UPDATE: Colorado Newsline’s Chase Woodruff:
Mobolade pitched himself to voters as a moderate who would make Colorado Springs an “inclusive, culturally rich, economically prosperous, safe and vibrant” city. He struck broad notes of agreement with Williams and other conservatives when it came to tough approaches to issues of crime, policing and homelessness, and he rejected Williams’ claims that he supported collective bargaining rights for city employees.
But his election as an independent in the heart of deep-red El Paso County could spell a seismic shift in Colorado politics, cementing a shift towards Democratic control that has turned key swing districts in metro Denver solidly blue and traditionally highly conservative areas to the south into the next battlegrounds. Some election watchers on Tuesday night predicted that U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, could face a competitive race in the 5th Congressional District in 2024.
To cheers from his supporters, Mobolade embraced the city’s potential political transformation in his victory speech Tuesday.
“To anyone who doubts that politics can be disrupted, reformed and transformed into a hopeful experience, tonight is for you,” he said. “We showed it can be done.”
—–
Earth-shaking news from Colorado’s erstwhile bastion of conservatism, as former Republican Secretary of State Wayne Williams has lost the Colorado Springs mayoral runoff to political newcomer and local entrepreneur Yemi Mobolade after a brief but nasty campaign:
Williams says he’s called Mobolade to concede.
Yemi Mobolade will be the next Mayor of Colorado Springs #copolitics @KRDONC13
— Spencer Soicher KRDO (@spencersoicher) May 17, 2023
It’s going to take some time to process the full implications of this election, but Democrats are heralding Mobolade’s win as a turning point in El Paso County politics–despite the fact that Mobolade is very much a self-made winner:
Folks, no one gets to roll their eyes anymore when we say this: @coloradodems are going to flip El Paso County soon. We’re going all in. #copolitics https://t.co/GxbdicTeMH
— Shad Murib 🤠 (@ShadMurib) May 17, 2023
We’ll update with coverage and reactions as they come in. But be assured, this is a very big deal. One of the last conservative municipal strongholds in a state that has been trending blue for decades has fallen. If you’re one of the Republicans who took ex-chair Kristi Burton Brown’s advice last year to fall back on municipal races to rebuild–or in a city like Aurora where Republicans pulled off a crypto-partisan takeover under Mayor Mike Coffman–this result should make you very nervous.
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Hmmm…. each of them just about doubled their earlier votes and percentage.
I was in Pueblo and saw one of his commercials. Thought he sounded very independent and wow, what a presence. I will be rooting for him.
Congratulations to Mr. Mobolade! And, my very best wishes for his success in office!
But, as for some sign of a change in direction, someone please waken me on that day whenever EpCo begins sending other than its blithering village idiots and small-minded theocratic zealots to our legislature.
..,and a Democrat took out the Republican mayor of Jacksonville, FL!
Take a look at HD-16…it's by no means the reddest of the El Paso County districts, but it's a seat I never expected to have and we took it not with a milquetoast moderate, but a very proud progressive Democrat. I'd also be concerned if I were Rep. Bottoms. A progressive won't take Briargate, no, but the statewide numbers say that a person of Bottom's extremism and lameness should be on notice.
This election was not about Republicans vs. Democrats. It was about:
corruption, a front runner who was clearly in the pocket of the largest real estate developer in town, over a million dollars of dark money, and racist, over-the-top negative attack ads
vs.
a decent guy with a grassroots campaign who refused to run any attack ads.
I’m proud of the voters of Colorado Springs who refused to be persuaded by the politics of hate.
but you see it really is/was a Democrat vs. Republican…especially after you mention the corruption of the republican…republicans are CORRUPT…most if not all…and the Democrat was not corrupt, but an honest broker of information as a Democrat…we are in a polarized political atmosphere…where the republicans are trying to hide and obscure the fact that they are criminals and they are corrupt…Colorado is rife with corrupt republicans…that is why this state is turning blue…we are rejecting the criminal values put forth by these scumbag republicans…republicans are bad people…
It's not just corruption – it's the never-ending lying that is so stunning. They lie about anything and everything, and their followers MUST accept every lie or be forced to hide. It's important to note that the Republican tie to a particular version of "religion" is not accidental – acceptance of the Republican lies is part of what they're taught in these "churches" – it's their "faith."
There is regular attrition from the growing numbers who hide. How is this a successful strategy for a political party?
Dang! Has Colorado Springs finally outgrown right-wing conservative small town-ness?
Remember that asshole Robert Issac who was mayor of the Springs 30 years ago. In the aftermath of Amendment Two, the Colorado Bar Association had its convention scheduled for the Broadmoor. He got pissed off and said, "I'm expected to write a welcome letter to the queers."
The sense I got from the 4 winners in Colorado Springs city council races decided on April 4: All winners were backed by one developer (Norwood) and pitching their campaigns as "responsible growth" in opposition to other candidates (and multiple developers) who wanted to broaden development.
I'm not certain the mayoral run-off is a full-fledged shift in attitude.
Parts have…certainly. The northern edges of the city are still rock-ribbed fundamentalist conservative, but closer in to downtown, there's a definite shift. That's been aided by the GOP nominating liars, fools, and extremists. If the EPCO GOP still put up candidates like former mayor Makepeace, you'd still have a county sweep.
It’s my understanding that Mobolade had strong backing by a number of notable Republicans, and perhaps Democrats will be disappointed if he turns out to be not as centrist as hoped. Nevertheless, we can hope this reflects a turning away from the Trumpist/culture war wing of the party.
Grassroots and non-ideologically strident campaign. African-American with an uncommon name. This guy sounds like Barack Obama in 2008.
Here's hoping that he turns out to be the Springs' version of Obama.
What kind of assholes will he be dealing with on the city council?
Obama promised hope and change and delivered corporate bailouts and drone warfare, so let's hope not.
You left out his failure to enact Medicare of All and his failure to shut down Gitmo.
Perhaps McCain-Palin would have been more to your taste.
Absolutely you should feel free to put some words in my mouth.
You're welcome!
We should simply congratulate Mobolade for his hard-earned victory. Political analysis in regards to any political shifts is honestly rarely accurate and often premature. Let's just cherish the fact the Colorado Springs voters are now willing to back independent or centrist candidates instead of blindly supporting anyone with a R next to their name. That should be considered an accomplishment. Obviously, El Paso is still conservative and I think Colorado Springs is still conservative if somewhat less so than the county as a whole. I read recently somewhere (a CPR article?) that Polis won the city back in 2022 so it's clear voters there value pragmatic candidates more than purely ideological ones.