Rachel Friend Leads Boulder Treasurer Primary With 58.25% as Race Likely Decides November

Q: Why did the primary election results starkly contrast with the earlier support shown by party insiders for the same candidates?

The gap likely came from the difference between a small, highly engaged insider audience and the much larger primary electorate. Earlier party-insider support favored Jenn Kaaoush at the county assembly, where she won 48.1% of delegate support to Rachel Friend’s 41.8%. But delegates are not the same as rank-and-file Democratic voters casting mail ballots across Boulder County. Friend appears to have had broader countywide reach. She built a much larger fundraising operation, raising about $50,029 to Kaaoush’s $12,112, giving her a clear advantage in voter contact and visibility. She also drew support from a wider mix of elected officials and more moderate Democratic figures, while Kaaoush’s backing was more concentrated among progressive groups and activists. The nature of the office may also have mattered. County treasurer is largely an administrative post focused on taxes, banking, investments and foreclosure procedures. In that context, many voters may have been more persuaded by Friend’s message about management experience, budget oversight and operational competence than by insider enthusiasm at the assembly stage. So the contrast was less a mystery than a reminder that insider signals do not always predict a countywide primary. Delegate meetings reward activist intensity and organization; broad elections reward name recognition, fundraising, endorsements with wider reach, and a message that fits how ordinary voters view the job.

3 articles · Updated · Boulder Daily Camera · Jun 30

Rachel Friend had 25,759 votes, or 58.25%, to Jenn Kaaoush’s 41.75% after Boulder County released a second round of Democratic primary results Tuesday night.
Because no formal Republican candidate is running, the Democratic primary is effectively set to determine who becomes Boulder County treasurer in November.
Friend, a former Boulder City Council member, outpaced Superior Town Council member Kaaoush in fundraising as well, bringing in $50,029 versus $12,112.
That $62,141 combined haul far exceeds the $5,568 raised in the last contested race for the seat in 2010, underscoring unusually high interest in an office that handles taxes, county banking and foreclosures.