A Denver judge is expected to rule this week on a lawsuit that seeks to keep a Democratic candidate for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District out of the caucus and assembly nominating process.

The case could determine whether the June Democratic primary in the district will be uncontested. Whoever wins the Democratic primary is expected to face the incumbent, U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert, a Windsor Republican, in the November election

Trisha Calvarese, a Democrat running in the 4th District, filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court alongside Lisa Chollet, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party 4th Congressional District Central Committee. They claim the state party violated its bylaws and state election laws by intervening to ensure candidate Eileen Laubacher’s eligibility.

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The lawsuit says that Laubacher is ineligible to participate in the Democratic caucus and assembly process because she was not registered as a Democrat for at least 12 consecutive months, as required by the party’s bylaws. It alleges that Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib also broke state election law when he unilaterally pushed back district assemblies by one day to make Laubacher eligible.

Laubacher, a retired Navy rear admiral and former National Security Council official, registered as a Democrat on March 27, 2025. The lawsuit says she should not be eligible to participate in a district assembly that was initially scheduled for March 26 but was moved by Murib to March 27.

The lawsuit claims Chollet as the District 4 central committee chair has the sole authority to schedule the time and place of her district’s assembly.

Calvarese and Laubacher are the leading candidates in the Democratic primary for the 4th District. Laubacher has already raised more money than every other candidate of either party in the race combined. John Padora and Jenna Preston have also filed to run for the 4th District seat as Democrats.

County assemblies have occurred over the past several weeks, and the vast majority of delegates have been awarded to Laubacher. If Denver District Court Judge Mark Bailey rules that she can still participate in the assembly nomination process, it is likely that no other Democrats will make it onto the June primary ballot via assembly. Candidates in Colorado can access the ballot through the assembly process or by gathering voter signatures and filing with the Colorado secretary of state’s office. Calvarese is not pursuing the ballot through a petition.

Confusion over leadership roles

Oral arguments in the case were heard Monday and Tuesday. The court heard testimony from leaders of the 4th District Central Committee, officials with the state party, Laubacher and her campaign manager, and the chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party.

Attorneys for both the Democratic Party and Laubacher said the lawsuit was Calvarese’s attempt to target her opponent so that she will still have a shot at making it onto the primary ballot. Candidates at the assembly must receive 30 percent of delegate votes to make it into the ballot, and Laubacher is on track to receive more than 85 percent of delegate votes, meaning no other candidate would receive 30 percent.

“Because Ms. Calvarese doesn’t have a delegate count, she is seeking to prevent Ms. Laubacher from participating in the assembly so that she can make the 30 percent,” Christopher Beall, Laubacher’s attorney, said.

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Leaders of the Colorado Democratic Party said dates for district assemblies are fluid and frequently change to accommodate schedules of the delegates until an official call is distributed 10 days before the assembly.

Miscommunication between the state party and 4th District leadership led to confusion over who was serving as the chair and who the state party should have been coordinating with. Chollet was on leave throughout the last year while supporting another candidate’s campaign, and then because she was running for office. Party leadership testified that they relied on 4th District 1st Vice Chair Bob Massaro and Treasurer Dianne Bailey as their primary contacts while Chollet was on leave.

Democratic Party rules say that the district chair “shall” fix the time, date and place for assemblies within their jurisdictions in coordination with the state party chair. Chollet testified that she coordinated with Murib to select March 26 as the assembly date, but received no communication from him on moving the date to March 27. Murib testified that he discussed the change repeatedly with Massaro, who was understood to be the acting chair at the time.

Karin Asensio, executive director of the Colorado Democratic Party, and Murib both testified that the earlier date was chosen arbitrarily and that date changes are a frequent occurrence when scheduling assemblies. They said dates are not considered “fixed” until an official call is sent out.

Murib said he had the authority to move the assembly dates under the party’s “delegate selection plan,” a governing document the state central committee votes to approve. Martha Tierney, attorney for the Democratic Party, said both Chollet and Massaro voted to approve the state party’s delegate selection plan, which gave power to the state party chair to fix the date of the assembly. The plan says the assembly must occur between March 26 and April 11.

‘Without malice or favor’

While the plaintiffs’ attorneys argued the change was made to favor Laubacher specifically, Murib said party rules are meant to encourage participation of all candidates, not restrict it. He said the party has an obligation to follow the rules in a way that enables participation, and “to correct an arbitrary decision that disenfranchises voters from supporting their candidate, or disqualifies a candidate.”

The 4th District’s committee leaders sent a call for the assembly Sunday night without the approval of state party officials, and that call excluded Laubacher. Chollet said she had to send the call out to preserve the March 26 date. State party officials argued the call was not legitimate because delegates were not finalized by the time it was sent out, and not every delegate received the call.

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Chollet said her insistence on maintaining the March 26 date is not about liking one candidate more than another, but because “it’s super important that we’re applying everything fairly, equally, without malice or favor.” She said she would have backed the legal action regardless of which candidate didn’t meet the eligibility requirements.

“My job, my whole reason for getting involved in all of this, was to make sure that the rules and the playing field apply to everyone evenly, and that no candidate has benefited or treated poorly because of anything,” Chollet said. “Everybody has access in specific ways, it’s on them to meet those guidelines, and when we move a goalpost for any reason, then we are unfairly advantaging one candidate in this case and disadvantaging two candidates on the other side.”

Calvarese and Chollet are represented by attorneys with First and Fourteenth, a conservative Colorado Springs-based law firm that has ties to the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The lawsuit seeks a final court order declaring Murib’s date change void and Laubacher ineligible for the caucus and assembly process. If the suit is successful, Laubacher can still get on the primary ballot through a petition process. Attorneys for the plaintiffs asked the court to issue a decision within three days.

Boebert beat Calvarese in the 2024 election by 12 percentage points. The 4th District, which includes most of Douglas County and the Eastern Plains, is the safest Republican-held district in the state.

Colorado’s primary election will take place June 30.