Colorado held its general election on November 5, 2024, deciding 83 legislative seats. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Democrats entered the election one seat short of a Senate supermajority and left one seat short in both chambers. The Senate stayed 23-12, and Republicans flipped three House seats to break the Democrats' two-thirds there, 46-19 to 43-22, the first Republican House gains in a decade.
- Two of the three House flips were close enough to trigger automatic recounts, which confirmed the results on December 5:
- House District 16 (Colorado Springs): Rebecca Keltie (R) unseated Rep. Stephanie Vigil (D) by six votes on the initial count; the recount briefly produced a tie before the canvass board disallowed three ballots, leaving her ahead by three votes, 20,641 to 20,638.
- House District 19 (Longmont): former Rep. Dan Woog (R) beat Jillaire McMillan (D) by 110 votes.
- House District 50 (Greeley): Ryan Gonzalez (R) beat Rep. Mary Young (D) by about two points in a rematch of 2022; she conceded before the count was final.
- The Senate traded two seats. Scott Bright (R) flipped suburban Senate District 13, the seat of outgoing Sen. Kevin Priola, who was elected as a Republican and later became a Democrat. Rep. Marc Snyder (D) took term-limited Republican Bob Gardner's Senate District 12 by about 1.5 points with a Libertarian drawing 3.6 percent. The race that ended Democrats' hopes of a Senate supermajority was on the Western Slope, where the Associated Press called Senate District 5 for Rep. Marc Catlin (R) over Cole Buerger (D) two days after the election, ending the Democrats' supermajority hopes. Three more Democratic seats were held by fewer than three points, including Rep. Bob Marshall (D)'s Highlands Ranch House District 43, and Chris Kolker (D) held south-metro Senate District 16 by about four. Across the 83 legislative races, 5 seats changed parties, 2 incumbents were defeated, and 8 seats drew a single candidate.
- Ten of 14 ballot questions passed. Amendment 79, a constitutional right to abortion, needed 55 percent to pass and drew about 62, carrying Republican counties such as Douglas and El Paso. Proposition 131, the $19 million campaign for top-four primaries and ranked-choice general elections led by former DaVita chief executive Kent Thiry, failed 54-46; Amendment 80 (a constitutional right to school choice) and Proposition 127 (a ban on mountain lion hunting) also failed. Voters approved Proposition KK (a 6.5 percent excise tax on guns and ammunition), Proposition 128 (making violent felons serve more of their sentences before parole), Amendment J (repealing the constitution's same-sex marriage ban), and Amendment I (denying bail in first-degree murder cases).
Legislature
- House (65 seats): 46 D, 19 R before the election, 43 D, 22 R after; control stayed with Democrats.
- Senate (35 seats): 23 D, 12 R before the election, 23 D, 12 R after; control stayed with Democrats.
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Amendment 79 | Provide for a state constitutional right to abortion and repeal provision banning the use of public funds for abortions. This citizen-initiated measure was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 62.0% voting yes. | Passed (62% yes) |
| Amendment 80 | Provide that "each K-12 child has the right to school choice". This citizen-initiated measure was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters rejected it with only 49.0% voting yes. | Failed (49% yes) |
| Amendment G | Expands the property tax exemption for veterans with a disability to veterans with individual unemployability status. This legislatively referred constitutional amendment was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 73.0% voting yes. | Passed (73% yes) |
| Amendment H | Creates an independent judicial discipline adjudicative board and create rules for the judicial discipline process. This legislatively referred constitutional amendment was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 73.0% voting yes. | Passed (73% yes) |
| Amendment I | Remove the right to bail in cases of first-degree murder when the proof is evident or the presumption is great. This legislatively referred constitutional amendment was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 68.0% voting yes. | Passed (68% yes) |
| Amendment J | Remove the provision of the state constitution that says "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state". This legislatively referred constitutional amendment was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 64.0% voting yes. | Passed (64% yes) |
| Amendment K | Change deadlines for filing initiative and referendum petition signatures and judicial retention notice deadlines to remove one week in order to allow one extra week for the secretary of state to certify ballot order and content and election officials' deadline to transmit ballots. This legislatively referred constitutional amendment was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters rejected it with only 45.0% voting yes. | Failed (45% yes) |
| Proposition 127 | Prohibit trophy hunting, defined as "intentionally killing, wounding, pursuing, or entrapping a mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx; or discharging or releasing any deadly weapon at a mountain lion, bobcat, or lynx". This citizen-initiated measure was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters rejected it with only 45.0% voting yes. | Failed (45% yes) |
| Proposition 128 | Require that persons convicted of certain violent crimes serve more of their sentences before being eligible for parole. This citizen-initiated measure was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 62.0% voting yes. | Passed (62% yes) |
| Proposition 129 | Create the profession of veterinary professional associate (VPA) requiring a master's degree and registration with the state board of veterinary medicine. This citizen-initiated measure was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 53.0% voting yes. | Passed (53% yes) |
| Proposition 130 | Allocate state revenue to a new fund, called the Peace Officer Training and Support Fund, for law enforcement recruitment, retention, training, and death benefits. This citizen-initiated measure was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 53.0% voting yes. | Passed (53% yes) |
| Proposition 131 | Establish top-four primaries and ranked-choice voting (RCV) for federal and state offices in Colorado. This citizen-initiated measure was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters rejected it with only 46.0% voting yes. | Failed (46% yes) |
| Proposition JJ | Allow the state to retain tax revenue collected above $29 million annually from the tax on sports betting proceeds. This legislative referendum was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 76.0% voting yes. | Passed (76% yes) |
| Proposition KK | Levy a 6.5% excise tax on firearms and ammunition manufacturing and sales to be imposed on firearms dealers, manufacturers, and ammunition vendors and appropriating the revenue to the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax Cash Fund to be used to fund crime victim services programs, mental and behavioral health programs for children and veterans, and school security and safety programs. This legislative referendum was placed on the Colorado 2024 ballot. Voters approved it with 54.0% voting yes. | Passed (54% yes) |