Lawsuit alleges Democratic Party nominee may be ineligible to run

DENVER (KDVR) — A Douglas County resident is suing the Colorado secretary of state to try and stop the Democratic Party’s candidate for the 2024 special vacancy election in the 4th Congressional District.

That candidate, Trisha Calvarese, was nominated at a special convention on April 1 as the Democrats’ choice to fill the rest of the congressional term of former U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, who suddenly resigned in March.

According to the lawsuit filed Wednesday by Douglas County resident James Glasser, Calvarese does not meet the statutory requirements for candidacy. Glasser argues that she was not been affiliated with the Colorado Democratic Party for at least 12 months before the convention, as dictated in state law.

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The complaint claims Calvarese registered to vote in Colorado on Dec. 16, 2023.

Shad Murib, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, provided a statement on the lawsuit.

“CDP rules are clear that a candidate simply has to be a Democrat for at least 12 months immediately preceding the convention. Ms. Calvarese says she meets this requirement. There is no residency requirement for Congress that prevents her from being the nominee,” Murib wrote.

Glasser asked the court to prevent the secretary of state from certifying Calvarese for the special vacancy election in 2024 or show cause on why the order should not be obeyed.

A spokesperson for Calvarese’s campaign told FOX31: “We are aware of the complaint. We are reviewing and we plan to reply.”

Glasser is not the first to allege Calvarese is ineligible to be a nominee. Democrat John Padora told The Colorado Sun that Calvarese is ineligible, citing the state law that says “any candidate nominated by a political party must be affiliated with the party for at least twelve consecutive months prior to the date the convention begins, as shown in the statewide voter registration system.”

Padora lost the party nomination by a wide margin, as Calvarese won 64.5% of the votes that night.

The special election is scheduled for July 25. Calvarese would face off with the Colorado Republican candidate, former Parker Mayor Greg Lopez. The winner of the race would only fill the rest of Buck’s term, which would have lasted until Jan. 3, 2025.

The Colorado Democratic Party gathered again on Thursday night and nominated Calvarese for the separate primary election scheduled for June 25, which will decide a candidate for the general election in November. The election will include controversial U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who currently represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District but now seeks to represent the 4th.

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