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Jared Polis speaks at a campaign event for Colorado Democrats in Denver's Washington Park on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

The unofficial final election report from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office shows even worse news for Republicans than initially thought. 

Democrat Jared Polis defeated Republican Walker Stapleton in the governor’s race by 10.7 percentage points, well above the 7-point margin touted on election night.

The late boost in Democratic votes was expected because the party’s voters tend to turn in their ballots at the end. But now the wider margins of victory give Democrats more room to claim the contest was a strong endorsement of their agenda.

It’s also more fodder for Republicans to ponder as they look to pick apart what went wrong this cycle. 

The numbers are not official until the election is certified Nov. 28, but the results are not expected to significantly change the percentages of victory and defeat for candidates. 

Here’s the results: 

Governor’s race

Jared Polis speaks at a campaign event for Colorado Democrats in Denver’s Washington Park on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

6th Congressional District race

U.S. Rep.-elect Jason Crow joined the Denver Protest to Protect Robert Mueller on the west steps of the Colorado statehouse on Nov. 8, 2018. (Marvin Anani, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Attorney general’s race

Democrat Phil Weiser, who was elected Colorado attorney general, speaks at La Rumba in Denver on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

Treasurer’s race

State Rep. Dave Young, a Democrat who was elected Colorado treasurer, at a Highlands Ranch event in September 2018. (Marvin Anani, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Secretary of State’s race

Jena Griswold, who was elected Colorado secretary of state, at a Highlands Ranch event in September 2018. (Marvin Anani, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Overall voter turnout

Voters cast ballots at Denver’s 14th Avenue and Bannock Street polling station on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

  • The overall turnout among the 3.9 million registered voters in Colorado was 65.2 percent.
  • The turnout by voting-eligible population was 62.7 percent.
  • Colorado ranked second in the nation in terms of voting-eligible behind Minnesota at 64.3 percent.

Other statistics to note

  • 95 percent of Coloradans voted by mail, and 5 percent voted in person.
  • Of the 120,949 Coloradans who voted in person, 91,119 did so on Election Day Nov. 6. Another 452 Coloradans voted provisionally.

John Frank is a former Colorado Sun staff writer. He left the publication in January 2021.

Jesse Paul is a Denver-based political reporter and editor at The Colorado Sun, covering the state legislature, Congress and local politics. He is the author of The Unaffiliated newsletter and also occasionally fills in on breaking news coverage. A...