The November 3, 2020, election in Colorado looked different from the elections that took place in many other states across the nation. While key Republicans held their ground in supposedly competitive races across the country, Colorado Democrats rode yet another substantial blue wave.
There were exceptions, however: Say hello to U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert.
The results of Colorado's election aren't yet official, but as of 4:30 a.m. November 4, when the latest update was shared by the Colorado Secretary of State's Office, the vast majority of votes are in, with county tallies typically in the 80 to 90 percent range. At that time, 2,953,577 votes had been cast among 3,780,115 active voters, for an astonishing 78.13 percent turnout.
The contest for president in Colorado was no contest: Joe Biden won this state easily, with more than 55 percent of the vote compared to Trump's 41 percent-plus. A bevy of hopefuls divided the remaining crumbs, and despite the importance of the outcome, a degree of joke voting appears to have persisted — unless 6,254 Coloradans were serious about wanting Kanye West to become Commander-in-Chief.
Likewise, former governor John Hickenlooper crushed Republican incumbent Cory Gardner to become Colorado's latest U.S. Senator; the current margin between the two is currently just under 10 percent.
The races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, meanwhile, generally followed form. The 3rd Congressional District, where Boebert had ousted incumbent Scott Tipton in the primary, has been considered safe GOP territory for at least a decade, and that proved true again despite a fiery campaign by Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush.
However, things changed with the University of Colorado Board of Regents, where Democrats will be in the majority after many years of Republican control.
Of the eleven ballot measures considered by voters, ten are leading in the current county, with one outright rejected: Proposition 115, yet another attempt to limit abortions. But Proposition 114, which would allow the reintroduction of gray wolves on public lands, holds such a slender lead that it can't be considered a lock.
Here are the numbers as of 4:30 a.m. for both candidates and the issues (brief descriptions courtesy of Ballotpedia). Click to see results for Colorado state senate and house races.
Presidential Electors
Joseph R. Biden/Kamala D. Harris — 55.79 percent
Donald J. Trump/Michael R. Pence — 41.76 percent
Don Blankenship/William Mohr — 0.15 percent
Bill Hammons/Eric Bodenstab — 0.08 percent
Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker — 0.25 percent
Blake Huber/Frank Atwood — 0.01 percent
Jo Jorgenson/Jeremy "Spike" Cohen — 1.45 percent
Brian Carroll/Amar Patel — 0.07 percent
Mark Charles/Adrian Wallace — 0.06 percent
Phil Collins/Billy Joe Parker — 0.02 percent
Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente/Darcy G. Richardson — 0.02 percent
Dario Hunter/Dawn Neptune Adams — 0.01 percent
Princess Khadijah Maryam Jacob-Fambro/Khadijah Maryam Jacob Sr. — 0.01 percent
Alyson Kennedy/Malcolm Jarrett — 0.01 percent
Joseph Kishore/Norissa Santa Cruz — 0.01 percent
Kyle Kenley Kopitke/Nathan Re Vo Sorenson — 0.02 percent
Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman — 0.03 percent
Joe McHugh/Elizabeth Storm — 0.02 percent
Brock Pierce/Karla Ballard — 0.02 percent
Jordan "Cancer" Scott/Jennifer Tepool — 0.0 percent
Kanye West/Michelle Tidball — 0.21 percent
United States Senator
John W. Hickenlooper — 53.86 percent
Cory Gardner — 44.04 percent
Daniel Doyle — 0.29 percent
Stephan "Seku" Evans — 0.24 percent
Raymond Anthony Doane — 1.57 percent
United States Representative, District 1
Shane Bolling — 22.61 percent
Diana DeGette — 75.12 percent
Paul Noel Fiorino — 0.45 percent
Jan Kok — 0.27 percent
Kyle Furey — 1.56 percent
United States Representative, District 2
Joe Neguse — 61.86 percent
Charlie Winn — 35.26 percent
Thom Atkinson — 2.43 percent
Gary Swing — 0.45 percent
United States Representative, District 3
Lauren Boebert — 51.09 percent
Diane E. Mitsch Bush — 45.66 percent
John Ryan Keil — 2.30 percent
Critter Milton — 0.95 percent
United States Representative, District 4
Ian McCorkle — 37.03 percent
Ken Buck — 59.94 percent
Bruce Griffith — 2.14 percent
Laura Ireland — 0.88 percent
United States Representative, District 5
Doug Lamborn — 57.25 percent
Lillian Freeland — 38.48 percent
Ed Duffett — 2.88 percent
Rebecca Keltie — 0.65 percent
Marcus Allen Murphy — 0.75 percent
United States Representative, District 6
Steve House — 39.67 percent
Jason Crow — 57.66 percent
Jaimie Lynn Kulikowski — 0.78 percent
Norm Olson — 1.88 percent
United States Representative, District 7
Charles "Casper" Stockham — 37.36 percent
Ed Perlmutter — 59.49 percent
David Olszta — 0.52 percent
Ken Biles — 2.63 percent
State Board of Education, District 1
Sydnnia Wulff — 22.55 percent
Lisa Escarcega — 74.57 percent
Zachary Laddison —0.48 percent
Alan Hayman — 2.40 percent
State Board of Education, District 3
Mayling Simpson — 45.30 percent
Joyce Rankin — 54.70 percent
State Board of Education, District 7
Karla Esser —62.31 percent
Nancy Pallozzi — 37.69 percent
Regent of the University of Colorado, District 2
Callie Rennison — 59.94 percent
Dick R. Murphy — 36.24 percent
Christian Vernaza — 3.82 percent
Regent of the University of Colorado, District 6
Richard Murray — 44.24 percent
Ilana Spiegel — 53.72 percent
Christopher E. Otwell — 2.04 percent
Regent of the University of Colorado, District 7
Nolbert Chavez — 100 percent
Amendment B (Constitutional)
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 percent of the total share of state property taxes and non-residential property taxes amounted to 55 percent of the total share of state property taxes,
Yes — 57.47 percent
No — 42.53 percent
Amendment C (Constitutional)
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.
Yes — 51.72 percent
No — 48.28 percent
Amendment 76 (Constitutional)
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.
Yes — 62.65 percent
No — 37.35 percent
Amendment 77 (Constitutional)
Allows voters in Central City, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek to vote to expand allowed gaming types and bet limits.
Yes — 59.77 percent
No — 40.23 percent
Proposition EE (Statutory)
Increases taxes on tobacco, creates a new tax on nicotine products such as e-cigarettes; dedicates funds to education and health programs.
Yes — 68.08 percent
No — 31.92 percent
Proposition 113 (Statutory)
Adds Colorado to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, awarding Colorado's electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote.
Yes — 52.39 percent
No — 47.61 percent
Proposition 114 (Statutory)
Reintroduces gray wolves on public lands.
Yes — 50.17 percent
No — 49.83 percent
Proposition 115 (Statutory)
Prohibits abortion after 22 weeks gestational age.
Yes — 40.93 percent
No — 59.07 percent
Proposition 116 (Statutory)
Decreases the state income tax rate from 4.63 percent to 4.55 percent.
Yes — 56.99 percent
No — 43.01 percent
Proposition 117 (Statutory)
Requires voter approval of new enterprises that are exempt from TABOR if their revenue is greater than $50 million within its first five years.
Yes — 52.28 percent
No — 47.72 percent
Proposition 118 (Statutory)
Establishes a program for paid medical and family leave.
Yes — 57.04 percent
No — 42.95 percent