The office
The Colorado State Board of Education is composed of nine elected officials representing Colorado’s congressional districts with the Commissioner of Education acting as non-voting secretary to the Board. Board members serve without pay for six-year terms.
On the ballotVote for one
- Karla EsserDemocraticIncumbent
In the Herald 1 story
- Steve BartonRepublican
- Ross KlopfLibertarian
Names are in the ballot's order.
Campaign money
Raised, spent and on hand are the Secretary of State's summary of each candidate's committee for this race, in the ballot's order. The donors are from the committees' filings since Jan. 1, 2025: a donor is named here when any one gift was $200 or more.
| Candidate | Raised | Raised, drawn to scale | Spent | On hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karla Esser | $22,980 | $20,356 | $2,735 | |
| Steve Barton | $7,653 | $10,070 | $1,133 | |
| Ross Klopf | $0 | $32 | $0 |
Karla Esser
- COLORADO AFL-CIO SMALL DONOR COMMITTEE (COLORADO AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR & CONGRESS OF INDUSTRI, DENVER$2,000
- PUBLIC EDUCATION COMMITTEE, DENVER$2,000
- JEFFERSON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY, LAKEWOOD$528
- ALICE COLLINS, DENVER$450
- AUTUMN LEOPOLD, WINDSOR$450
From donors not named here: 99 gifts, $7,180.
Steve Barton
- STEVEN BARTON, CANON CITY$1,464
- FREMONT COUNTY REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE, CANON CITY$1,000
- CHAFFEE COUNTY REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE, BUENA VISTA$750
- MILO D CRESS, CANON CITY$450
- SCOTT PALM, MINNEAPOLIS$450
From donors not named here: 35 gifts, $1,865.
As printed in the document it was read from. “Incumbent” from the roster of who holds the seat (read Oct. 6, 2026). Money from TRACER, the Secretary of State's campaign finance system (read 4:01 a.m.).