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Baumgardner re-elected to Senate District 8

Republican incumbent Randy Baumgardner was re-elected to State Senate District 8 with a little more than 54 percent of the vote.
Ben Trollinger / btrollinger@summitdaily.com |

Republican incumbent Randy Baumgarder was re-elected to State Senate District 8, with more than 54 percent of the vote. Democratic candidate trailed behind with just over 45 pecent. This is the second faceoff between Tracy and Baumgardner, who previously ran against each other in the 2012 election.

In Summit County, Tracy was pulling ahead in the race by nearly 20 percent, but Baumgardner saw strong support from Grand County as well as Rio Blanco.

In the late hours of elections, the race was a close call. That night, both candidates stayed neutral saying they would wait until the race was called.



“I never count my chickens,” Baumgardner said over the phone. “Until they call it, it’s an open election.”

Tracy attended the Democratic watch party at the Backcountry Brewery in Frisco. She said it was just a matter of waiting it out.



In the 2012 race, Libertarian candidate Sacha Weis also ran, taking a little more than 3,000 votes. Things were close between Baumgarder and Tracy that year, with the former pulling ahead by less than 4,500 votes.

That year started Baumgardner’s first term in District 8. In 2014 he became majority whip. He currently is the chair of the capital development committee and the transportation legislation review committee. As the chair of transportation, he made some controversial decisions in killing a traction bill that ran through state Congress in 2015 and 2016.

Previously, he held the seat for State House District 57 for two terms. He first ran District 57 in 2008. District rezoning led him to run for state Senate.

Baumgardner moved from his home state of Indiana to Colorado in the ‘80s. He later moved to Grand County in 1994 and began working on a cattle ranch. He worked for the Colorado Department of Transportation from 1998 to 2009. He resides in Hot Sulphur Springs.

Tracy previously served on the Canon City town council for two terms. After moving to Breckenridge in 2004, Tracy joined the county planning committee, which she has been on for 10 years. She is certified in conflict resolution and has done court mediation for four years. Her lifetime interest in government lead her to run for Senate originally in 2012.


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