Election Day has come and gone! Over 3.2 million Coloradans turned out to vote, though fewer turned out to vote than in 2020 and 2016 (80.02% of active voters cast a ballot this year vs. 86.54% in 2020 and 85.62% in 2016). Around 75% of voters in Colorado submitted their ballots before Election Day via a drop box.
Who won: Political Candidates and Judges
The big news is at the top of the ticket where former President Donald John Trump will be the 47th President of the United States. While Weld County voted for Trump over Harris 59.2% to 38.2%, Harris won the state and Colorado’s 10 electoral votes by an 11-point margin. Joining president-elect Trump in the White House will be his running mate Ohio Senator James David Vance assuming the role of Vice President.
While Colorado had no US Senate races this year, all eight Colorado representatives to the US House were contested: five seats had incumbent Democrats running while three were open seats, as all three currently serving Republican members chose not to run for re-election (Ken Buck of CO-4 resigned in April, Doug Lamborn of CO-5 retired, and Lauren Boebert of CO-3 moved to Windsor and ran for the CO-4 seat vacated by Buck). Colorado will have 4 Democratic representatives and 4 Republican representatives to the 119th Congress.
Republican challenger Gabe Evans won the US House congressional seat for Colorado District 8, which covers the tri-town area, over incumbent Democrat Yadira Caraveo. District 8 was added to Colorado as part of congressional redistricting after the 2020 census and was drawn by Colorado’s independent redistricting commission to be one of the most competitive seats in the nation. Evans won by less than 2,500 votes. Last election, Caraveo won over Republican Barbara Kirkmeyer by less than 2,000 votes, 48.4% to 47.7%. To try to boost Republican chances at the seat for this year, the Libertarian Party did not run a candidate and instead endorsed Evans, a ploy that seems to have worked.
Frederick has a new representative to the Colorado General Assembly as Republican Dan Woog won election to the House District 19 seat over challenger Democrat Jilliaire McMillan by only 123 votes. This was an open race, as incumbent freshman Democrat Jennifer Lea Parenti chose not to run for re-election after the June primary, which left the Democratic Party scrambling to find a nominee. Since the margin is under 2,000 votes, this result may be recounted.
Frederick’s state senator Republican Barbara Kirkmeyer easily won re-election as the representative of Colorado Senate District 35. While not technically running unopposed, Kirkmeyer’s only challenger was write-in candidate Joseph Babko, who ran for the Democratic Party without official endorsement because he would not agree to support the party platform. This will be Kirkmeyer’s second term in the General Assembly.
Democrats and Republicans won one of the two state education races each. Democrat Elliott Hood won the open at-large seat on the University of Colorado Board of Regents with 50.5% of the vote against three challengers. Republican Yazmin Navarro unseated Democrat Rhonda Solis in the race for the District 8 seat for the Colorado Board of Education: Navarro beat Solis by a 5-point margin after all the ballots were counted.
Not many changes came to Colorado Judicial District 19: Republican Michael J. Rourke has been re-elected as District Attorney after running unopposed, and all three District 19 judges—Anita Crowther, Allison Esser, and Todd Taylor—were retained by voters with margins over 55%. Colorado Court of Appeals judges Stephanie Dunn, Jerry Jones, W. Eric Kuhn, Gilbert Roman, and Timothy Schultz were also retained by voters, as were the three Colorado Supreme Court justices up for retention: Maria Berkentotter, Brian Boatright, and Monica Marquez.
Locally, Republican Perry L. Buck won her uncontested election to Weld County Commissioner at-large, and Republican Lynette “Kilpatrick” Peppler won her uncontested election to be Weld District 1 Commissioner. Republican Jeff Reck is Weld District 1’s new council member after defeating far-right opponent Trent Lane 62% to 38%.
Students living in Dacono have the same mayor for next term, as Adam Morehead won the mayoral election 72.6% to 27.3% against challenger Daniel Spagnuelo. Michelle Rodgers and Jeff Stainbrook were also elected to serve on the Dacono City Council.
What Won: Ballot Measures and Local Initiatives
Amendment G passed with a statewide vote of 73% yes and 27% no. Weld County voters supported the measure by a similar 41-point margin. Since this measure passed, more disabled military veterans in Colorado will have access to the 50% property tax deduction currently given to only “100% disabled” veterans.
