Colorado Legislature Expected to Maintain Party Split, Democratic Dominance

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Going into the November election, the Colorado Democratic Party was looking to gain one seat in the state Senate to achieve a supermajority in the chamber. Meanwhile, the Republican Party was hoping to flip three seats in the state House of Representatives to break the supermajority hold Democrats gained there in the 2022 election.

They failed on both fronts. Based on unofficial election results from the Colorado Secretary of State's Office on November 6, the party split of both chambers will largely remain the same.

Only one House district looks like it could elect a candidate from a different political party: District 50, represented by Democrat Mary Young, is leaning toward her Republican challenger, Ryan Gonzalez, by fewer than sixty votes. If the tally stays that close, it will trigger an automatic recount and the official result won't be known for a while. Democrats will keep the supermajority regardless of the outcome, though it could shift the chamber to 45 Democrats and twenty Republicans, instead of the current 46 to nineteen.

In the Senate, District 12 is expected to flip from Republican to Democrat — but District 13 is expected to flip from Democrat to Republican, keeping the party split at 23 Democrats and twelve Republicans.

While Democrats again fell one seat short of securing a supermajority in both chambers, they held on to a near-historic dominance of the state government. In addition to controlling the Colorado Legislature, Democrats hold all statewide executive offices, both of the state's U.S. Senate seats and a majority of the U.S. House seats, for the strongest political majority Colorado has seen in 86 years.

“Coloradans have once again placed their trust in us, and I am grateful to the people of our state," says Democratic House Speaker Julie McCluskie. “They have elected an overwhelming Democratic majority to the House in similar numbers to what we won in 2018 and 2020, when we secured the largest Democratic majority since FDR. It's clear from the results that Coloradans believe we are the right people to lead our state forward.”

Democrats have not had a supermajority in the state Senate since 1938, which was also the last time the party had a supermajority in both chambers simultaneously. Republicans achieved this feat more recently, holding a supermajority in the Senate in 1990 and in both chambers in 1986.

By keeping control of twelve Senate seats, Republicans assure the necessity of bipartisan support in some legislative actions.

The legislature needs two-thirds approval from both chambers to override gubernatorial vetoes and to send constitutional amendments to voters. Based on the early election results, Democrats will still have to get at least one Senate Republican to vote with them to reach those thresholds.

That one vote has made a difference in the past. Earlier this year, Democrats brought forward a bill for a constitutional ballot measure that would have allowed lawsuits over child sexual abuse that occurred in the 2000s and earlier. Republicans blocked the measure when all twelve of the GOP senators voted against it, leaving Democrats a single vote short of the required supermajority.

"The last few election cycles have been rough, but we stopped the bleeding and are seeing a rebound," says Colorado GOP Chair Dave Williams. "Coloradans rejected Kent Thiry and Dick Wadhams’s rank [sic] choice voting scheme, defeated another hunting ban and expanded property tax relief to disabled veterans — while stopping radical Democrats from increasing their state legislative majorities."

The two Senate districts expected to change party representation — District 12 in El Paso and Teller counties and District 13 in Weld and Adams counties — both had new candidates this election, with their incumbent senators term-limited.

Democrat Marc Snyder, who currently serves in the House, is leading against Republican Stan VanderWerf in Senate District 12, 50 percent to 47 percent as of November 6. The district is represented by outgoing Republican Senator Bob Gardner.

In SD 13, Republican Scott Bright is beating Democrat Matt Johnston, 56 percent to 44 percent. That district is currently represented by Democratic Senator Kevin Priola.

House District 50 in Weld County could be the only true legislative loss for the Democratic Party. Incumbent Democrat Young is trailing Republican Gonzalez, 49.8 percent to 50.2 percent, with just 58 votes separating them. Young has represented the district since 2019.