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Editors’ note: This is a living story that will be updated as we learn more.
Stay up to date on how Colorado voted in the 2024 election.
Jump Ahead:
- Presidential Race
- Colorado’s Congressional Races
- Colorado’s Statewide Ballot Measures
- Amendment G: Property Tax Exemption for Veterans
- Amendment H: Disciplinary Board for State Judges
- Amendment I: Bail for People Charged with First-Degree Murder
- Amendment J: Same-Sex Marriage
- Amendment K: Deadline to File Initiatives
- Amendment 79: Abortion
- Amendment 80: School Choice
- Proposition 127: Big Cat Hunting
- Proposition 128: Prison Time for Violent Criminals
- Proposition 129: Veterinary Professional Associate
- Proposition 130: Funding for Law Enforcement
- Proposition 131: Ranked-Choice Voting
- Proposition JJ: State Revenue from Sports Betting
- Proposition KK: New Gun Tax
- Denver Ballot Measures
- Other Notable Results
- Board of Regents Races
- State Board of Education Races
Presidential Race
Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States. The AP called the victory at 3:34 a.m. after Trump won Wisconsin, one of seven critical battleground states. He also secured Pennsylvania and Georgia, which he’d lost four years ago.
“Congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump,” said Governor Jared Polis in a statement Wednesday morning. “Colorado remains strongly committed to protecting freedom, choice, and the opportunity for everyone to build the life they want in our great state. That is true no matter who is serving in the White House and I will work with the President-elect however I can to save people money, create more good-paying jobs, increase access to housing Coloradans can afford, protect our water and air quality, and improve our roads and bridges.”
Vice President Kamala Harris did defeat former President Donald Trump in Colorado, according to the AP. As of 8:08 p.m. Tuesday night, when the race was called, Harris had earned 55.1 percent of the vote compared to Trump’s 42.7 percent. As of Friday at 10:45 a.m., Harris leads 54.5 percent (1.58 million votes) to Trump’s 42.9 percent (1.24 million) with approximately 83 percent of votes officially tabulated.
The definitive victory in the Centennial State for Harris continues Colorado’s blueward shift, with the Democratic candidate winning the state for the fourth presidential election in a row. Following the 2020 election, data showed most counties around the Denver metro area, many of which were once considered toss-ups, are now reliably blue due to an influx of new residents and changing voter demographics. In 2024, the early results showed mixed results on that trend, with Jefferson and Boulder counties each shifting three points toward the Democrats and Broomfield County moving two in that direction. Adams County, however, shifted five points toward the Republicans and Arapahoe County three (both with a majority still voting for Harris).
Colorado’s Congressional Races
District 1
🔵 Diana DeGette (Democrat, incumbent) defeated Republican Valdamar Archuleta, Daniel Lutz from the Approval Voting Party, and Critter Milton of the Unity Party. DeGette, the longest-serving member of Colorado’s congressional delegation (27 years), will return to the U.S. House of Representatives for a 15th term. The vote was roughly 78.1 percent in favor of DeGette to 20.4 for Archuleta when the race was called at 7:11 p.m. on Tuesday night.
District 2
🔵 Joe Neguse (Democrat, incumbent) defeated Republican Marshall Dawson and a slew of minor party and independent candidates. Neguse, who currently serves as the Assistant Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, will return to Congress for a fourth term. He led with 69.5 percent of the vote (to Dawson’s 28.5) when the race was called at 7:48 p.m. on Tuesday.
District 3
🔴 Jeff Hurd (Republican) defeated Democrat Adam Frisch, Libertarian James Wiley, and the Unity Party’s Jeff Withrow and will head to the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time. The race to represent the Centennial State’s largest congressional district by area was thrown into flux when Republican incumbent Lauren Boebert announced in December she would abandon her re-election bid to run in Colorado’s more conservative 4th District during the 2024 cycle. Boebert’s decision came at a point when she was down by five to seven points in polls against Frisch, after defeating the former Aspen City Councilmember by just 546 votes in 2022. She was also staring down a serious challenge in the Republican primary, including from Hurd.
Frisch’s campaign lost momentum after Boebert’s exit. Once the more moderate Hurd convincingly won the Republican primary, he became the favorite in the right-leaning district, which includes the entire western half of the state and the southern portion of the I-25 corridor. The Grand Junction attorney has never held elected office before, but he recently served as chair of the board of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce.
