Rose said on Wednesday he still hadn’t conceded but didn’t expect the tally to turn his way.

“I doubt it’s going to change things,” Rose told the Colorado Independent, “but you want to make sure every voter has a chance to make their vote count.”

Priola, who leads in the preliminary vote 11,710 to 11,134, claimed victory and caucused with House Republicans on Thursday to elect the party’s leadership.

Rose said he hasn’t spoken with Priola since the election but has exchanged messages. He said he plans to wait until next week when Adams County has to post its official count, but would contact Priola with a concession if that’s where the votes land.

While he plans to keep his day job as principal at Northeast Elementary School in Brighton, the Democrat also said he might seek an appointed government post if he doesn’t win the election. “Politics is my passion,” Rose said.

In another close legislative race, Democrat Linda Newell leads Republican Lauri Clapp by 104 votes out of 59,638 votes cast in Senate District 26, according to figures posted Tuesday on the Arapahoe County Web site.

Clapp, who has consistently trailed Newell by a slim margin in the vote count, also caucused with Republicans last week. Newell attended lawmaker orientation at the Capitol last week too.

Newell is leading Clapp by 115 votes with 89 percent of precincts reporting, although it may be Thanksgiving before the county knows the true winner, with approximately 7,500 provisional ballots still uncounted.

As was reported by The Colorado Independent on Wednesday, the race could be determined by a recount, which is mandated under state law for election results if the winning margin is less than or equal to .05 percent.

As results were pouring in on Election Day, it appeared that Newell and Clapp were in for a long night, but the hours turned into days, and county representatives kept extending the deadline for the results.

“I’m hanging in there,” said Newell, who ran her campaign with an emphasis on heavy field organizing.

On Thursday Newell went to her first lawmaker orientation at the state Capitol.

Clapp’s campaign has not returned requests for comment.

The race will determine whether state Democrats add to their 20-14 majority in the Senate.

Also read The Colorado Independent’s continuing coverage of the SD 26 race.

Update: Apparently media members and campaign staffers are having problems with the live election results on Arapahoe County’s Web site. If you look at the individual races the results look like they show that 100 percent of precincts have been counted even though they haven’t yet. 10:57 a.m.

Update: Arapahoe County has now confirmed that they are still counting 14,000 mail-in ballots, with Republican Clapp currently leading by some 30 votes. Results are expected in the afternoon hours according to the county. Despite victory claims by the Newell camp, the race is still very much up in the air. 10:27 a.m.

Update: The Newell camp is now claiming that they have just found out that an unknown number of mail-in ballots are still being counted in Arapahoe County, saying that the race is still very tight. Stay tuned for more details. 10:16 a.m.

Democrat Linda Newell, running for public office for the first time in the historically Republican Senate District 26 in the southern suburbs of Denver, declared victory in the early morning hours today by a margin of 106 votes.

Current Arapahoe County results are projecting the race for Newell, although provisional ballots are still being counted. State law also allows a recount of the results to take place if the margin of winning votes is less than or equal to one-half of one percent.

However, the Newell campaign is confident that she will have a strong lead among the provisional ballots and will win a recount should it occur.

It is unknown if the Republican challenger and former state House member, Lauri Clapp, has conceded at this time. The Clapp campaign has not returned messages seeking comment.

Newell’s campaign was characterized by a strong ground offensive as The Colorado Independent reported on Monday:

Could countless hours of field work — canvassing door-to-door and making phone calls — be the key to winning a contested Senate seat that had been characterized by Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien as a “slam dunk” for Republicans?

Newell thinks so. The single mother and her volunteers say they knocked on more than 37,000 doors since July as part of an elaborate field strategy to defeat Clapp.

…

But if Newell does win, it may end up being one of the most important, and under-reported, stories of Election Day in Colorado, where field work and community organizing — tactics that are often sidestepped by campaigns in favor of advertising spots and consulting fees — turned what was once an un-winnable seat over to a Democrat.

“Don’t let it ever be said that one person’s vote doesn’t matter,” Newell said on Wednesday.

Democratic candidate Linda Newell thinks so. The single mother and her volunteers claim to have knocked on more than 37,000 doors since July in the traditionally conservative Senate District 26 south of Denver as part of an elaborate field strategy to defeat Republican candidate Lauri Clapp.

Since starting the massive ground effort in the summer, a race that was supposed to favor Clapp has turned into a toss-up, with the Democratic Senate Campaign Fund, a political organization that financially supports Democrats running for state Senate, classifying the district as a top-tier race.

