Then it was like Oh, they can shut down any church and they can shut down my kids school? Political experts say Colorado is officially a blue state following results from the 2022 midterm election. Other causes include political parties polarizing on hot-button issues that split neatly on demographic lines, such as guns and abortion, and voters adopting their neighbors' partisanship. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. It gives one party the ability to move a state further when theyre doing exactly what their constituency wants, he said. He even shrank Gardners advantages in Republican counties such as El Paso, Douglas and Mesa by double digits shifts of 14, 16 and 11 points, respectively. The most noticeable difference is how Trumps vote totals shrank in Republican-heavy counties. The Associated Pressreceives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. Within Colorado, one of the most vaccinated counties is San Miguel County, which, like Wyoming's Platte County, has a population of a little over 8,000 people. Joe Biden handily won Colorado with over 55% of the vote by a margin of more than 13% over Donald Trump. Colorado isnt as quick to take a stand on things, and Id like to see that happen a bit more, she said. She moved to a Denver suburb in December 2021. The Color Of Politics: How Did Red And Blue States Come To Be? Telling stories that matter in a dynamic, evolving state. Now, some wonder whether that's driving Americans apart. "Colorado is a blue state, it's been going blue, and this election confirms that," said Tony Robinson, chair of the University of Colorado Denver's political science department. When the pandemic hit, they realized they could take their marketing firm remote from its base near Hilton Head, South Carolina. A KHN analysis of data provided by San Miguel County shows that, since the beginning of the pandemic, most of the county's COVID-19 cases were on the east side, where most residents live. Compared to other nearby states, Colorado has more democratic voters. She and other health officials continue to emphasize that better vaccine coverage is the only way to get back to normal. The Unaffiliated is our twice-weekly newsletter on Colorado politics and policy. The pandemic helped push Aaron and Carrie Friesen to Idaho. In contrast, Idaho has become one of the nations fastest-growing states during the past decade without losing its reputation as a conservative haven. Democrats' success in places like this could spell. Each edition is filled with exclusive news, analysis and behind-the-scenes coverage you won't find anywhere else. The increasing clustering of Americans into like-minded enclaves dubbed The Big Sort has many causes. The 2020 vote suggests the days are gone when big Republican vote totals in El Paso and Douglas counties neutralized the big Democratic numbers in Denver and Boulder. Red states and blue states "are moving in opposite directions in the regulation of election . I think it is just generally indicative of the shift across the state, said Andrew Struttmann, a Republican strategist. Conservatives go to red states and liberals go to blue as the country In Denver, Dean has found other people who fled red states. In El Paso home to conservative hub Colorado Springs Trumps margin of victory this year sat near 11 percentage points compared to 22 percentage points four years ago. The protests about racial justice helped drive the interest, she added. On the Republican side, one DA candidate survived by splitting votes with Biden, while another won in a Biden district without opposition. The largest group of voters were between ages 25 and 34, according to returned ballot data from the Secretary of States Office, with nearly 580,000 ballots. "We just pretty much went on with life.". Meanwhile, 23 bills that expand access to voting became law or are on governors' desks. One party controls the entire legislature in all but two states. We've got this.' The red, white, and blue of the U.S. flag appear in the Colorado flag, as do the blue, yellow, and white of the columbine. The area's extensive deposits of gold and silver, which brought many early settlers to . The sparsely populated west side, which stretches to the Utah line, was historically the county breadbasket, growing crops and livestock that fed mining towns like Telluride, now known for skiing and its film and bluegrass festivals. But that wasn't the case for one temporary motel resident. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). Elections America's polarized political tribes are moving away from each other. A lot of this is driven by other sorting that is going on, Enos said. Politics and Government Conservatives go to red states, like Idaho, and liberals go to blue ones, like Colorado, as the country grows more polarized One party controls the entire legislature in all but two states The Associated Press 2:00 AM MDT on Jul 9, 2023 But county leaders are holding out hope that some will have a change of heart. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Now a Democratic state senator, Wintrow is aghast at how her adopted state has become more hardline. Ahead of the election, there were questions about whether Trumps unpopularity would drag down local Republicans in Colorado. The turnabout is most apparent in the Denver suburbs. The people of the state of Colorado are also represented in the federal government of the United States by two United States Senators and eight Congressional Representatives. We saw that young people were extremely motivated to turnout this election, said Nicole Hensel, the executive director of New Era Colorado, a progressive youth civic engagement organization. Not purple, not periwinkle, not powder blue," says Steve Welchert, a veteran Democratic strategist. Tax money seemed to go to immigrants who had entered the country illegally rather than U.S. citizens. Our newsletters bring you a closer look at the stories that affect you and the music that inspires you. Trash piled up with homeless encampments. 