Colorado now can safely shelve its purple pretenses. We’ve gone sky blue. Yes, we used to say our so-called Western Democrats are so middle-of-the-road as to be nearly Republican. But with our selection of Barack Obama as president and Mark Udall as senator, Democrats have made historic strides in Colorado not seen in generations.
Coloradans have supported their first Democratic presidential candidate since 1992, and decided for the first time since Gary Hart and Floyd Haskell to fill both Senate seats with Democrats.
Underscoring the sea change, Coloradans also picked Betsy Markey for Congress in a district that seemed solidly Republican not so very long ago. Meanwhile, the seat that Udall is leaving remains in Democratic hands with Jared Polis. And Democrats easily retained their grip on the state legislature.
It wasn’t all good news for the Democrats. Gov. Bill Ritter lost his big push to pass Amendment 58, which would have increased severance taxes on the oil and gas industry to fund college scholarships, wildlife preservation and clean-energy development.
It’s stunning to see the breadth of the transformation, and fascinating (and no doubt frightening for those who liked it the old way) to ponder what the Democratic leadership will do with its solidified power. It’s our hope they’ll keep their heads and live by their moderate campaign promises.
Consider this: Going into election night 2004, Colorado had two Republican senators — Wayne Allard and Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who was stepping down — and five Republican representatives. Coloradans were represented by Republicans in Washington by a 7 to 2 margin.
It all began to shift in 2004 when Democrats took control of the statehouse and Democrat Ken Salazar won election to the Senate while his brother, Democrat John Salazar, won an open House seat. In 2006, Democrats took over the governor’s mansion and picked up another congressional seat with Ed Perlmutter.
Still, the purple pretense continued.
But now, the state looks like a near mirror image of the Republican dominance of the 1990s, only with the Democrats solidly in control. Udall and Markey transform Colorado’s representation in Washington to a 7 to 2 Democratic margin.
Yes, Republicans still hold an edge in voter registration. But let’s stop with the purple pretense. It’s truly a new day, America: Colorado’s gone blue.
