Colorado held its general election on November 3, 2020, deciding 83 legislative seats. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Republicans needed a net gain of two state Senate seats to end Democrats' hold on the Capitol, governor's office included. Instead Democrats added a Senate seat and the House finished where it started, leaving one-party control intact for 2021.
- The Senate fight came down to a handful of seats. Democrats' pickup was the open Senate District 27 in Centennial, where Chris Kolker (D) beat Suzanne Staiert (R) by about 11 points. Staiert, a former deputy secretary of state, had been fined for campaign finance violations. Republicans narrowly held two heavily targeted seats. Sen. Kevin Priola (R) kept Senate District 25 in Adams County by under 2 points over Paula Dickerson (D), in the race that drew the most super PAC spending in the state. Appointed Sen. Bob Rankin (R) held Senate District 8 in northwest Colorado by fewer than 1,000 votes over Karl Hanlon (D).
- The House traded one seat each way. David Ortiz (D) unseated Rep. Richard Champion (R) by about 11 points in House District 38, the seat Colorado Politics rated the likeliest to flip after Champion replaced a Republican who left for the Trump administration. Republicans answered in Pueblo's House District 47, their number-one target, where Stephanie Luck (R) ousted Rep. Bri Buentello (D) by about 8 points.
- Overall, 3 seats changed hands (two to Democrats, one to Republicans), and both incumbents who lost were in those flipped House seats. Beyond the flips, the Priola and Rankin holds were the 2 races decided by less than 2 points.
- Voters decided 11 statewide measures, approving 9 and rejecting 2:
- Amendment B, referred by the legislature, repealed the Gallagher Amendment, the 1982 property-tax ratio between residential and business property.
- Proposition 118 created a paid family and medical leave program, the first time voters in any state had been asked to decide one, after similar bills had failed in the legislature since 2014.
- Proposition 114 directed the reintroduction of gray wolves after a paper-thin election-night lead held up, and Proposition 113, the first since 1932 to put a law passed by the legislature to the voters, kept Colorado in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
- Proposition 115, a ban on abortion after 22 weeks, failed; voters had rejected abortion bans eight times over the prior 36 years.
- Voters also approved an income-tax cut (Proposition 116) and a voter-approval requirement for large new fee-funded enterprises (Proposition 117), and Proposition EE raised tobacco taxes and added a tax on vaping products.
- Amendment 76 (citizenship to vote) and Amendment 77 (casino betting limits) passed; Amendment C, a charitable bingo change, fell short of the 55% threshold for amendments.
Legislature
- House (65 seats): 41 D, 24 R before the election, 41 D, 24 R after; control stayed with Democrats.
- Senate (35 seats): 19 D, 16 R before the election, 20 D, 15 R after; control stayed with Democrats.
Legislative races
| Race | Winner | Others | Notes |
|---|
| House 1 | Susan Lontine (D) 66.4% | Samantha Koch (R) 33.6% | |
| House 2 | Alec Garnett (D) 80.6% | Victoria Partridge (R) 19.4% | |
| House 3 | Meg Froelich (D) 59.1% | Dean Titterington (R) 37.9%, David P. Jurist (L) 3% | |
| House 4 | Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez (D) 81.8% | Grant Price (R) 18.2% | |
| House 5 | Alex Valdez (D) 79.06% | Jonathan Woodley (R) 19.59%, Joe Richardson (Unity Party) 1.35% | |
| House 6 | Steven Woodrow (D) 71.9% | William McAleb (R) 25.2%, Jeffrey Crowe (L) 3% | |
| House 7 | Jennifer Bacon (D) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 8 | Leslie Herod (D) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 9 | Emily Sirota (D) 69.9% | Larry Braig (R) 27.1%, Wes Pinchot (L) 3% | |
