The polls are closed, the ballots have been processed – the 2018 midterm election results are in. We survived Storm Election but in the aftermath, it’s clear: Colorado was struck by a powerful blue wave. The implications? Only time will tell.
Democrats dominated the midterm elections in Colorado, winning across the board and sweeping the Republicans in all four statewide races for the first time since 1936. Of seven congressional seats up for grabs, the Dems took four, one of which was captured from a Republican incumbent. In the State House of Representatives, Coloradan Democrats unseated two Republican incumbents and picked up two open seats, enhancing their majority to 41-24. The House results were somewhat predictable, as generally, incumbents and candidates in districts with voter registration leaning strongly in one political direction won their elections. Colorado Dems also managed to flip the State Senate to a 19-16 Democratic majority, capturing nine of the 17 seats that were up for grabs this midterm.
The 2018 midterm election results are historically significant for Coloradans. Among the list of milestones: Colorado voters elected the country’s first openly gay man to serve as governor, the first openly transgender person to serve in the state’s legislature, and a record number of Latinos to the state’s legislature.
Here are some of the highlights from the mid-term election in Colorado:
State Offices
- Governor/Lt. Governor – Jared Polis/Dianne Primavera (D) defeated Walker Stapleton/Lang Sias (R) by over 9% of the vote.
- Secretary of State – Incumbent Wayne Williams (R) conceded to Jena Griswold (D) in the only statewide race with an incumbent running for re-election.
- State Treasurer – Dave Young (D) took 51% of the vote, defeating Brian Watson (R)
- Attorney General – Phil Weiser (D) collected 1,056,974 votes to defeat George Brauchler (R)
State Senate
- SD 5 – Kerry Donovan (D) maintains her mountain/western slope seat
- SD 16 – Elect Tammy Story (D) upsets incumbent Sen. Tim Neville (R), representing the mountains of Boulder, Jefferson and Gilpin counties
SD 20 – Sen. Elect Jessie Danielson (D) captures 54% of the vote, defeating Christine Jensen (R) and taking term-limited Sen. Cheri Jahn’s (I) seat for the Dems. - SD 22 – Elect Brittany Pettersen (D) keeps Jefferson County’s seat blue, defeating Republican Tony Sanchez with 58% of the vote.
- SD 24 – Elect Faith Winter (D) upsets incumbent Sen. Martinez Humenik (R) in Adams County
State House of Representatives
- HD 37 – Elect Tom Sullivan (D) defeats the Republican incumbent, Rep. Cole Wist.
- HD 34 – Incumbent Rep. “Skinny” Winkler (R) is defeated by Elect Kyle Mullica (D).
- HD 50 – Elect Rochelle Galindo (D) takes 53% of the vote and Weld County’s open seat, defeating Republican Michael Thuener.
- HD 25 – Rep. Elect Lisa Cutter (D) defeats Steve Szutenbach (R), picking up Jefferson County’s open seat.
- HD 47 – Elect Bri Buentello (D) defeats Don Bendell (R), capturing just 0.96% more of the vote
- HD 27 – Elect Brianna Titonedefeats Vicki Pyne by 0.74% of total votes, becoming the first openly transgender person to be elected to Colorado’s legislature.
- HD 38 – Incumbent Susan Beckman (R) defeats Chris Kolker (D) by 1% of total votes.
U.S. Congress
Incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman (R) lost his bid for a sixth term in CD-6, giving Democrats four of Colorado’s seven congressional seats.
- District 1 – Diana DeGette (D) defeated Casper Stockham (R).
- District 2 – Joe Neguse (D) defeated Peter Yu (R).
- District 3 – Incumbent Scott R. Tipton (R) defeated Diane Mitsch Bush (D).
- District 4 – Ken Buck (R) won over Karen McCormick.
- District 5 – Doug Lamborn (R) beat Stephany Rose Spaulding (D).
- District 6 – Jason Crow (D) defeated incumbent Mike Coffman (R) with 54% of the vote.
- District 7 – Ed Perlmutter (D) took 60% of the vote to defeat Mark Barrington (R).
Statewide Ballot Measures
This year, Coloradans were asked to vote on nine proposed changes to the State Constitution (Amendments) and four potential new state laws (Propositions). Amendments need a supermajority, or 55% of votes cast, to pass. Propositions must receive a simple majority to become law.
- Amendment 73 a $1.6 billion school tax measure, was rejected by 54% of voters
- Amendment 74 was defeated with 54% opposition. This amendment would have allowed property owners to seek compensation from the government any time a government action or regulation devalued a person’s property.
- Propositions 109 and 110, both of which sought different means to get funding to improve Colorado’s roads, were rejected by voters by roughly the same margin: 40%-60%.
- Proposition 111 passed with 77% support, reducing the annual interest rate on payday loans to 36% and eliminated any other finance charges or fees connected to payday lending.
- Proposition 112 would expand setbacks for oil and gas drilling, failed.
- Amendment A passed with 66% support, formally removing slavery language from the state constitution.
- Amendment V would have lowered the eligible age to elect state legislators to 21, lost 64%-36%
- Amendment X passed 61%-39%, removing the definition of industrial hemp from the Colorado Constitution and instead, giving it the same meaning as defined in federal law or state statute.
- Amendments Y & Z both passed 71%-29%, creating one 12-member committee responsible for approving district maps for Colorado’s congressional districts and another 12-member committee responsible for the districts maps covering the State House and State Senate districts.
