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Colorado, State Senate, District 5

Colorado State Senate District 5
Current incumbentKerry Donovan Democratic Party

Colorado’s fifth state senate district is represented by Democratic Senator Kerry Donovan.

Colorado state senators represent an average of 143,691 residents. After the 2000 Census, each member represented 122,893 residents.

About the office

Members of the Colorado State Senate serve four-year terms with term limits. Colorado legislators assume office on first day of the first legislative session following the election.

Qualifications

Article 5, Section 4 of the Colorado Constitution states: "No person shall be a representative or senator who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, who shall not be a citizen of the United States, who shall not for at least twelve months next preceding his election, have resided within the territory included in the limits of the county or district in which he shall be chosen; provided, that any person who at the time of the adoption of this constitution, was a qualified elector under the territorial laws, shall be eligible to the first general assembly."

Salaries

State legislators
SalaryPer diem
$40,242/year85 percent of federal per diem for members living outside Denver; $45/day for members who live 50 or fewer miles from the capitol. Set by the legislature.

Term limits

Voters enacted the Colorado Term Limits Act in 1990. That initiative said that Colorado senators are subject to term limits of no more than two four-year terms.

Vacancies

In the event of any vacancy in the senate, the political party that holds the vacant seat is responsible for deciding a replacement. A vacancy committee consisting of members of the political party holding the vacant seat must conduct an election when deciding an appointee. A simple majority vote of members in the vacancy committee is needed to approve any appointment. The person selected to fill the vacancy serves until the next scheduled general election.

Elections

2020

Elections for the office of Colorado State Senate will take place in 2020. The general election will be held on November 3, 2020. A primary is scheduled for June 30, 2020. The filing deadline is March 17, 2020.

2018

General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 5

Incumbent Kerry Donovan (D) defeated Olen Lund (R) in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 5 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Kerry Donovan (D)
60.4
41,838

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Olen Lund (R)
39.6
27,375

Total votes: 69,213
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 5

Incumbent Kerry Donovan advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 5 on June 26, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Kerry Donovan (D)
100
13,707

Total votes: 13,707
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 5

Olen Lund advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 5 on June 26, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes

Silhouette Placeholder Image.png

Olen Lund (R)
100
9,796

Total votes: 9,796

2014

Elections for the Colorado State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 31, 2014. Kerry Donovan was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Don Suppes was unopposed in the Republican primary. Donovan defeated Suppes and Lee Mulcahy (L) in the general election.

Colorado State Senate, District 5, General Election, 2014

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngKerry Donovan 49% 27,526
Republican Don Suppes 46.7% 26,225
Libertarian Lee Mulcahy 4.2% 2,374
Total Votes 56,125

2010

Elections for the Colorado State Senate consisted of a primary election on August 10, 2010, and a general election on November 2, 2010. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 27, 2010. Incumbent Gail Schwartz defeated Robert E. Rankin (R) in the general election. Schwartz ran unopposed in the August 10 Democratic primary while Rankin defeated Wayne Wolf in the Republican primary.

Colorado State Senate, District 5, General Election, 2010

Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngGail Schwartz Incumbent 51.1% 26,355
Republican Robert E. Rankin 48.9% 25,269
Total Votes 51,624

Campaign contributions

From 2002 to 2014, candidates for Colorado State Senate District 5 raised a total of $1,074,362. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $82,643 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money.

Campaign contributions, Colorado State Senate District 5

Year Amount Candidates Average
2014 $297,145 3 $99,048
2012 $6,600 1 $6,600
2010 $296,330 2 $148,165
2008 $15,220 1 $15,220
2006 $347,971 2 $173,986
2004 $1,477 1 $1,477
2002 $88,518 2 $44,259
2000 $21,101 1 $21,101
Total $1,074,362 13 $82,643