| House 10 | Edie Hooton (D) 85.4% | Kenneth Stickney (R) 14.6% | |
| House 11 | Karen McCormick (D) 67% | Mark Milliman (R) 33% | |
| House 12 | Tracey Bernett (D) 73.6% | Eric Davila (R) 26.4% | |
| House 13 | Judy Amabile (D) 68.2% | Kevin Sipple (R) 28.4%, James Gilman (L) 3.4% | |
| House 14 | Shane Sandridge (R) 60.9% | John Foley (D) 35.2%, David Thompson (L) 3.9% | |
| House 15 | Dave Williams (R) 59.1% | John Pyne IV (D) 35.8%, Mike McRedmond (L) 5% | |
| House 16 | Andy Pico (R) 54.5% | Stephanie Vigil (D) 41.3%, John Hjersman (L) 4.1% | |
| House 17 | Tony Exum Sr (D) 56.8% | Robert Blancken (R) 37.4%, Susan Quilleash-Nelson (L) 5.8% | |
| House 18 | Marc Snyder (D) 59.1% | George Rapko (R) 36.6%, Nathan Foutch (L) 4.3% | |
| House 19 | Tim Geitner (R) 75% | Joseph Thompson Jr. (D) 25% | |
| House 20 | Terri Carver (R) 58.7% | Megan Fossinger (D) 38.2%, Judith Darcy (L) 3.1% | |
| House 21 | Mary Bradfield (R) 54.2% | Liz Rosenbaum (D) 40.4%, Michael Seebeck (L) 5.4% | |
| House 22 | Colin Larson (R) 51.3% | Mary K. Parker (D) 45.5%, Margot Herzl (L) 3.2% | |
| House 23 | Chris Kennedy (D) 60.2% | Fred Clifford (R) 34.8%, Doug Anderson (L) 5% | |
| House 24 | Monica Duran (D) 64% | Laurel Imer (R) 36% | |
| House 25 | Lisa Cutter (D) 52.8% | Donald Rosier (R) 47.2% | |
| House 26 | Dylan Roberts (D) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 27 | Brianna Titone (D) 48.7% | Vicki Pyne (R) 45.6%, Cory Schaeffer (L) 5.7% | |
| House 28 | Kerry Tipper (D) 57.6% | Pedro Roybal (R) 36.9%, Amara Hildebrand (L) 5.5% | |
| House 29 | Lindsey Daugherty (D) 56.1% | Vanessa Warren-Demott (R) 38.4%, Ryan Van Gundy (L) 5.5% | |
| House 30 | Dafna Michaelson Jenet (D) 56.9% | Kerrie Gutierrez (R) 43.1% | |
| House 31 | Yadira Caraveo (D) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 32 | Adrienne Benavidez (D) 63.7% | Anthony Caputo (R) 30.4%, Jason Chapman (L) 5.9% | |
| House 33 | Matt Gray (D) 62.1% | Mindy Quiachon (R) 37.9% | |
| House 34 | Kyle Mullica (D) 56.2% | Mark Bromley (R) 38.8%, Robert Stutz (L) 5% | |
| House 35 | Shannon Bird (D) 62.4% | Roger Lehman (R) 37.6% | |
| House 36 | Mike Weissman (D) 61.2% | Dustin Bishop (R) 38.8% | |
| House 37 | Tom Sullivan (D) 55.6% | Caroline Cornell (R) 44.4% | |
| House 38 | David Ortiz (D) 55.6% | Richard Champion (R) 44.4% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 39 | Mark Baisley (R) 63% | Ian Chapman (D) 33.9%, Bonnie Pyle (L) 3.1% | |
| House 40 | Naquetta Ricks (D) 59.2% | Richard Allen Bassett (R) 36.7%, Robert Harrison (L) 4.2% | |
| House 41 | Iman Jodeh (D) 66% | Robert Andrews (R) 34% | |
| House 42 | Dominique Jackson (D) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 43 | Kevin Van Winkle (R) 52.9% | Jennifer Mitkowski (D) 47.1% | |
| House 44 | Kim Ransom (R) 55.4% | Kyra Storojev (D) 41.6%, Brian Meyer (L) 3% | |
| House 45 | Patrick Neville (R) 60.19% | Katie Barrett (D) 36.9%, Caryn Ann Harlos (L) 2.92% | |
| House 46 | Daneya Esgar (D) 53.2% | Jonathan Ambler (R) 43.1%, John Pickerill (L) 3.7% | |
| House 47 | Stephanie Luck (R) 54.1% | Bri Buentello (D) 45.9% | Flipped D to R; Incumbent defeated |
| House 48 | Tonya Van Beber (R) 66.7% | Holly Herson (D) 33.3% | |
| House 49 | Michael Lynch (R) 61.1% | Yara Zokaie (D) 38.9% | |
| House 50 | Mary Young (D) 62.1% | Sean Short (L) 37.9% | |
| House 51 | Hugh McKean (R) 94% | Vern Richardson (D) 6% | |
| House 52 | Cathy Kipp (D) 63.8% | Donna Walter (R) 36.2% | |
| House 53 | Jennifer Arndt (D) 75.3% | Adam Shuknecht (L) 24.7% | |
| House 54 | Matt Soper (R) 74.4% | AliceMarie Slaven-Emond (D) 25.6% | |
| House 55 | Janice Rich (R) 64.1% | Scott Beilfuss (D) 32.4%, Sierra Garcia (G) 3.5% | |
| House 56 | Rod Bockenfeld (R) 57.4% | Maria-Vittoria Carminati (D) 38.5%, Kevin Gulbranson (L) 4.1% | |
| House 57 | Perry Will (R) 63.4% | Colin Wilhelm (D) 36.6% | |
| House 58 | Marc Catlin (R) 64.9% | Seth Cagin (D) 35.1% | |
