Progressive candidates in the lead in Colorado's Douglas County school board race

Douglas County voters cast their ballots in Tuesday's election in Colorado. Eight candidates were running for four open spots on the Board of Education of Douglas County School District RE-1, and while the votes were still being counted in the races on Wednesday morning, the early returns showed candidates from the Community's Voice, Community's Choice slate in the lead:

The race is nonpartisan, but one slate of four candidates was more conservative and the other slate of four -- members of Community's Voice, Community's Choice -- were more progressive. 

Members of the more progressive group were celebrating their leads at a gathering in Lone Tree in the southern part of the Denver metro area on Tuesday night. Those candidates say their priorities include data-driven decisions, teacher retention and equal opportunities for students.

"I'm really looking forward to working with our teachers and our parents. I'm an educator. I'm a current DCSD parent. I want to bring our community closer together," Community's Voice, Community's Choice candidate Kelly Denzler said.

The more conservative slate of candidates ran on a platform of academic excellence, parents' rights and protecting girls' sports.

"I mean, it's obviously not what we wanted, but it's still a strong showing," said Common Sense DCSD candidate Matt Smith. "I'm proud of everything we did. We were honest with our voters from day one, we left everything out there that we possibly could."

The board is comprised of seven members in total.