2024 Election Recap

Rees Consulting and Public Affairs, Inc

Effective Governmental Affairs

While Election 2024 is complete there was an unexpected issue that popped up. Colorado Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, found herself in the hot seat when it was discovered that there was a possible password breach from her office. More than 30 counties were affected. The timing couldn’t be worse. The governor sent cyber experts to update the machines and declared the issue was resolved.

A surprise is that Donald Trump won the presidency with 277 electoral votes and even more surprising, he won the popular vote. He won every battleground state. Pundits are saying the Latino and African-American vote

Former President Trump will assume office in January.

Republicans also regained control in the United States Senate.

Lauren Boebert’s extreme efforts to retain a seat in Congress paid off by her win last night in Congressional District 3.  Republican Jeff Hurd is holding a narrow lead over Adam Frisch in Boebert’s former district, and Frisch conceded Wednesday.  The 8th Congressional District race between Yadira Caraveo and Gabe Evans also remains too close to be called, however Caraveo is expected retain her seat.

Colorado Democrats held onto their majorities at the Statehouse.  Republican Sen. Cleave Simpson successfully defended his seat, and Republican Rep. Marc Catlin holds the lead in his race.  In the House, a few tight races remain too close to call, but Democrats appear to be holding their current supermajority.

COLORADO CONGRESSIONAL RACES

• 1^st Congressional – Congresswoman Dianna DeGette continues her tenure in Congress by winning a 15^th term is the safe Denver Democrat seat.
• 2^nd Congressional – Congressman Joe Neguse was reelected to a fourth term in his Boulder County-based seat.
• 3^rd Congressional – Jeff Hurd holds a narrow lead over Adam Frisch.
• 4^th Congressional – Controversial Congresswoman Lauren Boebert moved from the 3^rd Congressional district to the 4^th district when it was evident that voters in the 3^rd district were not happy with her. She topped five other candidates in a Republican primary last summer to remain in Congress.
• 5^th Congressional – Jeff Crank was victorious in the Republican primary for this El Paso County-based seat being vacated by Congressman Doug Lambert. Crank faced controversial GOP leader Dave Williams in the primary. Crank is the projected winner.
• 6^th Congressional – Congressman Jason Crow was reelected to a fourth term.
• 7^th Congressional – Jefferson County Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen won her second term to Congress.
• 8^th Congressional – Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo faced State Representative Gabe Evans in one of the closest races in the nation. The seat is only two years old and more than $20 million was spent. Despite the race being too close to call, Caraveo is expected to retain her seat.

State-level super PACs reported spending nearly $13 million on Colorado House and Senate races. 

COLORADO STATE SENATE TARGETED RACES

Senate Democrats hold a 23-12 majority in the Senate, one seat shy of a supermajority.  They went into Election Day defending two competitive seats and trying to pick up three others.  Closely watched Senate races are listed below.

District 5 – Delta, Eagle, Gunnison, Garfield, Hinsdale, Montrose and Pitkin counties

Marc Catlin (R) – WINNER (52% over 48%)
www.catlinforcolorado.com

Cole Buerger (D)
https://www.coleforcolorado.org/

District 6 – Alamosa, Archuleta, Conejos, Costilla, Dolores, La Plata, Mineral, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Rio, Grande, Saguache, San Juan and San Miguel Counties

Cleave Simpson (R) – WINNER (56% over 44%)
https://www.simpsonforcolorado.com/

Vivian Smotherman (D)
https://www.votevivian.org/

District 12 – El Paso and Teller Counties

Marc Snyder (D) – WINNER (50% over 47%)
www.snyderforcolorado.com

Stan VanderWerf (R)
https://www.stanvanderwerfcoloradosenate.com/

District 13 – Adams and Weld counties

Scott Bright (R) – WINNER (56% over 44%)
https://scottbrightcoloradosenate.com/

Matt Johnston (D)
https://www.mattjohnstonforsenate.com/

District 16 – Arapahoe and Jefferson counties

Chris Kolker (D) – WINNER (52% over 48%)
https://www.kolkerforcolorado.com/

Robyn Carnes (R)
https://carnesforcolorado.com/

COLORADO STATE HOUSE TARGETED RACES

Colorado House Democrats went into Election Day with the goal to keep their supermajority in the state House and achieve a supermajority in the state Senate, which would allow them to refer constitutional amendments to the ballot without Republican support.  Democrats have a 46-19 supermajority in the House. That means they could only afford to lose two seats to keep their two-thirds advantage in the chamber.  Republicans identified five targeted seats – they are listed below:

District 16 – El Paso County – TOO CLOSE TO CALL

Stephanie Vigil (D) – WINNER (51%)
www.stephanievigil.com

Rebecca Keltie (R) (49%)
https://rebeccakeltie.com/

District 19 – Boulder and Weld counties

Dan Woog (R) (48%)
www.woogforhd19.com

Anil Pesaramelli (D) – WINNER (52%)
https://www.facebook.com/anilkiran/

District 25 – Jefferson County

George Mumma (R) (48%)
https://www.helpgeorgewin.com/

Tammy Story (D) – WINNER (52%)
www.story4co.com

District 38 – Arapahoe and Jefferson counties

Gretchen Rydin (D) – WINNER (55%)
https://www.gretchenforcolorado.com/

Jeffrey Patty (R) (45%)
https://jeffpattyforcolorado.com/

District 43 – Douglas County

Robert “Bob” Marshall (D)  — WINNER (51%)
www.bob4colorado.com

Matthew Burcham (R) (49%)
https://mattburcham4co.com/

District 50 – Weld County – TOO CLOSE TO CALL WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE REPORTING GONZALEZ 64 VOTES AHEAD OF YOUNG

