It’s official – our own Colorado has gone blue. Excerpt:
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis handily defeated Republican state Treasurer Walker Stapleton in Tuesday’s race to succeed centrist Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is term-limited and considering a 2020 presidential run.
It was a dramatic moment for Colorado, dubbed a “hate state” nationwide when voters in 1992 approved a ban on municipal antidiscrimination laws to protect gay people. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the law as unconstitutional four years later.
And:
In a state where unaffiliated voters outnumber Democrats and Republicans, Colorado residents clearly opted for Democrats largely as a check on a Republican Party led by President Donald Trump, whose anti-immigrant rhetoric never played well in the state.
Resentment against Trump helped Democratic first-term candidate Jason Crow defeat longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman.
Coffman pushed his self-described moderate stance on immigration and his occasional bucking of the GOP to try to persuade voters to keep him.
Democrats also took away the offices of attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer from Republicans.
Under Republican Wayne Williams, the secretary of state’s office won nationwide accolades for establishing one of the most secure and voter-friendly elections systems in the U.S.
Democrats also were poised to seize control of the state Senate, which the GOP holds by a one-vote margin.
I know Mike Coffman. He was our State Representative before he was State Treasurer. When I was a precinct guy in our old neighborhood, Mike actually visited us, sat on my couch and talked issues with me. But he was soft on immigration in a year when that was a major issue for GOP voters, and that may well have cost him party enthusiasm enough to see him retired. So now, Mrs. Animal and I are represented by a Democrat.
Times change. But I’ve been in Colorado for thirty years, and while a few things have improved, in general the state is heading in a direction I don’t care for. The Alaska plans may have to be ratcheted up a little bit.
