It’s a showdown between Steadman and Ragsdale to fill SD 31 vacancy

There will be a third and final round of voting between Pat Steadman and Ann Ragsdale in the Senate District 31 vacancy meeting to pick a successor for state Sen. Jennifer Veiga, a Denver Democrat. Lobbyist and gay-rights activist Steadman led the second round of voting with 63 ballots, ahead of former state Rep. Ragsdale’s 53 and Denver schools communication director Alex Sanchez, who had 44.

DPS at-large board member Jill Conrad survived the first round of balloting — when 10 candidates were in the running — but dropped out and endorsed Sanchez.

The final ballot reflects the district’s split between Democrats in Adams County, which accounts for 55 percent of the vacancy committee members, and Denver, which has roughly 45 percent of those eligible to decide who fills Veiga’s shoes. The vacancy committee is made of Democratic Party officials, including precinct committee members and elected officials. This is the third vacancy Democrats have filled in the Legislature since the beginning of the year.

Stay tuned for results.