Politics of Colorado
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The politics of
After showing support for the populist movement between the 1890s and 1910s, Colorado voted for Republicans nationally, all but five times between 1920 and 2004. Only in 1932, 1936, 1948, 1964, and 1992 did the state vote Democratic, however, since 2008, Democrats have won the state four cycles in a row, the longest such win streak for the party in the state's history.[2] Democrats have historically fared better for state offices (especially for the governorship), however, they tended to be more moderate than the national party.
For instance, until the election of
Colorado's constitution
Political orientation
Colorado has elected 17 Democrats and 12 Republicans to the governorship in the last 100 years. Incumbent Governor Jared Polis, who was elected in 2018, is a Democrat, and his predecessor, Governor, now Senator John Hickenlooper, who won election in 2010 was also a Democrat.
The people of the state of Colorado are also represented in the
Colorado has a history of voter initiatives that severely restrict the power of state government. Some of these initiatives include
History
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 1,364,607 | 41.90% | 1,804,352 | 55.40% | 88,021 | 2.70% |
2016 | 1,202,484 | 43.25% | 1,338,870 | 48.16% | 238,893 | 8.59% |
2012 | 1,185,243 | 46.09% | 1,323,102 | 51.45% | 63,501 | 2.47% |
2008 | 1,073,629 | 44.71% | 1,288,633 | 53.66% | 39,200 | 1.63% |
2004 | 1,101,256 | 51.69% | 1,001,725 | 47.02% | 27,344 | 1.28% |
2000 | 883,745 | 50.75% | 738,227 | 42.39% | 119,393 | 6.86% |
1996 | 691,848 | 45.80% | 671,152 | 44.43% | 147,704 | 9.78% |
1992 | 562,850 | 35.87% | 629,681 | 40.13% | 376,649 | 24.00% |
1988 | 728,177 | 53.06% | 621,453 | 45.28% | 22,764 | 1.66% |
1984 | 821,818 | 63.44% | 454,974 | 35.12% | 18,589 | 1.44% |
1980 | 652,264 | 55.07% | 367,973 | 31.07% | 164,178 | 13.86% |
1976 | 584,367 | 54.05% | 460,353 | 42.58% | 36,415 | 3.37% |
1972 | 597,189 | 62.61% | 329,980 | 34.59% | 26,715 | 2.80% |
1968 | 409,345 | 50.46% | 335,174 | 41.32% | 66,680 | 8.22% |
1964 | 296,767 | 38.19% | 476,024 | 61.27% | 4,195 | 0.54% |
1960 | 402,242 | 54.63% | 330,629 | 44.91% | 3,375 | 0.46% |
1956 | 394,479 | 59.49% | 263,997 | 39.81% | 4,598 | 0.69% |
1952 | 379,782 | 60.27% | 245,504 | 38.96% | 4,817 | 0.76% |
1948 | 239,714 | 46.52% | 267,288 | 51.88% | 8,235 | 1.60% |
1944 | 268,731 | 53.21% | 234,331 | 46.40% | 1,977 | 0.39% |
1940 | 279,576 | 50.92% | 265,554 | 48.37% | 3,874 | 0.71% |
1936 | 181,267 | 37.09% | 295,021 | 60.37% | 12,396 | 2.54% |
1932 | 189,617 | 41.43% | 250,877 | 54.81% | 17,202 | 3.76% |
1928 | 253,872 | 64.72% | 133,131 | 33.94% | 5,239 | 1.34% |
1924 | 195,171 | 57.02% | 75,238 | 21.98% | 71,851 | 20.99% |
1920 | 173,248 | 59.32% | 104,936 | 35.93% | 13,869 | 4.75% |
1916 | 102,308 | 34.75% | 178,816 | 60.74% | 13,251 | 4.50% |
1912 | 58,386 | 21.88% | 114,232 | 42.80% | 94,262 | 35.32% |
1908 | 123,693 | 46.88% | 126,644 | 48.00% | 13,521 | 5.12% |
1904 | 134,661 | 55.26% | 100,105 | 41.08% | 8,901 | 3.65% |
1900 | 93,072 | 42.04% | 122,733 | 55.43% | 5,603 | 2.53% |
1896 | 26,271 | 13.86% | 161,005 | 84.95% | 2,263 | 1.19% |
1892 | 38,620 | 41.13% | 0 | 0.00% | 55,271 | 58.87% |
1888 | 50,772 | 55.22% | 37,549 | 40.84% | 3,625 | 3.94% |
1884 | 36,084 | 54.25% | 27,723 | 41.68% | 2,712 | 4.08% |
1880 | 27,450 | 51.26% | 24,647 | 46.03% | 1,449 | 2.71% |
Colorado supported George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004. Republicans have generally held control of statewide offices and the state legislature since the 1960s. In 2004, while Bush won the state's electors, while Democrat, Ken Salazar won a U.S. Senate seat and his brother John Salazar won a seat in the U.S. House and the Democrats captured both chambers of the state legislature for the first time since 1963. In 2006, Democrat Bill Ritter won the governorship by a 16-point margin while the Democrats expanded their majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and Democrat Ed Perlmutter captured another U.S. House seat.
