COLORADO, USA — On election night, 9NEWS is tracking the results of 10 school board races outside of Denver Public Schools. In most of these races, conservative candidates are trailing behind more left-leaning, teachers-union-backed candidates.
School boards in districts like Adams 12, Jeffco, Cherry Creek, Greeley-Evans, Poudre and Thompson do not appear to be moving to the right.
In Douglas County, the three candidates who campaigned together to challenge the current school board are leading in the latest results.
Two years ago, that county saw a takeover by a conservative slate of candidates that pushed back against mask mandates and the district's equity policy. With that majority, that board fired former Superintendent Corey Wise without cause.
In the 2023 election, Wise wrote an op-ed, endorsing the three challenger candidates.
It's a similar story in Woodland Park, where, this year, the board was the first in the country to approve a controversial set of conservative social studies standards. The board also pulled back some mental health supports for students.
A group of three candidates ran together to challenge three incumbents on that board. Those three challengers are ahead in the results released on election night -- but the races are still close, with just a few hundred votes separating the candidates.
The Republican party in Colorado is at its weakest point in nearly a century, and party leaders have said winning nonpartisan school board races is how the party can make a comeback.
That often means a focus on so-called "culture war" issues -- book bans, restrictions on LGBTQ+ students, and changing how American history is taught.
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