As of 5:28 p.m. on Thursday, Hurd led the district with 50.2 percent of the vote (189,647 votes) to Frisch’s 46.6 (176,155 votes) with 90 percent reporting. The AP called the race at 10:10 a.m. on Thursday.
Read More: Can Adam Frisch Really Turn Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District Blue?
District 4
🔴 Lauren Boebert (Republican, challenger, sorta) defeated Democrat Trisha Calvarese and other minor party candidates to win the state’s most Republican-friendly seat, according to the Colorado Redistricting Committee. Boebert, who has represented Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District for the past four years, decided to run in the 4th District after Republican Ken Buck announced his retirement late last year. At of 9:38 p.m. on Tuesday, the AP called the district for Boebert (52.9 percent).
District 5
🔴 Jeff Crank (Republican) defeated Democrat River Gassen and other minor party candidates. Crank, a longtime conservative radio host and political consultant, will become a first-time congressman for the only district in the state that has never sent a Democrat to Congress. Republican Doug Lamborn held the seat for nine terms but announced he would retire from Congress earlier this year.
As of 6:36 a.m. on Friday, Crank led the district with 54.8 percent of the vote (166,802 votes) to Gassen’s 41.4 percent (126,047 votes) with 89 percent reporting. The AP called the race at 3:21 p.m. on Wednesday.
District 6
🔵 Jason Crow (Democrat, incumbent) defeated Republican John Fabbricatore. Crow, a former Army ranger who gained national attention for his heroic actions during the January 6 insurrection and the ensuing impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, will return to the U.S. House of Representatives for a fourth term. He earned 59.5 percent of the vote (to Fabbricatore’s 38.6) when the race was called at 7:40 p.m. on Tuesday.
District 7
🔵 Brittany Pettersen (Democrat, incumbent) defeated Republican Sergei Matveyuk. The former state senator will head to the U.S. House of Representatives for her second term. During her first two years in Congress, much of Pettersen’s work focused on expanding addiction treatment and limiting drug trafficking, issues she also championed during her time in the Colorado Legislature. She had secured 57.3 percent of the vote (to Matveyuk’s 39.8 percent) when the AP called the race at 8:44 p.m. on Tuesday.
District 8
The race between Yadira Caraveo (Democrat, incumbent) and Republican Gabe Evans is still too close to call. Caraveo, a former state representative and pediatrician, won the district, which was created in 2021, by just 1,600 votes in 2022. Gabe Evans is a former police lieutenant and current state representative for parts of Weld and Adams counties.
The 8th Congressional District contest was one of the most scrutinized and tightly contested House races in the country. As of late October, more than $23 million had been spent by super PACS on the contest, with Democratic PACs that were supporting Caraveo contributing more than $12 million and Republican PACs that were buttressing Evans doling out close to $11 million. As anyone who has watched a Denver Broncos game this season can tell you, the spending led to a cavalcade of attack ads on television; Republican-backed ads claimed Caraveo was responsible for the fentanyl crisis and continued issues at the border, and Democrat-backed ads called Evans a MAGA extremist for his views on gay marriage and abortion.
Much of the punditry about the race focused on the abilities of Caraveo and Evans, both of whom are Hispanic, to connect with Latino voters—a group that makes up nearly 40 percent of the district’s population. That challenge was most evident as both candidates expressed views on one of the campaign’s most discussed issues: immigration and border security. Notably, Evans sought to avoid the demeaning rhetoric about immigrants used by former President Donald Trump, and Caraveo tried not to seem too lax on border security while explaining that immigrants who are currently living here need to have an opportunity to legalize their status.
As of 6:28 p.m. on Thursday, Caraveo led the district with 49 percent of the vote (142,382 votes) to Evans’ 48.2 (140,023 votes). The AP estimated that 88 percent of votes had been counted. (Editor’s note: We will update this as we learn more.)
Colorado’s Statewide Ballot Measures
✅ Amendment G: Modifying a property tax exemption for veterans with disabilities
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will expand access to the “homestead exemption,” which gives a property tax exemption to veterans who are considered completely and permanently disabled due to their service. Veterans with significant service-connected disabilities that prevent them from working would also be eligible for the break. A nonpartisan legislative staff estimated the policy would affect 3,400 veteran homeowners.
