Could Coloradans find a path beyond partisan politics by electing more unaffiliated candidates to office?
unaffiliated voters
Jim Morrissey: With big unaffiliated turnout in primary, who’s guiding the GOP?
More cartoons from The Colorado Sun.
Unaffiliated voters this year cast more ballots in Colorado Republican primaries than ever before
Unaffiliated voters in Colorado, who make up 45% of the state’s electorate, have been able to cast ballots in partisan primaries for three election cycles. But they have never voted in a Republican primary as they did in 2022. More than 231,000 unaffiliated voters cast Republican primary ballots this year, about 100,000 more than chose […]
Nicolais: Colorado’s unaffiliated voters flex their primary muscle to reject extremists
Colorado primaries have come and gone, and the November general election has officially begun. The state GOP avoided its nightmare scenario and Democrats have already pivoted from attempts to manipulate Republican voters into attacks on the victorious candidates. Even as the two major parties begin battering each other, the role of unaffiliated voters still deserves […]
Opinion: Ol’ Abe wouldn’t recognize the GOP
In the early 1960s, Ronald Reagan switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, famously noting, “I didn’t leave my party. My party left me.” The same hollow feeling of abandonment is now felt within the Gipper’s party as many conservative Americans no longer see themselves in the contemporary Republican Party. Republican leadership has slowly […]
Nicolais: Republicans suing to bar unaffiliated voters from Colorado’s primaries aren’t on the fringe of the party
In 2020, I voted in my first Democratic primary. I am unaffiliated and received ballots for both major parties. The Democratic ballot had more choices and more at stake. This year, I planned to vote in the Republican primary if only to stand against Tina Peters’ campaign to kill democracy. If a group of Republicans […]
Lauren Boebert is known for her far-right Republican views. But Republicans alone didn’t send her to Congress.
Lauren Boebert is best known for her far-right Republican views. But it wasn’t Republicans who were solely responsible for sending the Garfield County woman to Congress, a Colorado Sun analysis of voter registration data and the 2020 election results shows. Unaffiliated voters, who since at least February 2019 have made up the largest voting bloc […]
5 numbers that show why 2020 was never going to be an easy year for Cory Gardner in Colorado
Six years ago, Cory Gardner and John Hickenlooper appeared on the same ballot. In the U.S. Senate race, Gardner — then a congressman — upset a Democratic incumbent senator in a strong Republican year. In the governor’s race, Hickenlooper beat back a GOP challenger to win his second term. Plenty of similarities exist between the […]
In 2016, more than 24,000 ballots in Colorado didn’t count. Here are 6 graphics that explain why.
In the 2016 election, 24,189 Colorado voters cast ballots that did not count. It’s a small fraction of the 2.86 million votes tallied, about 0.8%, according to data from the state. But it’s still a notable sum in a state that bills itself as one of the easiest places to vote. The most alarming number: […]
Donald Trump’s Colorado troubles are evident in his poll numbers, new analysis shows
President Donald Trump’s approval ratings in Colorado fluctuated often since he took office, but an analysis of two dozen polls over four years shows his numbers never greatly improved. The Republican started his term with 45% approval and 44% disapproval in Colorado, one poll found, the first and only time he stood in positive territory. […]