Colorado was a
In 2010, however, Republicans made big gains in the state. They won the statewide races of Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Treasurer. Republicans also defeated two incumbent Democratic House members to hold a 4-3 majority in the state's House delegation. Furthermore, Republicans took control of the Colorado House of Representatives. This occurred even as Democrat John Hickenlooper won the governorship, albeit over weak and divided opposition, and Democratic Senator Michael Bennet was re-elected. As a result of the 2010 gubernatorial election, the Constitution Party gained major party status as it passed the 10% popular vote threshold, putting it in an equal legal position with the Democratic and Republican parties in terms of rights under state election law. However, the Democrats regained the Colorado House by a large margin during the 2012 election.
Colorado has been trending Democratic in recent years due to the rising percentage of young, college-educated, suburban, and unaffiliated voters leaning Democratic.[8][9][10] The growing social and religious conservative shift of the state's Republican Party has also been cited as a reason for the changing voting patterns of Colorado, along with the party shifting right-ward politically.[11][12] As of 2022, unaffiliated voters made up over 40% of the electorate. These voters tend to lean Democratic or have preferred Democratic candidates over Republican ones in recent elections.[13]
In the 2018 state elections, Democrats gained control of the state Senate, won all the constitutional statewide offices (including the governorship), and expanded their majority in the state House. They also gained a numerical majority for the U.S. House delegation.[14] In the 2020 presidential election, Colorado was considered a safe blue state. Joe Biden handily won Colorado with over 55% of the vote by a margin of more than 13% over Donald Trump.[9] In the 2020 state elections, Democrats retained their majorities in the state House and Senate. Democrats also picked up another U.S. Senate seat with John Hickenlooper's victory over Cory Gardner.[15]
In the 2022 state elections, Jared Polis was re-elected for Governor by a landslide, Democrats easily retained all statewide offices and Michael Bennet was re-elected to the U.S. Senate by the largest margin for a state Democrat since 1974.[16] Additionally, Democrats further expanded their majority in the state house by five seats, grew their senate majority by 2 seats and increased their majority in the state Board of Education.[17][18]
Colorado General Assembly
Currently, Democrats control both the House and the Senate. The 64th Colorado General Assembly was the first to be controlled by the Democrats in forty years, as the Republican Party traditionally held control of the state government.
The Colorado Senate is the upper house of the
The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, composed of 65 seats of approximately 77,000 people each. Representatives are constitutionally limited to four consecutive two-year terms. The House is currently composed of 46 Democrats and 19 Republicans and is led by Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie, Majority Leader Monica Duran, and Minority Leader Rose Pugliese.
Federal representation
Colorado has had eight seats in the United States House of Representatives since the 2020 reapportionment:
Colorado's 1st congressional district is represented by Democrat Diana DeGette of east Denver. The district runs southwest to northeast, containing Columbine in Jefferson County, Englewood and Cherry Hills in Arapahoe County, and all of Denver County.
Colorado's 2nd congressional district is represented by Democrat Joe Neguse of Boulder. The district contains all of Larimer, Grand, Summit, Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Broomfield counties, most of Boulder County, and parts of Jefferson, Eagle, and Park counties.
Colorado's 3rd congressional district is represented by Republican Lauren Boebert of Rifle. This district contains the western third of the state as well as parts of southern Colorado, containing the cities of Grand Junction and Pueblo, the San Luis Valley, and the northeast portion of the Four Corners. Boebert defeated incumbent Scott Tipton for the Republican nomination for this seat in 2020.
Colorado's 4th congressional district was represented by Republican Ken Buck of Windsor until his resignation on March 22, 2024. His successor is to be determined pending the special election. This district contains the eastern third of the state, as well as most of Douglas County along the I-25 corridor, the city of Longmont in Boulder County, and all of Weld County. Together, these comprise 75% of the district's population.
Colorado's 5th congressional district is represented by Republican Doug Lamborn of north Colorado Springs. The district contains Chaffee, Teller, and Fremont counties in their entirety, and most of Park County. The district is anchored in El Paso County, containing 6/7ths of its population. The district is home to major military installations at Fort Carson, Schriever Space Force Base, Peterson Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Complex, and the United States Air Force Academy.
Colorado's 8th congressional district is represented by Democrat Yadira Caraveo. This district contains portions of Adams County, Weld County, and Larimer County.