Along with canvassing more than 100 precincts in the district, Newell supporters have also made a total of 12,700 phone calls. The campaign has been specifically targeting unaffiliated voters the city of Centennial, which is expected to be a deciding factor in the race.

It is currently unknown how much field work the Clapp camp has completed. Inquiries to the campaign have not been returned at this time.

But if Newell does win, it may end up being one of the biggest and underreported stories of Election Day in Colorado, where field work and community organizing — tactics that are often sidestepped by campaigns in favor of advertising spots and consulting fees — turned what was once an unwinnable seat over to a Democrat.

Also read The Colorado Independent’s continuing coverage of the SD 26 race.

Democratic candidate Linda Newell is running hard for the SD 26 open seat. (Photo Bob Spencer)

On Saturday morning, with only 10 days to go before Election Day, Newell and about a dozen volunteers organized what has been one of many canvassing parities for Senate District 26. Last week alone, it’s estimated that volunteers knocked on more than 650 doors and made more than 2,700 phone calls in the district, which includes parts of Littleton, Englewood and Centennial in Arapahoe County.

Joining the meeting was Lt. Governor Barbara O’Brien, elected on the Democratic gubernatorial ticket with Gov. Bill Ritter in 2006, who remarked on what she believed was a changing political landscape favoring Democrats in the state — pointing to Newell as a prime example.

“I remember this district when it was just a slam dunk for Republicans,” O’Brien said, noting that the economy would play a pivotal role in the next legislative session, invoking a need for a candidate with a business history like Newell.

“Everything is going to be around the budget,” said O’Brien.

While working as a human resources consultant part-time, Newell, a single mother who lives in Littleton with two daughters, has also been campaigning around the clock, using free hours to do outreach for her campaign.

“It’s so weird to see my name everywhere,” Newell said, pointing to one of her yard signs.

It’s the first time the Senate hopeful has run for public office of any kind, and the signs are considered necessary by the campaign considering that Newell is going up against Clapp, who has name recognition stemming from her past as a former state House representative in the area and as a city council woman in Englewood.

If Newell does win the competitive district, campaign members believe it will come down to Centennial, a predominantly white suburban area with approximately 103,000 residents. Since July, the campaign has been actively canvassing the doors of unaffiliated voters with a specific emphasis on the city.

As part of the canvassing event on Saturday, Newell went around to more than two dozen unaffiliated households trying to earn votes by emphasizing two specific talking points of her “being the moderate choice” and having bipartisan support from a number of local council members in the district.

“We have no idea what we’ll run into around here,” Newell said while canvassing, happily remarking that the exhausting ground work would soon be over and hopefully be successful.

At least four of the respondents who answered the door said they had voted early for Newell, while there were no households who mentioned specifically voting for Clapp.

To Newell it’s a good sign, but not an excuse to be overconfident.

“I plan to win,” Newell said. “I just can’t envision any other scenario at this point.”

While growing up with a strong Democratic family in California, Newell said she first started canvassing with her parents before she was a teenager, walking around the conservative Orange County neighborhoods near where she lived.

When asked about criticisms that she is not experienced enough for the state Capitol, Newell, who has a history in the nonprofit and small business sectors, pointed out that she has been in contact with many veteran legislators — including Democratic lawmakers Sen. Moe Keller and Rep. Joe Rice — to help with the learning curve.

Inquires to the Clapp campaign requesting a response to Newell’s claims about the race and an opportunity to meet with Clapp have not been returned at this time.

(Photo/Unhindered by Talent, Flickr)

Democratic state Senate candidate Linda Newell has surpassed Republican opponent Lauri Clapp in fundraising dollars, recent state campaign finance reports show. The news is just one indication that the traditionally Republican suburban district south of Denver could be one of the top competitive races to watch on Election Day.

The Newell campaign raised more than $33,000 altogether, with $5,125 of that contributed in the last two weeks, according to reports from the secretary of state’s office.

Clapp’s campaign has raised approximately $30,000, with more than $2,000 in new contributions.

The financial numbers are welcome news to Newell, who said that varying factors have made Senate District 26 very competitive this year.

“I think people are again for the bipartisanship,” Newell said, responding to the figures. “Rather than going by party lines they’re looking for somebody more moderate.”

