Democrat Elliott Hood took the lead in early election results Tuesday evening for CU regent at large against three other candidates with 52.3% of the vote with four of 64 counties counted. Visit dailycamera.com for the latest election results.

As of 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Republican Eric Rinard had 45.3%, Unity Party candidate T.J. Cole had 1.5% and Approval Voting Party candidate Thomas Reasoner had 0.8% of the statewide vote.

The University of Colorado Board of Regents is an elected board that oversees CU and its four campuses. The board has nine members serving staggered six-year terms, one elected from each of Colorado’s eight congressional districts and one from the state at-large.

Hood is a school attorney, former teacher and University of Colorado Boulder alum. After graduating from CU Boulder in 2004, Hood taught fifth grade in a low-income community, later earned his law degree from Northwestern University and has spent most of his legal career advocating for school districts and educators across Colorado.

Rinard graduated from Denver Public Schools before earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at CU Boulder. He is a senior engineer at KMLabs, a position he’s held since 2009. He has been the district captain and secretary of the Weld County Republican Party. Rinard also has been a board member at Aspen Ridge Preparatory School, a public charter school in the St. Vrain Valley School District, since 2016.

Cole is a judge, lawyer and educator who holds three doctoral degrees, two master’s degrees and one bachelor’s degree. His professional experience includes being a professor, college president, high school principal, district court magistrate, municipal court judge, reserve police officer and deputy state public defender.

Reasoner declined to submit information and does not have a campaign website.