Historically, Colorado has been one of the most Republican states in the nation. Before 2008, Colorado had not voted Democrat in any presidential election, except in 1992 when Bill Clinton won by a plurality due to Ross Perot’s candidacy, and in 1964, when Lyndon B. Johnson won in a landslide. However, increasing urbanization in the Front Range, along with the growth of the number of Latinos in the state (Latinos make up 21.5 percent of the state’s entire population), has reversed Republican dominance in Colorado. And after two decades of sustained investment in a strong progressive infrastructure of organizations and leaders, Colorado is now a state where Democrats have won all four statewide elections since 2016.

In 2016 Hillary Clinton defeated Trump by 5 percentage points in Colorado, with 48.2 percent of the vote. Clinton won by running up the margins in the rapidly growing metro areas of the state: Denver and Colorado Springs. In recent years, Colorado has become a swing state with a Partisan Voting Index rating of D+1. It has one U.S. Senator from each party, a federal Congressional delegation that is currently 4 Democrats and 3 Republicans and a Democratic governor. Mobilization among Democratic Low Propensity Voters (LPVs) and Mid-High Propensity Voters (MHVs) will continue this trend.

As a result of the 2018 election, Democrats established trifecta control of Colorado state government. Democrat Jared Polis won the governorship with 53.4 percent of the vote. The Democrats also won the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer and the Attorney General elections. After the 2018 elections, Democrats took control of the State Senate (19 Dems to 16 Republicans) and increased their majority in the state House (41 Democrats to 24 Republican).

Governor Polis will be involved in the state’s redistricting process following the 2020 Census. In Colorado, the state legislature draws the new maps for U.S. House seats after the census is completed, and the governor has the power to veto those district map proposals.