5280 Magazine – May 2018

MAY 2018 | 5280 | (^91)
This spread, from left: iStock; Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images
SEDGWICK
PHILLIPS
YUMA
KIT CARSON
CHEYENNE
LINCOLN
KIOWA
OTERO BENT PROWERS
CROWLEY
WASHINGTON
MORGAN
ADAMS
ARAPAHOE
ELBERT
DENVER
BROOMFIELD
DOUGLAS
JEFFERSON
PARK
SUMMIT
GILPIN
CLEAR
CREEK
GRAND
JACKSON
ROUTT
MOFFAT
RIO BLANCO
GARFIELD EAGLE
PITKIN
GUNNISON

MESA

DELTA

MONTROSE

OURAY

MONTEZUMA

DOLORES

SAN MIGUEL

ARCHULETA CONEJOS

HUERFANO

FREMONT

CUSTER

PUEBLO

SAGUACHE

CHAFFEE

LAKE

LA PLATA

SAN JUAN

RIO GRANDE

MINERAL

HINSDALE

ALAMOSA

COSTILLA

TELLER

EL PASO

BOULDER

LARIMER WELD LOGAN

LAS ANIMAS BACA

HOT SPOTS

Color Wheel

The governor’s office has been mostly blue for nearly 50 years.

Will it finally turn red in November? —Eric Sondermann

 D

uring my decades of campaign

management and consulting,

now well in the past, I saw

Colorado swing from a reliably

red hue to, of late, what I regard

as periwinkle blue. Although

Republicans still regularly ran the

state Legislature, and Republican

presidential candidates could

predictably bank Colorado’s electoral

votes—that is, until recently—the

governor’s office has been almost

the exclusive province of Democrats

for close to half a century.

The streak dates back to the

watershed, post-Watergate election

of 1974, when Dick Lamm, fresh

off the campaign he led to say

“no thanks” to hosting the Winter

Olympics, won by ousting John

David Vanderhoof, a Republican

incumbent. Lamm served for 12

years and would be followed by

Democrats Roy Romer

(12 years), Bill Ritter

(four years), and

John Hickenlooper

(closing out eight

years). This blue string

was interrupted only

by Republican Bill

Owens, who was

elected in 1998 and

served eight years.

Democratic

dominance in the

governor’s office is the result of an

array of factors. During the past

five decades, Democrats regularly

have put forth the more compelling

candidate and mostly avoided

messy, contested primaries.

Meanwhile, Republican nomination

contests have often resembled

spirited games of bumper cars. The

mix of egos, ambitions, and warring

factions of conservatism served

more than once as a lead weight

on the ability of the GOP nominee

to appeal to the more centrist-

minded, suburban independents

who continue to determine

elections in Colorado.

With this year’s race, we have

free-for-all battles on both sides of

the aisle. November remains plenty

of news cycles in the future, but in a

periwinkle blue state in what could

be a navy blue year across the

country, the Democratic winning

streak for governor has every

chance of being extended. So long

as Democrats, in their anti-Trump

rage, don’t decide to emulate the

past mistakes of Republicans in

their own nomination contests.

Pundits point to

these seven Front

Range counties as

campaign hot spots

because they house

67 percent of the

state’s registered,

active voters. There

are enclaves for

both parties (El Paso

trends Republican,

while Denver and

Boulder reliably vote

for Democrats), but

candidates need

significant turnouts in

each of these counties

to win.

Although small in size, Broomfield experienced the biggest

population growth in the state from 2010 to 2016—and 40

percent of its registered, active voters are unaffiliated.

Highest percentage

of active voters

registered as

Democrats.

Pueblo’s voting history in presidential elections

perplexes political strategists: The county voted for Barack

Obama in 2008 and 2012, but Donald Trump earned a

narrow victory in 2016. Currently, 42 percent of registered,

active voters—the largest group—are Democrats.

Highest percentage

of active voters

registered as

Republicans.

Lowest percentage

of active voters

registered as

Republicans.

Lowest percentage

of active voters

registered as

unaffiliated.

A higher percentage of

residents are registered,

active voters here than

anywhere in the state.

INSIDE THE 2018 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION