Looking back.
Deep divides in state’s political parties revealed; flaws in election system exposed
The crazy 2016 political year means Colorado politics will never look the same again.
The tumultuous year in politics left an indelible mark in Colorado — one that guarantees the state’s political landscape will never look the same.
Beyond the scandal-laden presidential campaign, the 2016 election revealed deep divides in Colorado’s political parties and stirred questions about whether the state remains a “purple” battleground.
Moreover, it exposed flaws in Colorado’s election system — from how candidates qualify for the ballot to how voters pick a president — and frequently forced the state to defend its approach in court.
Here is a look at the top 10 political story lines from 2016 and the impact on Colorado politics in the years to come.
1. Huge controversies marred presidential primaries.
The Colorado Republican Party canceled its presidential straw poll at the 2016 caucus, a move that drew loud complaints from Donald Trump, who called the system “rigged” when Sen. Ted Cruz won all the state’s elected delegates.
The state Democratic Party struggled to manage the overwhelming turnout at the March 1 caucus and also came under fire for bias after it misreported the public results — costing Bernie Sanders a delegate — and only confessed after being confronted by reporting from The Denver Post.
The Cruz and Sanders victories in the Colorado caucus put the state opposite the trends and showcased a split between the local activists and the national parties.
Impact: The chaos from the presidential caucus helped pass Propositions 107 and 108 to create a primary system — one open to unaffiliated voters who could not participate in the caucus process without joining a political party. The addition of 1 million voters in the political middle may change the dynamic of which candidates win Colorado in the future, unless the parties invoke a loophole for state and local primaries.
2. To make the ballot, candidates were forced to fight in court.
The questions about how Republican candidates qualified for the U.S. Senate race cast a shadow on the entire race. Three candidates initially failed to collect enough valid signatures to qualify — and later only made the ballot after a court battle.
Meanwhile, fraudulent petition signatures submitted by former Rep. Jon Keyser led to a disastrous campaign start that cost the onetime front-runner in the race and led to criminal charges against a canvasser helping his campaign. Republican Secretary of State Wayne Williams later admitted his office made its own mistakes in reviewing the petitions and pledged to revamp the process.
Impact: The court orders set new parameters about how to count petition signatures in future elections. But the entire fiasco revealed deeper problems with the state law on qualifying for the primary ballot and led to demands for changes.
3. Outside money fueled a hard-right turn in U.S. Senate race.
With the race mired in a voterfraud controversy, a little-known and strident conservative won the Republican nomination. Darryl Glenn upset two millionaire selffunding candidates with help from the Senate Conservatives Fund and other anti-establishment organizations that said they pumped $1 million into getting him nominated.
Glenn’s conservatism and poor campaign drew criticism from Republicans and didn’t appeal to Colorado’s swing voters, making the race a national afterthought despite the fact incumbent Michael Bennet entered the year as the most vulnerable Democratic senator in the nation. In the end, Glenn managed to get within six percentage points.
Impact: The power of outside national money to shift a race is a benchmark that will color other statewide races in the future. And how the Republican Party manages the ideological split in its ranks will determine whether it can win.
4. Colorado steals the show at the Republican National Convention.
Colorado’s delegates didn’t like Trump and told the world at the RNC in Cleveland. Cruz supporters and conservative activists helped organize a national “Never Trump” movement in a failed attempt to block the New York businessman’s nomination. And the delegation walked off the convention floor to protest the party’s strong-arm tactics, upsetting the Republican unity message ahead of the election.
Impact: Colorado’s delegation sign earned a place in the Smithsonian collection, but the hard feelings and split in the party simmer under the surface and may shape the next party chairman’s contest.
5. Democratic governor’s stance on energy issues splits party’s base.
Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper entered the national spotlight as a potential vice president or cabinet pick for Hillary Clinton. But his support for energy production and fracking sparked opposition within his own party, particularly among hard-core environmentalists, who staged an in-your-face protest at the Democratic National Convention.
Impact: The fracking issue is likely to become a litmus test in the Democratic contest for governor in 2018, and how the candidates handle the topic may impact whether the party can hold power.
6. Democrats top Republicans in active voters.
For the first time in 32 years, Colorado counted more Democrats than Republicans among active voters. Democrats hit 999,000 through the end of September, compared with 993,000 Republicans. But the largest block still remains unaffiliated.
Impact: The symbolic victory helped drive a real one in November: Clinton won Colorado by 4.85 percentage points, according to the final tally. If Democrats can maintain their advantage, it may help boost their chances in offyear elections, even though Republicans tend to do better in nonpresidential years.
7. Colorado’s blue-collar Democrats revolt.
Once considered the most reliable Democratic stronghold in Colorado, Pueblo County voted for Trump on Election Day by 390 votes, or 0.5 percentage points. It marked the first time since Richard Nixon in 1972 that a Republican won the county and reflected a national trend in which blue-collar voters rejected the Democratic Party.
Impact: Pueblo now ranks as a swing county in Colorado, despite being 40 percent Latino and Democratic. The dynamic leaves Democrats scrambling to regain support with these key constituencies ahead of the next election.
8. Is Colorado still a “purple” political state?
Colorado voted for a Democrat for president for the third election in a row — and the demographics and voter registration trend lines indicate a blue shift. But Republicans still hold four statewide seats and control of one legislative chamber. The split is renewing debate about where Colorado fits on the red-to-blue political spectrum and whether it deserves its coveted battleground status.
Impact: The 2018 midterm elections, particularly the governor’s race, may help pinpoint Colorado’s place in the map once and for all.
9. A power shift at the ballot box.
For years, Colorado residents enjoyed relatively significant power in election years — particularly the ability to vote constitutional measures that addressed issues that lawmakers ignored or rejected. For better or worse — and observers point to examples of both — it’s now harder with the passage of Amendment 71, which requires 55 percent approval and petition signatures from each of the 35 state Senate districts.
Impact: The impact is significant — yet still not entirely clear. The higher bar for constitutional measures will moderate the state’s citizen-led political movements and give more power to well-funded interests.
10. The elector protest challenges state law.
One question from 2016 will carry into the new year: Are the state’s rules regarding the Electoral College constitutional? Two Democratic electors challenged the status quo in federal and state court, leading to new rules and possible criminal charges against one “faithless” elector.
Impact: The electors exposed weak spots in state law that may require legislative action to better define how Colorado names a president — once the ongoing court challenges are concluded.