Colorado has distinguished itself from its neighbors’ long histories of one-party control while maintaining a distinctive Western independence. The political perspective of the state has frequently been up for grabs, occasionally wobbling from one side to the other between election results, ever since Colorado voters shuffled the state’s house of representatives, trading in powerful legislative establishment candidates for politicians more in tune with the electorate’s starting to emerge anti-war and pro-environment feelings (Everett). Although Democrats have controlled statewide elections, Democratic and Republican contenders have been about equally likely to win the national vote in presidential and senatorial contests.
When a sizable majority of the voting public refused an already-awarded Olympic Games, Colorado accomplished something that has never been attempted ever before. The unusual action helped Colorado break away from its more conservative Rocky Mountain counterparts and moved the state from the more conservative politics of the preceding decade (Everett). Additionally, it brought into focus the ongoing conflict between the state’s desire for economic expansion and environmental concerns. A Wisconsin expatriate who had relocated to Colorado a decade earlier in order to be closer to the mountains was thrown into the political limelight by the Citizens for Colorado’s Future election, making him a rising celebrity statewide.
It is difficult to describe how swiftly the Democrats’ upheaval caused Colorado’s political winds to change. The Democratic National Convention will be held in Denver, which would put the city at the heart of politics and solidify the state’s standing as a battlefield. The party had reconquered the governor’s office, and national Democrats had chosen Denver as the host city (Everett). Colorado served as the decisive state for the first time, providing the victorious candidate for president with more electoral college votes than the necessary 270 people majority.
Work Cited
Everett, Derek. The Colorado State Capitol: History, Politics, Preservation. University Press of Colorado, 2018.