Incumbent Republican CU Regent Steve Bosley was term-limited and could not seek re-election.

To date, this is the last time Republicans won a statewide election in Colorado.

[5] The State Board of Regents' nine voting members are chosen in biennial partisan elections and serve staggered six-year terms.

Alice Madden won a long row of counties along the Rocky Mountains from Routt in the north to La Plata in the south, which contains a number of liberal leaning ski resort towns like Telluride, Aspen, and Steamboat Springs, however she was not able to perform that well in them.

Despite Madden underperforming other Democrats in 2016, she was able to do well in southern Colorado, where there is a higher Hispanic population.