✅ Amendment H: Creating a new board to investigate and discipline judges in Colorado
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will create a new, independent board to hear and issue rulings regarding ethics complaints against state judges. Those disciplinary hearings will be made public when formal charges are filed. Currently, such proceedings are kept private (unless a state commission recommends sanctions). The issue of judicial oversight came under scrutiny after the Denver Post published an investigation that detailed a cover-up of misconduct, sexism, and harassment by state judges.
Proponents of Amendment H said the measure will help the public have greater confidence in the integrity of the courts. Opponents claimed it would not actually hold judges more accountable than the current system, which allows the state Supreme Court to make the final determination on discipline for misconduct.
✅ Amendment I: Denying bail to people charged with first-degree murder
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will allow judges to deny bail ahead of trial to defendants accused of first-degree murder. Currently, the state constitution says that only people charged with crimes punishable by the death penalty can be denied bail; capital punishment was abolished in Colorado in 2020. Amendment I was introduced by state lawmakers to allow leeway for judges in dealing with the worst criminals.
✅ Amendment J: Removing the state’s constitutional same-sex marriage ban
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will remove language from the state constitution that says, “Only the union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.” Voters approved the statement in 2006, though it is not currently in effect due to a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling (Obergefell v. Hodges) that extended the federal right to marry to same-sex couples.
Supporters said the change is still necessary, noting that the removal of the current language in the state constitution will protect the right if the Supreme Court revisits the landmark 2015 decision in the future.
Amendment K: Modifying election deadlines so officials have more time to prepare ballots
This ballot measure seems poised to fail. Its passage would amend the state constitution to require supporters of citizen-led ballot initiatives and referendums to submit signatures a week earlier than the current deadline (90 days before the election) to qualify for the ballot. It would also require judges who intend to seek another term to file all the necessary paperwork by the same deadline. Moving each of these constitutional deadlines a week earlier would grant election officials more time with other parts of the ballot-creation process.
Amendment K would also change the timeline for public notice about statewide ballot initiatives. Currently, the text for statewide measures must only be published in newspapers across the state at least 15 days before the election; if this measure passes, that would change to at least 45 days before Election Day.
As of 7:37 a.m. Friday, Amendment K appears unlikely to pass, with 55.2 percent of Coloradans voting against it, with 82 percent of votes reporting, according to the AP.
✅ Amendment 79: Creating a constitutional right to an abortion
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will add language to the state constitution that will prevent the state Legislature and local governments from limiting abortion access in Colorado. The amendment will also dispatch the current constitutional ban on public funding for abortions, allowing government employees and others with publicly funded health plans to get coverage for abortion care.
Read More: The Sense & Sensibility of Being an Abortion Haven
🚫 Amendment 80: Creating a constitutional right to school choice
This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have enshrined the right to school choice—including for charter schools, private schools, home school, and “future innovations in education”—in the state constitution.
Currently, Colorado students are able to attend any public school thanks to the Public Schools of Choice law. Families can also opt to attend private schools or homeschool kids. While the amendment’s passage wouldn’t have had an immediate impact on education in Colorado, opponents of the measure, including the Colorado Education Association, Colorado PTA, and Colorado Democrats, said the amendment makes it possible for citizens to push for taxpayer dollars to go to things like school vouchers for private schooling and homeschooling funding. Proponents, like the Colorado Association of Private Schools, claimed the intent is just to further protect the ability to choose the best educational option.
🚫 Proposition 127: Prohibiting bobcat, lynx and mountain lion hunting
This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have banned the hunting and trapping of bobcats and mountain lions in Colorado (it is already illegal to hunt lynx in the state). Opponents of the measure, including Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management, said it would infringe upon the abilities of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which currently regulates hunting practices for big game, to manage predator populations. The state expected CPW to lose $410,000 in revenue due to lost income from hunting licenses if the measure was approved.
✅ Proposition 128: Instituting a longer minimum prison time for violent criminals
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will require people convicted of violent crimes—including murder, sexual assault, aggravated robbery, and serious cases of assault—to serve 85 percent of their sentences before becoming eligible for parole, up from the current 75 percent. The initiative will also require people convicted of such crimes at least three times to serve their full sentences without the option of parole. Analysts said the measure would affect roughly 220 criminals in Colorado, which they calculated would increase the prison budget between $12 million and $28 million per year.