2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. They loved the big skies, the mountains rearing up behind the town, the plethora of outdoor activities. The district contains Chaffee, Teller, and Fremont counties in their entirety, and most of Park County. All rights reserved. It's also that many people have resumed activities and believe the pandemic is behind them. Red state, blue state, twin outbreak: Behind Wyoming and Colorado's anomalous COVID spikes. But the lifestyle choices they make place them in communities dominated by their preferred party. When the pandemic hit, they realized they could take their marketing firm remote from its base near Hilton Head, South Carolina. The congressional numbers will serve as the benchmark for the 2022 election, when Colorado is expected to debut a new district and shuffle the boundaries for the existing ones. The record turnout in Colorado included huge numbers of young voters. Utahs strong economy and business environment make it an attractive place, but experts and locals say that isnt all the Beehive State has to offer. [6] Many Republican votes also come from the western slope near Grand Junction, the high mountain communities in the center of the state, and in the eastern plains. Leah Dean was a 19-year-old cosmetology college student in San Antonio in 2008 when she had an abortion. However, support for Republicans in these areas has been slightly decreasing in recent election cycles. Not necessarily, suggests a new CU Boulder survey that paints the state's voters in more nuanced shades. Wyoming. [13] 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.[14][15]. Besides Van Winkle, there was Rep. Colin Larson in Littleton; Sen. Kevin Priola in the suburbs and plains northeast of Denver; and Sen. Bob Rankin in rural northwestern Colorado. But the Kohls knew they had moved to the right place when neighbors complimented him on the display. "Pretty much everybody that was there that was unvaccinated became sick after the fact either tested positive or just became sick and didn't test," said Amanda Baltzley, contact tracing supervisor for San Miguel County Department of Public Health. "I've been in people's homes when they're at their worst and I've been with them on their worst possible days," she said. Tims police station, in a former hippie colony in the mountains running through West Los Angeles, was firebombed during the George Floyd protests in 2020. When Melissa Wintrow rode her motorcycle across the U.S. in 1996, she was captivated by Idaho. [4] In 2010, however, Republicans made big gains in the state. On balance, they feel more comfortable in a more conservative place. See more about APs democracy initiativehere. Colorado is a Democratic-leaning state whose population is about 53% fully vaccinated, placing it in the top 15 states in vaccination rates. Colorado rural counties to vote: Should we stay or should we go? Trump only outperformed seven state House candidates, and no state Senate candidates. Even within Colorado, Weinstein said, homebuyers are picking based on politics, with some avoiding conservative areas where debates on mask mandates and curriculum has dominated school board meetings. Compared to the nation as a whole, Colorado leans more democratic. By Nathaniel Rakich Filed under 2022 Election ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY SCHERER Last fall, Joe Biden became the first Democratic. It has moved even more sharply to the right during that time and become a beacon to those, like the Kohls, fleeing blue states where they no longer feel welcome. The increasing clustering of Americans into like-minded enclaves dubbed The Big Sort has many causes. Biden won a blowout victory by racking up votes in high-population areas along the Front Range, and he retained Democrats strength along the Interstate 70 corridor and down toward Aspen. It lets the states, in the words of former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, be laboratories of democracy.. It also had the 12th-highest rate of new cases among states as of July 9, ranking a few states lower than Wyoming. Now, many entering the state tell him they're looking for a way to escape their red state and homeowners leaving Colorado say they're fed up with it turning blue. "One of the things that we've been sounding the alarm about is the need for hyper-local data," said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Mike McCarter, who has spearheaded a quixotic campaign to have conservative eastern Oregon become part of Idaho, said most people didn't pay much attention to state government until the pandemic. Both were in southern Colorado. Colorado has been trending Democratic in recent years due to the rising percentage of young, college-educated, suburban, and unaffiliated voters leaning Democratic. Top Ten Stories of 2020 #6: Colorado is a Solid Blue State One thing we have really found is a place to feel comfortable being ourselves, Dean said. "I worry about people that aren't vaccinated who are out and about who talk to everybody that they meet about how this is not real," Brixius said. [25] The votes were seen as a largely symbolic effort to attract the attention of the then-Democratic Colorado General Assembly;[26] secession of a part of Colorado to create a new state would require approval from the Colorado General Assembly and then the United States Congress under Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution.