Lauri Clapp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
                                                                                                                                                                   
CENTENNIAL - Lauri Clapp, Republican candidate for State Senate District 26, conceded and offered congratulations to her opponent, Democrat Linda Newell, this afternoon. Late Tuesday night, the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder posted the final tally in the race after counting all the remaining mail-in and provisional ballots. The final vote margin in the Senate District race is 191, with 30,405 votes for Newell and 30,214 votes for Lauri Clapp.

Republican Lauri Clapp conceded the Senate District 26 race late Wednesday to Democrat Linda Newell, giving the Democrats a 21-14 majority in the Colorado Senate.

With provisional ballots counted by Tuesday, Newell led the race by 191 votes. Arapahoe County elections officials will still conduct an automatic recount of the race starting Nov. 24, but Clapp said in a statement that she didn't want to subject taxpayers to a lengthy and divisive process.

As Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder's office prepares for a recount in the state Senate District 26 race, Republican Lauri Clapp is reportedly ready to concede the race to Democrat Linda Newell.

With provisional ballots counted in Arapahoe County, Newell leads Clapp by 191 votes.

Reached by phone, Clapp wouldn't tell PolitickerCO.com her plans, but she said she would send out a press release soon detailing her future plans.

Democrat Linda Newell appears to have won the closely contested state Senate District 26 race, Senate Minority Caucus Leader Mike Kopp (R-Littleton) told the Rocky Mountain News on Wednesday.

But some say Kopp called the race too soon, as an automatic recount might be triggered.

With all provisional ballots counted, Newell holds a 191-vote lead over her Republican opponent Lauri Clapp, the News reported.

While officials are still determining whether Newell's lead is small enough to trigger an automatic recount, Senate Minority Caucus Leader Mike Kopp (R-Littleton) told the News that Clapp is expected to concede the race in the next day or so, Kopp said.

Incoming Colorado Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry (R-Grand Junction) told the Grand Junction Sentinel Friday that he's not going to announce GOP committee appointments until the state Senate 26 race is resolved.

Democrat Linda Newell leads Republican Lauri Clapp by 108 votes in that race; elections officials likely won't finish counting approximately 4,000 provisional ballots cast until early next week, Penry told the Sentinel's Political Notebook.

The Colorado Senate Democrats announced chair assignments for 10 state Senate committees on Thursday and seven of the 10 appointed Senators are new to the post.

State Sens. Jim Isgar (D-Durango), Paula Sandoval (D-Denver), and Jennifer Veiga (D-Denver) are the only committee chairs who will remain in their positions for next year.

The Senate District 26 race won't be decided until at least Nov. 17, as the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder's office seeks to reach 800 voters who sent in mail-in ballots without identification, according to Democratic nominee Linda Newell.

The Clerk and Recorder's office has 10 days to reach the voters by mail and phone to verify they cast their ballot, Newell said; only after that will approximately 4,000 provisional ballots be counted, she said.

While the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder's office finishes counting more than 17,000 mail-in and provisional ballots in the extremely tight state Senate District 26 race, Democratic nominee Linda Newell and her daughter are taking a break from politics.

Newell's daughter Kate said she and her mom - who's down by 99 votes against Republican Lauri Clapp - planned to get a movie, make some pasta, and "chill out" Wednesday evening.

"We can't think about (the race) 24/7 -- we have to do something else for a couple minutes," Kate Newell said.

State Sen. Josh Penry (R-Grand Junction) appears set to be elected Senate Minority Leader at Thursday's Senate Republican caucus, said state Sen. Greg Brophy (R-Wray).

Brophy will be named assistant Senate minority leader, he said, while state Sen. Mike Kopp (R-Littleton) will be elected Republican Caucus Chair and state Sen. Nancy Spence will become Minority Whip.

The State Senate District 26 race is extremely tight, with Democratic nominee Linda Newell leading Republican Lauri Clapp by 139 votes.

Newell said elections officials have 52 polling boxes to count yet, though she was still trying to find out which precincts the boxes are from.

Newell said results should be coming within an hour.