Independents Could Decide Colorado’s Senate Race

The percentage of voters registering independent (unaffiliated in Colorado) or stating their independent status to pollsters has surged in recent years. It is a reflection of America’s dissatisfaction with government and belief that both parties are to blame.

Independents are now the largest bloc of voters in Colorado. From Barack Obama’s first election to today’s midterm, unaffiliated voter registration in Colorado has increased 40 percent.

Today, 37 percent of registered voters are unaffiliated. However, they are an even larger bloc of inactive voters. They tend to vote less frequently.

Normally, in polls of likely voters they are the smallest group in the sample, typically between a quarter and 30 percent. Because of Colorado’s population growth since 2008, overall voter registration has increased more than 411,000 voters.