| House 59 | Barbara Hall McLachlan (D) 55.4% | Mark Harris (R) 44.6% | |
| House 60 | Ron Hanks (R) 62.4% | Lori Boydston (D) 37.6% | |
| House 61 | Julie McCluskie (D) 60.4% | Kim McGahey (R) 39.6% | |
| House 62 | Donald Valdez (D) 57.8% | Logan Taggart (R) 42.2% | |
| House 63 | Dan Woog (R) 59.8% | Geneiveve Schneider (D) 35.6%, Joseph Johnson (L) 4.6% | |
| House 64 | Richard Holtorf (R) 72.9% | Edwin Ormiston (D) 27.1% | |
| House 65 | Rod Pelton (R) 100% | Unopposed | |
| Senate 4 | Jim Smallwood (R) 62.3% | Elissa Flaumenhaft (D) 35%, Wayne Harlos (L) 2.7% | |
| Senate 8 | Robert E. Rankin (R) 50.6% | Karl Hanlon (D) 49.4% | |
| Senate 10 | Larry Liston (R) 56.4% | Randi McCallian (D) 38.1%, Heather Johnson (L) 5.5% | |
| Senate 12 | Bob Gardner (R) 58.3% | Electra Johnson (D) 37.8%, Zechariah Harris (L) 3.9% | |
| Senate 14 | Joann Ginal (D) 66.7% | Hans Hochheimer (R) 33.3% | |
| Senate 17 | Sonya Jaquez Lewis (D) 67.9% | Matthew Menza (R) 32.1%, Andrew O'Connor (I) 0% | |
| Senate 18 | Stephen Fenberg (D) 82.9% | Peg Cage (R) 17.1% | |
| Senate 19 | Rachel Zenzinger (D) 59.2% | Lynn Gerber (R) 40.8% | |
| Senate 21 | Dominick Moreno (D) 63.5% | Martin Mendez (R) 36.5% | |
| Senate 23 | Barbara Kirkmeyer (R) 55.1% | Sally Boccella (D) 44.9% | |
| Senate 25 | Kevin Priola (R) 50.8% | Paula Dickerson (D) 49.2% | |
| Senate 26 | Jeff Bridges (D) 60.6% | Bob Roth (R) 36.8%, Marc Solomon (L) 2.6% | |
| Senate 27 | Chris Kolker (D) 55.3% | Suzanne Staiert (R) 44.7% | Flipped R to D |
| Senate 28 | Janet Buckner (D) 61.9% | Karl Stecher (R) 38.1% | |
| Senate 29 | Rhonda Fields (D) 68.7% | Michele Poague (L) 31.3% | |
| Senate 31 | Chris Hansen (D) 76.7% | Doug Townsend (R) 23.3% | |
| Senate 33 | James Coleman (D) 91% | Jerry Burton (R) 9% | |
| Senate 35 | Cleave Simpson (R) 60.1% | Carlos Lopez (D) 39.9% | |
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Amendment 76 | Amends the Colorado Constitution to state that “only a citizen” of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in federal, state, and local elections, instead of the existing language that says “every citizen” who is 18 years old can vote | Passed (62.9% yes) |
| Amendment 77 | Allows voters in Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek to vote to expand allowed gaming types and bet limits | Passed (60.54% yes) |
| Amendment B | Repeals the Gallagher Amendment of 1982, which limited the residential and non-residential property tax assessment rates so that residential property taxes amounted to 45% of the total share of state property taxes and non-residential property taxes amounted to 55% of the total share of state property taxes | Passed (57.52% yes) |
| Amendment C | Requires charitable organizations to have existed for three years before obtaining a charitable gaming license instead of five years; allows charitable organizations to hire managers and operators of gaming activities so long as they are not paid more than the minimum wage | Failed (52.35% yes) |
| Proposition 113 | Joins Colorado into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, awarding Colorado's electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote | Passed (52.33% yes) |
| Proposition 114 | Reintroduces gray wolves on public lands | Passed (50.91% yes) |
| Proposition 115 | Prohibits abortion after 22 weeks gestational age | Failed (41.01% yes) |
| Proposition 116 | Decreases the state income tax rate from 4.63% to 4.55% | Passed (57.86% yes) |
| Proposition 117 | Requires voter approval of new enterprises that are exempt from TABOR if their revenue is greater than $50 million within its first five years | Passed (52.55% yes) |
| Proposition 118 | Establishes a program for paid medical and family leave | Passed (57.75% yes) |
| Proposition EE | Increases taxes on tobacco, creates a new tax on nicotine products such as e-cigarettes; dedicates funds to education and health programs | Passed (67.56% yes) |