Democrats John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet are Colorado's junior and senior United States senators, serving since 2021 and 2010, respectively.
Colorado is part of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the Denver-based United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Sovereignty of the people
Article II of the Constitution of Colorado enacted August 1, 1876, the Bill of Rights provides:
Section 1. Vestment of political power. All political power is vested in and derived from the people; all government, of right, originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.[19][20]
Section 2. People may alter or abolish form of government − proviso. The people of this state have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves, as a free, sovereign and independent state; and to alter and abolish their constitution and form of government whenever they may deem it necessary to their safety and happiness, provided, such change be not repugnant to the constitution of the United States.[19][21]
Initiative, referendum, and recall
In addition to providing for voting[22][23] the people of Colorado have reserved initiative of laws and referendum of laws enacted by the legislature to themselves[24]
... the people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and amendments to the constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the general assembly and also reserve power at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any act or item, section, or part of any act of the general assembly.[25]
and provided for recall of office holders.[26]
Initiatives and referred laws are considered by the electorate at every general election in Colorado. Many are housekeeping measures or lack substantial public support, but matters of great public concern are also considered such as the
Regional differences
There are proportionally more Democrats in the City of
Denver's suburban counties usually hold the balance of power in Colorado politics. In recent years, these suburban counties have significantly shifted towards the Democrats. Adams, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Broomfield and Larimer have seen a shift towards voting for Democrats in the last few gubernatorial and presidential elections.[9]
There are proportionally more Republicans in
These regional differences experienced a boiling point in 2013, when several of Colorado's rural northeastern counties put forth ballot measures designed to initiate secession from the state following the passage of several laws by the state legislature, including expanded background checks for gun purchases, magazine capacity limits on firearms, and a new quota on renewable energy production. The ballot measure was successful in Washington, Yuma, Phillips, Kit Carson, and Cheyenne County with a combined population of around 30,000, but was unsuccessful in Logan, Elbert, Lincoln, Sedgwick, Moffat, and Weld County, which alone was more than twice as populous as all other voting counties combined.
See also
References
- ^ Colorado Secretary of State. "2023 Voter Registration Statistics". www.sos.state.co.us. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "Colorado Presidential Election Voting History - 270toWin". 270toWin.com. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
- ^ "Former Governors - Colorado". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- United States President Barack Obama appointed the Colorado Senator to serve as his Secretary of the Interior.
- ^ "2005 Referendum Special Election Results". U.S. Election Atlas. 2007-05-11. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
- ^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Colorado". US Election Atlas. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "Election News 2008: Obama carries Colorado". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- FOX31 Denver. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ^ a b c d Frank, John; Osgood, Carrie (2020-11-10). "Colorado continues to shift blue: The 2020 election, explained in graphics". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
- CBS Denver. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ^ Park, Catherine (2020-09-08). "'Purple' Colorado could go blue in 2020 election as younger voters flock to state, experts say". Fox 5. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ^ Paul, Jesse (2020-11-12). "Where do Colorado Republicans go from here?". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
- FOX31 Denver. 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
- ^ Herrick, John (2018-11-07). "Democrats take the Colorado Senate". The Colorado Independent. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ^ Ingold, John (2020-11-04). "The last time Colorado Democrats swept everything in an election was 1936. The parallels are striking". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
- ^ Hernandez, John Frank,Esteban L. (2022-11-09). "Democrats post historic wins in Colorado, hold huge power at state level". Axios. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Paul, Sandra Fish, Jesse (2022-11-16). "The eight Colorado legislative districts Democrats flipped from the GOP this year, from Colorado Springs to the Western Slope". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Chalkbeat Colorado. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
- ^ a b Article II of the Constitution of Colorado on Justia.Com, accessed September 21, 2010
- ^ Section 1, Article II, Constitution of Colorado
- ^ Section 2, Article II, Constitution of Colorado
- ^ Section 5, Article II, Constitution of Colorado
- ^ Article VII, Constitution of Colorado
- ^ Section 1, Article V, Constitution of Colorado
- ^ Article V, Constitution of Colorado Justia.Com, accessed September 21, 2010
- ^ Article XXI, Constitution of Colorado
- ^ Best, Allen (16 November 2014). "Ski towns mostly stay on blue side". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
- ^ Chokshi, Niraj (2013-11-07). "Colorado's 51st state movement failed, but 43,900 people still wanted to secede". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
- ^ Ivan Moreno, 5 rural Colorado counties vote to secede, become 51st state, Associated Press (November 11, 201).
- ^ Ana Cabrera, Sara Weisfeldt & Bryan Koenig, Colorado rural counties to vote: Should we stay or should we go?, CNN (November 4, 2013).