✅ Proposition 129: Establishing the position of veterinary professional associate
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will create the position of veterinary professional associate (VPA) in Colorado. Currently, veterinary practices are operated by licensed veterinarians, who must complete at least eight years of education, and veterinary technicians, who must complete two. The new associate position, which would require a master’s degree, will be a midlevel between the current roles. VPAs will be allowed to perform some procedures vet techs cannot, including spay and neuter surgeries. Colorado State University is already setting up a master’s in veterinary clinical care program and plans to graduate a class in 2027; the school and other supporters, including the Vet Care Coalition, said the initiative will help address a dearth of access to vet care. Opponents (like the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association) feared that the measure would allow VPAs to perform procedures beyond their education levels.
Read More: Can Vet Techs Help Cure Colorado’s Vet Shortage?
✅ Proposition 130: Providing new funding for law enforcement
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will require the state to use $350 million to set up a fund to recruit, train, and retain police officers. A portion of that money will go toward a $1 million benefit for families of officers killed in the line of duty. Typically, when Colorado voters are asked whether the state should spend money on something, a tax or bond issue is attached to pay for it. That was not the case with Proposition 130, which, according to opponents such as the ACLU Colorado, means it will force lawmakers to prioritize law enforcement at the cost of other needs in their budgets. Supporters, including conservative group Advance Colorado, argued the initiative would help reduce crime.
🚫 Proposition 131: Establishing all-party primaries and ranked-choice voting for general election
This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have replaced single-party primaries with all-candidate primaries and introduced ranked-choice voting for general elections. The change would affect races for Congress, state Legislature, governor, and other state offices like the State Board of Education. Local races and presidential elections would have remained unchanged. For the all-party primaries, every candidate would be listed on the same ballot, with the top four vote-getters moving on to the general election. In the general election, instead of selecting one candidate, voters would rank candidates in order of preference.
Similar proposals for nonpartisan primaries and ranked-choice voting are on the ballot in Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, South Dakota, and Montana this election (and all seem poised to fail, as in Colorado). The measure was endorsed by a number of high-profile politicians, including Governor Jared Polis, Senator John Hickenlooper, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, with many of them claiming it would encourage bipartisanship.
The state Republican and Democratic parties both came out against the initiative, though, saying that it would help wealthy candidates because primaries would become more expensive to compete in.
✅ Proposition JJ: Retaining additional sports betting revenue
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will allow the state to keep excess money garnered from the recently legalized sports betting industry to spend on water conservation projects. When voters approved sports gambling in 2019, a 10 percent tax on casinos’ sports gambling (up to $29 million) was instituted. The levy helps fund the state’s sports gambling addiction programs, with any remaining money going to Colorado Water Conservation Board. But Coloradans love sports betting so much that tax collections are expected to exceed $36 million this year—well above the limit. Under the current framework, any excess funds would be returned to the sportsbooks; Proposition JJ lets the state hang on to it.
Read More: 3 Years Into Colorado’s Sports Betting Experiment
✅ Proposition KK: Instituting a new excise tax on gun and ammunition
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will create a new 6.5 percent tax on all sales of ammunition, firearms, and gun parts. Money generated by the levy will be used to support programs for crime victims and behavioral support groups for veterans and kids. It’s estimated the tax will raise around $39 million annually. (Democratic state lawmakers referred the tax to the ballot.) Opponents, including the National Rifle Association and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, said it was an effort by the government to make it more difficult for citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights.
Denver Ballot Measures
✅ Ballot Measure 2Q: Raising sales taxes to support Denver Health
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will increase the city’s sales tax by 0.34 percent—3.4 cents on a $10 purchase—to help fund Denver Health. The extra money (estimated to be about $70 million a year, based on 2023 data) will help with a budget deficit of some $120 million at Colorado’s premier safety-net hospital. Denver Health serves about a quarter of the city’s population each year.