[27]. "There wasn't really anybody here who kind of had a strong fear of it," she said. Is Colorado a red or blue state? Here, the tax dollars naturally goes to the citizens, not the immigrants, said Tim Kohl, who can understand why Idaho is growing so fast. Its also how we meet people, she said. "The state could look fine and you can think, like, 'No big deal. Two of those counties Pueblo and Chaffee flipped to Biden, and three stayed in Trumps column: Conejos, Huerfano and Las Animas. The remaining swing counties those that shifted between Democrats and Republicans in races at the top of the ballot all offer much smaller troves of votes. And the higher numbers came after election officials added more ballot drop-off boxes, including on college campuses. But something changed last year the share of newcomers that said they lived in Idaho for the politics jumped to 9%, compared to 5% for long-timers. Running blue in a red state: Why it's important | Salon.com However, when the votes were added up, Boebert carried the district with 51.4 percent of the vote. Outside spending poured into a race that was suddenly seen as competitive. Their numbers swelled last year as people searched for lakes and campgrounds open during the pandemic, said Shawna Reichert, executive director of the Platte County Chamber of Commerce. Colorado supported George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004. It's not real.'". 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. She met her partner at the Texas state party convention in 2016, and every year since then shes felt the Republican state legislature and governor make the state less and less hospitable to people like her. Colorados seven congressional districts help show where the state stands politically. Leah Dean is on the opposite end of the political spectrum, but she knows how the Kohls feel. Jennifer's mother qualified for government assistance due to her low income, but was on dozens of wait lists that were seven years long. Terms & Conditions. Jennifers mother qualified for government assistance due to her low income, but was on dozens of wait lists that were seven years long. How Red Or Blue Is Your State? | FiveThirtyEight The majority of Americans are with us. When political newcomer Lauren Boebert defeated incumbent Rep. Scott Tipton in the primary, some Democrats saw a potential chance to take back a district that had been red for a decade. When Americans move, politics is not typically the explicit reason. Boebert performed slightly worse than Tipton did in the districts 2018 election, in part because she lost support in Pueblo. But the lifestyle choices they make place them in communities dominated by their preferred party. While that sounds extremely pessimistic, that is a place to rebuild.. The hospital has only two adult intensive care beds. Americans are fleeing to places where political views match their own. A Colorado Sun analysis of the 2020 election results shows how the shifting votes in the Denver suburbs are redefining the states political map, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Anna Von Hoene, 18, of Highlands Ranch holds her Biden/Harris sign as she gets nudged by a Trump supporter during a rally at the intersection of University Boulevard and Highlands Ranch Parkway on Election night, Nov. 3, 2020. Colorado's 3rd congressional district is represented by Republican Lauren Boebert of Rifle. The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, composed of 65 seats of approximately 77,000 people each. People wait outside a bar at the Country Jam music festival in Mack, Colo., on June 26, 2021. Separately, Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer won with 55 percent even though Trump won with only a plurality of about 49 percent in her Weld County districts. 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. Democrats want to live in places with artistic culture and craft breweries, and Republicans want to move to places where they can have a big yard, said Ryan Strickler, a political scientist at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Staying fit as you age isnt just about exercise. What might be surprising is that Wyoming's neighbor to the south has recently experienced similar case spikes, too. On balance, they feel more comfortable in a more conservative place. Unlike red tide events, which have long plagued Florida's waters, these blooms involve algae or cyanobacteria, which is also referred to as blue-green algae. Colorado has elected 17 Democrats and 12 Republicans to the governorship in the last 100 years. Without a doubt Tuesday nights results were a thumping shellacking for Americas third parties, said Bill Hammons, a Colorado resident and the Unity Partys presidential candidate. As a news piece, this article cites verifiable, third-party sources which have all been thoroughly fact-checked and deemed credible by the Newsroom in accordance with the Civil Constitution. Red State, Blue State, Twin Outbreak: Behind Wyoming and Colorado's Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice| Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information| Ad Choices 2016 saw a slight wavering in Republican support in Utah, at 45.5% of the vote. For instance, until the election of Barack Obama in 2008, the people of Colorado had voted Republican in every U.S. Presidential Election since 1964, with the exception of 1992 when a plurality voted for Bill Clinton, possibly due to the effect of Ross Perot's candidacy. Essentially the GOP "has become a party that's anti-urban," said Damore, co-author of the book "Blue Metros, Red States," even as New Mexico and the West are becoming increasingly urban. Wyoming Wyoming is the last state on the list of longest running Republic streaks. It lets the states, in the words of former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, be laboratories of democracy.".