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Former Army Ranger Jason Crow (D) defeated incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman (R) in the general election for Colorado's 6th District on November 6, 2018.
All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.
Coffman was first elected in 2009. Although he won re-election by a margin of victory of two points in 2012, he gained victory with a margin of at least eight points in the the two elections leading up to 2018. But this Democratic-leaning district also supported Hillary Clinton (D) over Donald Trump (R) by nine points in the 2016 presidential election. The race received national attention since before the primaries, and political analyst Eric Sondermann theorized in August 2018 that "whichever party wins this district will control Congress come January."
Third party and independent candidates included Kat Martin (L), Dan Chapin (Unaffiliated), and write-in candidate Christopher Allen (G).
Colorado's 6th Congressional District election, Crow vs. Coffman
| Poll | Poll sponsor | Jason Crow | Mike Coffman | Undecided | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYT Upshot/Siena College October 13-17, 2018 | The New York Times | 47% | 38% | 9% | +/-4.5 | 506 |
| Normington Petts September 18-23, 2018 | End Citizens United | 49% | 38% | 13% | +/-4.9 | 400 |
| NYT Upshot/Siena College September 12-14, 2018 | The New York Times | 51% | 40% | 9% | +/-4.8 | 500 |
| The Tarrance Group September 11-13, 2018 | Coffman campaign | 46% | 45% | 9% | +/-4.9 | 400 |
Colorado's 6th Congressional District election, Crow vs. Coffman
| Poll | Poll sponsor | Jason Crow | Mike Coffman | Margin of Error | Sample Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling February 15-18, 2018 | End Citizens United | 44% | 39% | +/-3.6 | 751 |
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Crow | Democratic Party | $5,712,547 | $5,667,236 | $45,310 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Mike Coffman | Republican Party | $3,755,888 | $3,755,888 | $0 | As of December 31, 2018 |
| Mike Coffman | Republican Party | $51,432 | $68,045 | $0 | As of February 28, 2017 |
| Dan Chapin | Unaffiliated | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available |
| Kat Martin | Libertarian Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018.
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Colorado from 2000 to 2016.
This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Colorado every year from 2000 to 2016.
Election results (President of the United States), Colorado 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Hillary Clinton |
48.2% |  Donald Trump |
43.3% | 4.9% |
| 2012 | Barack Obama |
51.5% | Mitt Romney |
46.1% | 5.4% |
| 2008 | Barack Obama |
53.7% | John McCain |
44.7% | 9.0% |
| 2004 | George W. Bush |
51.7% | John Kerry |
47.0% | 4.7% |
| 2000 | George W. Bush |
50.8% | Al Gore |
42.4% | 8.4% |
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Colorado from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
Election results (U.S. Senator), Colorado 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Michael Bennet |
50.0% | Darryl Glenn |
44.3% | 5.7% |
| 2014 | Cory Gardner |
48.2% | Mark Udall |
46.3% | 1.9% |
| 2010 | Michael Bennet |
48.1% | Ken Buck |
46.4% | 1.7% |
| 2008 | Mark Udall |
52.8% | Bob Schaffer |
42.5% | 10.3% |
| 2004 | Ken Salazar |
50.4% | Pete Coors |
45.7% | 4.7% |
| 2002 | Wayne Allard |
50.1% | Tom Strickland |
45.2% | 4.9% |
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Colorado, and take place in even-numbered years between presidential elections.
Election results (Governor), Colorado 2000-2016
| Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | John Hickenlooper |
49.3% | Bob Beauprez |
46.0% | 3.3% |
| 2010 | John Hickenlooper |
51.1% |  Tom Tancredo |
36.4% | 14.7% |
| 2006 | Bill Ritter |
56.0% | Bob Beauprez |
39.5% | 16.5% |
| 2002 | Bill Owens |
61.7% | Rollie Heath |
33.2% | 28.5% |
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Colorado in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
Congressional delegation, Colorado 2000-2016
| Year | Republicans | Republicans (%) | Democrats | Democrats (%) | Balance of power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 |
57.1% | 3 |
42.9% | R+1 |
| 2014 | 4 |
57.1% | 3 |
42.9% | R+1 |
| 2012 | 4 |
57.1% | 3 |
42.9% | R+1 |
| 2010 | 4 |
57.1% | 3 |
42.9% | R+1 |
| 2008 | 2 |
28.6% | 5 |
71.4% | D+3 |
| 2006 | 3 |
42.9% | 4 |
57.1% | D+1 |
| 2004 | 4 |
57.1% | 3 |
42.9% | R+1 |
| 2002 | 5 |
71.4% | 2 |
28.6% | R+3 |
| 2000 | 4 |
66.7% | 2 |
33.3% | R+2 |
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Colorado Party Control: 1992-2019
Seven years of Democratic trifectas • Four years of Republican trifectas
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D |
| House | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Demographic data for Colorado
| Colorado | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 5,448,819 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 103,642 | 3,531,905 |
| Gender | ||
| Female: | 49.8% | 50.8% |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 84.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 4% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.9% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 3.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 21.1% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.7% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 38.1% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $60,629 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 13.5% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Colorado. | ||
As of July 2017, Colorado had a population of approximately 5.6 million people, and its two largest cities were Denver (pop. est. 719,000) and Colorado Springs (pop. est. 484,000).
