Polarized Parties and Independent Voters

As Colorado’s political parties move to their respective corners, offering left and right positions on controversial issues and candidate with no compromise personal philosophies, the public is moving away from identifying with them and registering independent.

In the last decade, Republicans have struggled the most with the new reality, highly out of alignment with the middle of public opinion and issues, and inclined to nominate candidates who are either unwilling or unable to avoid extreme statements or signal a sense of moderation.

Voters who are unaffiliated dominate the Denver metro suburbs, which have been the problem counties for the Republican Party’s statewide candidates since 2004.

In the rest of the Front Range, unaffiliated voters are the largest bloc in Larimer, almost equal Republicans in Weld, and are growing in El Paso. Only Pueblo still has a dominant party, Democrats.

See The Colorado Observer: GOP maintains advantage over Dems in August voter registration numbers