Denver Metro Area Provides 65 Percent of Democrats’ 2014 Vote

Although Republicans made gains statewide, the Denver metro area continued to provide winning margins for Democrats. As expected, the seven Denver metro counties provided about 56 percent of the total statewide vote (about 1.1 million), but 65 percent of the Democratic vote. The seven metro counties supported Governor John Hickenlooper by 56 percent and Senator Mark Udall by 53 percent over their respective Republican rivals (Hickenlooper won statewide with 49% and Udall lost with 46%). Some metro residents split their ballot between Hickenlooper and Udall. Thirty-seven thousand more metro voters supported Hickenlooper than Udall.

Compared to Senator Michael Bennet’s 2010 election, Udall ran one percent (53%) behind Bennet (54%) in the metro area and Cory Gardner ran one percent (41%) better than Ken Buck (40%). Udall lost for a variety of reasons, but running behind Hickenlooper by 37,000 votes in the metro area (9,000 in Denver alone) was a major factor.

Denver (74%) and Boulder (68%) counties provided substantial margins for Hickenlooper. Arapahoe and Jefferson counties have shifted more firmly to the Democratic side of high-profile statewide elections while still electing numerous local Republicans, such as Congressman Coffman and county officials. Of the metro counties, Douglas is by far the most Republican. Adams, a traditionally Democratic county, provided the most interesting results. The county is undergoing significant demographic change and Republicans did much better than expected (also turnout was especially low).