Democrats sweep Election Day to take control of Colorado

Democrats have won control of the Colorado Senate, giving them unified control of state government and establishing a solid blue outpost in the Mountain West region.

Democrats maintained control of the House and the governor’s mansion — which will be occupied by Jared Polis, soon to be the nation’s first openly gay governor.

And by flipping the state Senate from red to blue, Democrats will now control all three seats of state government.

What’s more, Democrats pulled off a total statewide sweep by winning the races for attorney general, state treasurer, and secretary of state.

For years, the Republican-controlled Colorado Senate had stymied Democratic efforts to pass progressive legislation, such as paid family leave, common-sense gun reform, banning gay conversion therapy, and allowing cities and counties to raise their minimum wages above the state level.

Republicans had just a one-seat margin in the Senate when Democrats, anchored by five women running in key toss-up districts, set their sights on taking the upper chamber.

And yesterday, riding a Trump backlash, all five women won: Kerry Donovan, Tammy Story, Beth Winter, Brittany Pettersen and Jessie Danielson.

Most of them won easily, in fact. And Democrats are now poised to shift from a one-seat deficit in the Senate to a three-seat advantage.

The defeat of Republican Tim Neville in District 16 was noteworthy because for years, the arch-conservative had managed to defeat Democrats despite representing a moderate suburban district.

That streaked ended on Tuesday when Neville lost to education advocate Tammy Story — and Trump is likely to blame.

Most Colorado independents disdain Trump; his approval rating among independent voters is a dismal 32 percent.

The Colorado Senate flip was also part of a larger pattern of Democrats flipping state legislative chambers nationwide.

Democrats have *flipped* 7 state legislative chambers and 333 seats, adding 6 more trifectas (gov+both chambers), per DLCC.

Few ever pay attention to these races, but they’re important for redistributing and waves can be leveraged for major gains.

— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) November 7, 2018

The GOP’s loss in Colorado represents a major setback for oil and gas companies and the billionaire Koch brothers, all of whom spent heavily this campaign season to try to keep Democrats from winning the Senate.

But Democrats countered with huge local fundraising totals and strong candidates — and Colorado voters embraced a bold, progressive agenda by sweeping Republicans out of power.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.