Seven Takeaways from Boulder's 2025 Election

Welcome to Eric Budd's post-election analysis! If you've read my election voter guides in the past, I hope you enjoy a quick follow-up with some interesting aspects of the 2025 election.

Boulder’s 2025 ballot was fairly quiet overall, with perhaps the most interesting outcomes centered on the city council election. The election saw three of four incumbents winning re-election and all ballot measures (state, county, and local) passing with healthy margins. The city council elected will have a relatively short stint before our next election, as Boulder’s municipal elections have now moved to even years, starting in November 2026.

Let’s dive deeper into Boulder’s 2025 election results!

2025 Election Analysis Topics

1. Turnout in Boulder’s 2025 election was not stellar

Voter turnout in off-cycle municipal elections is often pretty low and underwhelming. I'll show you how it went down this year.

2. Boulder Progressives slate vs. PLAN Boulder slate performance

For many years and previous elections, Boulder has seen relative partisanship on local issues, particularly around housing, transportation, and delivering affordability for the median Boulder resident.

3. Nicole Speer and Lauren Folkerts were the most correlated candidates in the election. What can we understand about the differences in their results?

Both Lauren and Nicole have been great council members, and I supported both for re-election in 2025. I’m going to highlight a few factors that I think were notable.

4. Rob Kaplan and Jennifer Robins were the most correlated candidates endorsed by Open Boulder. What can we understand about the differences?

Both Rob and Jenny had largely the same endorsements, but a divergence in results that was decisive.

5. Jennifer Robins was most correlated with voting Against all taxes

As I wrote in my 2025 voter guide, I believe Jenny Robins’ positions are “are a bit more conservative that what Boulder needs,” particularly around housing, transportation and wages. I'll show you how that played out in the votes.

6. Lauren Folkerts was most correlated with voting Yes on all ballot funding measures

On the flip side, voting for Lauren Folkerts was most correlated with voting for free school lunches for kids, funding open space, mental health, and city capital infrastructure projects.

7. PLAN Boulder’s suggestion to vote for Rachel Rose Isaacson was a scam

PLAN Boulder suggested that people vote for their three candidates + Rachel Rose Isaacson. The strategy here is pretty typical with slates — try to prevent extra votes from going to your strongest opponents, which were Nicole Speer and Lauren Folkerts. I'll explain how we know this was strategic and not serious.