Being a moderate has been one of the key talking points of Newell’s campaign, which pits the political newcomer against Clapp, a Republican former state House member and former Littleton City Council member who has longstanding ties to the district.

While name recognition may appear to favor Clapp, there are signs that the district may be about to elect a Democrat for the first time in at least eight years.

Arapahoe County, where the district is located, reported earlier in the month that for the first time ever, registered Democratic voters had surpassed Republican registrants.

Then there’s the fact that Colorado is currently polling in favor of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

In 2004, Republican Jim Dyer was elected to the Senate seat by a close 51 percent over Democratic challenger Jared Ingwalson.

All of these factors—along with a lot of arduous field work—are why the Democrats could have a real chance to take control of a seat that was most recently held by Republican Steve Ward, who ran unsuccessfully in a four-way primary to replace Rep. Tom Tancredo.

“It’s a very competitive race, that district,” said Jennie Peek with the Democratic Senate Campaign Fund, a political organization that financially supports Democrats running for state senate. “It’s certainly a district that looks at the person and not the party.”

According to Peek, the race has been classified by her organization as a top “tier 1″ race, which means that “we certainly think there’s a good chance of picking it up.”

Newell, meanwhile, said she had been conducting field work nearly everyday.

“I am out there working, working, working. I have been out pounding the pavement. I’ve been out making calls,” remarked Newell. “I’m not sure the district is turning blue. I wouldn’t go that far. But I would absolutely say it’s turning purple and that I am that kind of candidate.

Clapp’s campaign could not immediately be reached for comment on her fundraising efforts.

As was reported by The Colorado Independent last week, Clapp has been notably absent from the campaign trail. She skipped a number of public forums attended by both Republicans and Democrats, including a panel hosted by the South Metro Chamber of Commerce earlier in the month.

GOP candidate for Senate District 26 Lauri Clapp. (Photo/lauriclapp.net)

Throughout the month, Republican state Senate hopeful Lauri Clapp, who is running in a suburban district south of Denver that has been targeted by both major parties, has been notably absent at numerous public forums attended by both Democrats and Republicans and has not returned requests seeking to clarify her legislative positions, according to advocacy groups in the area.

When the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, a business organization that includes more than 1,600 members, held a formal panel on Oct. 1 for candidates in the area to discuss their positions on economic issues, Clapp was the only candidate missing.

The meeting, which included candidates running for two Senate districts in the southern suburbs, was attended by Clapp’s Democratic opponent, Linda Newell, along with Republican state Senate incumbent Nancy Spence and her Democratic challenger, Nathan Wilkes.

“We did not have Lauri Clapp,” confirms Bart Sayyah, director of economic development at the chamber.

After multiple calls, Sayyah says, “her executive assistant text messaged me and said that Ms. Clapp would not be able to participate because of a work obligation.”

Clapp, who was term-limited from the House of Representatives after eight years last year, also missed an Oct. 8 candidate forum on criminal justice issues hosted by the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police and the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Nine candidates — both Republican and Democrat — attended the event.

And she missed a public event focusing on legislative issues affecting children. Every Child Matters, a national nonpartisan advocacy group that works in Colorado, hosted a forum for candidates from multiple districts in the south Denver area on Oct. 2.

According to Becky Updike, a local spokeswoman for Every Child Matters, although three Republican candidates — Clapp, Rep. Spencer Swalm and David Kerber — did not attend the community forum, Clapp was the only candidate not to send back responses to a three-question survey about her views on child health care and poverty issues.

“Two of the candidates who didn’t show up provided a written statement to each of those questions,” says Updike. “Lauri Clapp did not submit any statement.”

While Clapp’s campaign has not returned requests for comment, Newell, her Democratic challenger who is running for public office for the first time, isn’t ready to speculate on why exactly her opponent has not been seen in public recently.

“I don’t know,” Newell says. “Even the sponsors of the community forums, even the Republicans are asking me where she is. I don’t know. She hasn’t responded to any method of communication that I’ve tried. It’s not just me, though.”

Although Newell says she has yet to even meet Clapp, she says she looks forward to the chance to debate her opponent in a public place before the election.

On Monday, Newell’s campaign issued a press release demanding that Clapp “come out of hiding.”

Clapp has not yet publicly responded to her opponent’s allegations.

Both candidates are running for a seat in Senate District 26, which is being vacated by Republican Steve Ward. The district includes the cities of Centennial and Englewood.

Also read The Colorado Independent’s continuing coverage of the SD 26 race.