Mary Young (D) (50%)
https://maryyoungforcolorado.com/

Ryan Gonzalez (R) (50%)
www.ryanforco.com

COLORADO 2024 BALLOT MEASURES

There were 14 statewide ballot measures on this November’s ballot which were evenly split between seven measures referred by the state legislature and seven brought forth by citizens through the initiative process.  Some of the measures were on the ballot because the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requires voter approval for new taxes, tax rate increases, extensions of expiring taxes, mill levy increases, valuation for property assessment increases, or tax policy changes resulting in increased tax revenue. Several required voter approval because they would add language to the Colorado Constitution. Others would clean up current laws. Many of the state’s proposed ballot measures remain too close to be called.  Colorado voters approved a 6.5 percent excise tax on firearms/ammunition (Proposition KK) and rejected Proposition 131, but Proposition JJ passed which will allow the state to keep sports betting tax revenue.  Coloradans also voted to remove the state’s prohibition on same-sex marriage and approved the abortion measure (Amendment 79).

• Prop JJ–allows the state to retain all sports betting tax revenue and direct those funds to the state water plan. Currently, the state is only authorized to retain $29 million a year, but sports betting revenue has recently exceeded that amount. This measure is not controversial and is supported by the sports betting and gaming industry.
• Prop KK– imposes an excise tax on firearms and ammunition to fund crime victim services, including services for survivors of domestic violence; mental health services for veterans and youth; and school security programs. This measure is strongly supported by House Majority Leader Monica Duran, a domestic violence survivor.
• Amendment G– reduces property taxes for “unemployable” disabled veterans by expanding the homestead exemption. Current law only extends the homestead exemption to veterans whose disability is rated as 100% permanent and total. This measure would cost the state approximately $1.8 million.
• Amendment H– creates a new judicial discipline process that would include an independent board to hear and impose disciplinary actions and increase public sharing of disciplinary actions. Both the state legislature and the judicial branch agreed to these changes and have formally supported the amendment, but the measure requires voter approval because it makes changes to the Constitution. The impetus for reform stems from recent news and reports regarding alleged corruption in the judicial branch.
• Amendment I– restores judges’ ability to deny bail to people charged with first degree murder under certain circumstances. After Colorado repealed the death penalty, which is where the exception to the bail requirement for first degree murder was located, the law was in flux for several years due to differing interpretations by courts. Even if the amendment passes, judges could still only deny bail under a high legal standard.
• Amendment J– repeals the section of the Colorado Constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The amendment safeguards the civil right of same-sex couples to marry under Colorado law should the Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade, place in jeopardy the court’s opinion in Obergefell, which declared laws prohibiting same-sex marriage unconstitutional.
• Amendment K– would have moved some election deadlines one week earlier to lessen the pre-election crunch on collecting and challenging signatures for citizen initiatives and publication deadlines of the same, as well as filings from judges for their retention elections. This amendment is thus administrative in nature.
• Proposition 127– would have prohibited the hunting of bobcat, lynx and mountain lions. Although framed as banning “trophy hunting,” the measure would, in fact, ban all forms of hunting these wild cats.  Failed.
• Proposition 128– increases the amount of time an incarcerated individual would be required to serve on certain violent crimes from 75% to 85% of their sentence before the offender could be eligible for parole.
• Proposition 129– establishes a veterinary professional associate position to provide services under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. This measure was brought by those in the animal welfare community after the veterinarian association defeated legislation several years in a row.
• Proposition 130– requires the state to provide $350 million in funding, to be spent over several years, to recruit and retain more police officers. It also would provide a $1 million death benefit to the family of each state and local police officer killed in the line of duty.
• Proposition 131– would have established an all-candidate open primary election for particular offices, where the top four vote getters advance to the general election. The general election would then be conducted via instant runoff voting. Similar efforts are being concurrently pursued in multiple other states.
• Amendment 79– establishes a constitutional right to abortion in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Similar measures have been proposed in other states.
• Amendment 80– would have established a constitutional right to school choice. Although the measure itself would not do this, the measure was likely proposed to lay groundwork for a voucher system for private and parochial schools that has been rejected by voters in the past.

DENVER BALLOT MEASURES OF INTEREST

• Fur ban was a proposed measure that sought to ban the sale and production of fur products within the City of Denver. If passed, the ordinance would have made it illegal to sell, trade, or manufacture fur for commercial purposes in Denver, with a few exceptions for certain products such as those made for cultural or religious reasons. Denver voters rejected the measure.
• Slaughterhouse ban sought to ban the construction and operation of slaughterhouses within the City of Denver. The ordinance would effectively halt the establishment of any new facilities for slaughtering animals for meat production within the city limits. Denver voters rejected the proposal.
• Denver Health Funding proposed a 0.34% local sales tax increase to raise $70 million annually for the operational needs of Denver Health, the city’s safety net hospital. Denver voters approved the tax increase.
• Affordable Housing funding aimed to raise the local sales tax by 0.5% to generate $100 million annually for affordable housing projects. Denver voters rejected the tax increase.
• RTD would permanently be allowed keep all sales tax revenue that would otherwise be refunded to Coloradans through the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). Voters approved the measure.