(Colorado Newsline) Democrats in Colorado’s House of Representatives will lose their supermajority in the chamber next year, as Republicans managed to flip three seats, if recounts confirm those unofficial results.

As of Thursday — the last day for voters to cure their uncounted ballots from the November 5 election — Republicans achieved victories in House Districts 16, 19 and 50. If those results stand, Democrats will hold a 43-22 majority next year. A supermajority requires 44 seats in the 65 seat chamber.

The closest race is in House District 16, based in Colorado Springs. Democratic Representative Steph Vigil, a gig worker who won by a few hundred votes in 2022, lost by seven votes to Republican Rebecca Keltie.

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Keltie won 50.01 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. This triggered an automatic recount. In Colorado, an automatic recount occurs if the difference between the vote totals is less than or equal to 0.5 percent of the winner’s vote total. The Associated Press has yet to call the race.

Keltie is a conservative Navy veteran who ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primaries for Colorado’s 5th Congressional District in 2022 and 2020. In 2022, Keltie canvassed with the election denial group U.S. Election Integrity Plan, which was at the center of a dismissed voter intimidation lawsuit this year.

“This proves that blood, sweat, tears and hard work pays off,” Keltie wrote in a text message to Colorado Newsline. “I see this as a win for all Colorado, especially bringing balance to the Legislature by now moving away from a (Democratic) supermajority.”

Vigil is one of the House’s most progressive members and has run successful legislation on non-legal name changes for LGBTQ+ students, curbing minimum parking requirements and boosting protections for delivery drivers.

“I will be watching for the automatic recount process to commence, and as a fierce defender of our election system I will of course honor the results of that final outcome. I have proudly run a positive, people-centered campaign, and even if we ultimately fall a few votes short, we did it battling an onslaught of dark money attacks, and opposition that relied on conspiracy theories, fear, and division. I believe this is a testament to the incredible passion in my coalition to stand firmly in our Colorado values and deliver meaningful representation for our city,” Vigil said in a statement.

In House District 19, in southwest Weld County and eastern Boulder County, former Republican state Representative Dan Woog defeated first-time candidate Democrat Jillaire McMillan, according to unofficial results. That flips the seat, which is currently represented by Democratic Representative Jennifer Parenti. Parenti withdrew from the race over the summer and a vacancy committee chose McMillan to replace her on the ballot.

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Woog won by 123 votes, which also prompted an automatic recount. The AP has yet to call the race.

Woog, a property manager and former Erie town trustee, served one term from 2021 to 2022. He lost to Parenti for the seat in 2022.

McMillan conceded the race on Friday.

“I congratulate Dan Woog on his victory and hope he maintains his promise to focus on people over politics. I trust the results of this free and fair election and extend my appreciation to the election officials who worked tirelessly to count every vote,” she said in a statement.

Democratic leadership in the House commended McMillan’s campaign.

“She came within striking distance in a district that favors Republicans and saw over half a million dollars of negative attacks against her. It is unprecedented for a candidate to come this close to winning in these circumstances, and even though she came up just a little bit short, her achievement is something Democrats should celebrate,” House Speaker Julie McCluskie, a Dillon Democrat, and Majority Leader Monica Duran, a Wheat Ridge Democrat, said in a statement.

Republicans also flipped House District 50 in Greeley, where Republican Ryan Gonzales beat Democratic Representative Mary Young. Gonzales received 51.09 percent of the vote.

“Colorado voters spoke loudly, supporting two common-sense leaders in Dan Woog and Rebecca Keltie,” House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, a Colorado Springs Republican, said in a statement. “After we saw the people of Colorado defeat Prop HH last year and now three House districts flipping back to Republicans, the message is clear: Coloradans want a lower cost of living and a thriving economy. The Democratic policies pushing higher taxes and fees are not the way forward for Coloradans across the state.”

Proposition HH was an unsuccessful 2023 ballot measure to allow the state to keep more tax revenue to offset a property tax rate cut.

The Legislature reconvenes January 8.

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and X.