Colorado’s Battleground Counties

Cory Gardner leads the polls, but Mark Udall wants to lead the counts. Seven Front Range counties provide the clearest framework to observe the race Election Night. They are the best indicators of where the race will be fought. The data came from the 2010 Michal Bennet vs. Ken Buck race for U.S. Senate.

Boulder and Denver provide the largest Democratic majorities among the state’s top 11 counties. Douglas and El Paso contribute the largest Republican majorities of the top counties. The swing counties that provide the closet results are Arapahoe, Jefferson and Larimer counties.

In 2010, Bennet carried the seven-county battleground area by 51 percent to 44 percent, and won statewide by two points.