Amendment H also passed with a statewide vote of 73% yes and 27% no. Weld County voters supported the measure by a 34-point margin. Since this measure passed, Colorado will introduce an Independent Judicial Discipline Adjunctive Board to govern and decide punishments in judicial ethics cases.
Amendment I passed with a statewide vote of 68% yes and 31% no. Weld County voters supported the measure by a slightly lower 32-point margin. Since this measure passed, first-degree murders in Colorado will no longer have the opportunity to receive bail while awaiting trial.
Amendment J passed with a statewide vote of 64% yes and 35% no. Weld County voters narrowly supported the measure by a 3-point margin. Since this measure passed, the 2006 language added to the Colorado Constitution forbidding same-sex marriage will be removed.
Amendment K did not pass with a statewide margin of 45% yes and 55% no. Weld County voters rejected the measure by a wide 25-point margin. Since the measure did not pass, deadlines for signature petition submissions, judges seeking retention, and providing ballot information to voters will not change.
Amendment 79 passed with a statewide vote of 61% yes and 38% no. Weld County voters rejected the measure by a narrow 0.9-point margin. Since this measure passed, the right to access abortion services and the possibility for the state to fund or reimburse for these services are now rights guaranteed by the Colorado Constitution.
Amendment 80 narrowly did not pass with a statewide vote of 49.32% yes and 50.68% no. Weld County voters supported the measure by a 10-point margin. Since this measure failed, a student’s right to attend any Colorado school regardless of where they live is still a state law but not a right guaranteed by the state constitution.
Proposition JJ passed with a statewide vote of 76% yes and 24% no. Weld County voters supported the measure by a similarly wide 40-point margin. Since this measure passed, Colorado will keep all of the taxes collected from sports betting instead of reimbursing revenues over $29 million back to the casinos.
Proposition KK passed with a statewide vote of 54% yes and 45% no. Weld County voters rejected the measure by a 17-point margin, or 26 points off from the state result. Since this measure passed, Colorado will levy a 6.5% tax on firearms, ammunition, arms manufacturing equipment, and gun parts, which will be collected from firearms dealers and manufacturers, starting on January 1. Gun rights advocates have already said that they will challenge the new tax in court.
Proposition 127 did not pass with a statewide vote of 45% yes and 55% no. Weld County voters also rejected the measure by a similar 29-point margin. Since this measure failed, mountain lion and bobcat hunting will continue in Colorado.
Proposition 128 passed with a statewide vote of 62% yes and 37% no. Weld County voters supported the measure by a 68-point margin. Since this measure passed, those convicted of violent crimes in state prisons must wait until 85% of their sentence is served before applying for parole with no time off for good behavior or continuing education.
Proposition 129 passed with a statewide vote of 53% yes and 47% no. Weld County voters rejected the measure by a narrow 2-point margin. Since this measure passed, Colorado will allow veterinary professional associates to provide vet care.
Proposition 130 also passed with a statewide vote of 53% yes and 47% no. Weld County voters supported the measure by a larger 14-point margin. Since this measure passed, a $350 million state fund will be available for grants to local police departments and survivors benefits for the families of fallen officers.
Proposition 131 did not pass with a statewide vote of 46% yes and 54% no. Weld County voters rejected the measure by a similar 11-point margin. Since this measure failed, Colorado will not adopt a statewide ranked choice voting system.
St. Vrain Valley Schools 5C passed with a vote of 73% yes and 26% no. Since this measure passed, St. Vrain Schools will go into nearly $750 million in voter-backed debt to build five new schools and upgrade existing buildings.
Carbon Valley Parks and Recreation District 6C did not pass with a vote of 61% no. Since the measure did not pass, the Carbon Valley Rec Center may not make its operating budget in 2026 and will continue to be overcrowded.
Statistics on Colorado vote counts and decisions come from the Colorado Secretary of State, the Weld County Clerk, and the Let’s Talk Elections projection website unless otherwise indicated.
This article was originally published at 12:20 p.m. on November 6, 2024, and was updated at 9:00 p.m. on November 16, 2024.
