Will Colorado elect its first transgender lawmaker?

ARVADA, CO – By Alex Burness for The Colorado Independent. Two days after polls closed in Colorado, the state’s closest race may still take weeks to decide.

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 Thursday evening, with more than 47,000 counted. Earlier in the afternoon, the candidates were only 12 votes apart.

At least a thousand more votes could yet be counted, though.

Titone, a geologist and software developer, is Colorado’s first openly transgender candidate for state office. If elected, she would become the first openly transgender legislator in state history and one of the first in the country.

Brianna Titone would be one of the country’s first openly transgender legislators. (Photo by Karen Tonso)Pyne works for Court Appointed Special Advocates for vulnerable children, a nonprofit serving Jefferson and Gilpin counties. She entered the race after incumbent Republican Lang Sias dropped his re-election bid to run unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor alongside Walker Stapleton.

Titone’s platform includes improving teacher pay and expanding reproductive and civil rights. She supports Colorado transitioning 100 percent off of fossil fuels. Pyne’s website says she supports improving the state’s education and transportation systems and expanding access to mental health care. She didn’t fill out candidate questionnaires issued by The Colorado Independent and The Denver Post.

As of Thursday at 5 p.m., Titone had 24,231 votes to Pyne’s 24,037.

“It feels good to be ahead, but anything can still happen,” Titone said.

Pyne did not respond to an interview request Thursday.

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Olde Town Arvada — the city Brianna Titone and Vicki Pyne are vying to represent. (Photo by John Herrick for The Colorado Independent)