Brianna Titone Declares Victory In Arvada

ARVADA, CO – By Alex Burness for The Colorado Independent. Three days after polls closed in Colorado, Democrats have declared victory in what was the state’s closest race.

In swingy House District 27, which covers Arvada and slivers of Wheat Ridge and Golden, Democrat Brianna Titone led Republican Vicki Pyne by just 194 votes Friday afternoon, with more than 48,000 counted. Earlier on Thursday, the candidates were only 12 votes apart.

By Friday night, the lead swelled to 368, a big enough margin for the Democrats and Titone to confidently declare they’d won.

“I want to thank everyone that supported me through this challenging campaign,” Titone tweeted Saturday morning. Thank you so much to my constituents for believing in me to be your elected leader. I’m honored to be and looking forward to serving and making Colorado a better place for all.”

The state Democratic Party also issued a news release calling the race for Titone.

Titone, a geologist and software developer, is Colorado’s first openly transgender candidate for state office. She will be become the first openly transgender legislator in state history and one of the first in the country.

READ MORE in The Colorado Independent

Image: Brianna Titone will be one of the country's first openly transgender legislators. (Photo by Karen Tonso)