🚫 Ballot Measure 2R: Imposing a sales tax to fund affordable housing
This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have enacted a 0.5 percent sales tax to help fund Mayor Mike Johnston’s plan to build and preserve thousands of affordable housing units. The levy would have been equivalent to five cents on a $10 purchase, bringing in an estimated $100 million a year (in addition to the $60 million Johnston set aside in his 2025 budget to help with affordable housing). Four City Council members voted against putting this measure on the ballot, on the grounds that it lacked specifics about how the money will be spent. Johnston and other supporters have said the vagueness is by design, giving them flexibility on how best to use the funds.
✅ Ballot Measure 2S: Making the Denver Department of Human Rights and Community Partnerships a full cabinet agency
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will establish the Denver Department of Human Rights and Community Partnerships as a full cabinet agency. The mayor will be able to nominate someone to lead it, and City Council members will have the power to approve or veto said candidate. Denver Councilwoman Jamie Torres said boosting the department would “serve as a powerful symbol of Denver’s unwavering dedication to human rights and the well-being of its diverse communities.”
✅ Ballot Measure 2T: Removing the citizen requirement for police and fire department jobs
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will direct the city to remove the citizenship requirement for police and fire department jobs; right now, only U.S. citizens are allowed to apply for those roles. The initiative will allow noncitizens to apply, as long as they meet hiring standards like age and education requirements and background checks. The change will bring Denver into compliance with a federal law that prevents employers from discriminating based on national origin and citizenship status.
✅ Ballot Measure 2U: Expanding collective bargaining rights to more city employees
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will give collective bargaining rights to some 7,000 city employees, should they choose to unionize. At present, only Denver police and firefighters, along with teachers working for Denver Public Schools, are allowed that right. The initiative does not automatically make every city employee a member of a union; various groups working for the government will still have to decide to unionize. Labor groups said the measure’s passage would make city jobs more desirable and stable.
✅ Ballot Measure 2V: Adapting the collective bargaining agreement for city firefighters
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will change the bargaining agreement for Denver firefighters, making it so a neutral third-party arbiter has decision-making power in disputes between the city and the firefighters union (as it currently does in disputes between the city and the unions that represent the Denver Police Department and the Denver Sheriff Department). The change will prevent disagreements between the city and the firefighters union from going to voters to decide.
✅ Ballot Measure 2W: Changing the approval process for raising elected officials’ salaries in Denver
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will allow raises for elected officials in Denver to go into effect automatically. Right now, the City Council must vote to approve all increases. Proponents of the measure argued that approving the raises, which are determined by a formula outlined in the city charter, is usually just a formality, and removing the requirement will prevent awkward situations, like when the City Council must vote to give itself raises.
🚫 Ballot Measure 308: Banning fur product sales in Denver
This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have banned the sale, distribution, and trade of fur products, including mink stoles and animal-lined fur coats. Supporters of the initiative wanted to curtail the influence of the fur industry, which they said is barbaric and not environmentally friendly. Opponents argued a ban would have been harmful to local businesses that celebrate Denver’s Western heritage, as well as major area events like the Denver Powwow and the National Western Stock Show.
🚫 Ballot Measure 309: Banning slaughterhouses in Denver
This ballot measure failed. Its passage would have completely banned slaughterhouses in Denver. At the moment, there is only one operational slaughterhouse in the city: Superior Farms, a lamb-processing plant in the Globeville neighborhood (and the largest of its sort in the country). Proponents of the ban wanted to help curtail a practice they deem inhumane to both animals and humans, but the proposed ban drew criticism for targeting a single business and attempting to force the operation’s 160 employees, many of whom are immigrants, out of jobs. Opponents also argued the facility does have humane practices, including a process that is in accordance with Islamic religious traditions, and has USDA inspectors on-site at all times.
✅ Ballot Measure 4A: Allowing a $975 million bond for renovations to Denver Public Schools
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will approve a $975 million bond to help with improvements at Denver Public Schools, including upgrading safety systems and installing air conditioners at 29 DPS buildings. The financial package will be the largest in the school district’s history. It will not require a new tax; rather, it will extend taxes that were put in place to pay for bonds previously approved by Denver voters.
✅ Ballot Measure 6A: Raising debt to pay for the revitalization of downtown Denver
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will allow the Denver Downtown Development Authority to take on $570 million in debt—which will require a repayment cost of $847 million with interest—to help revitalize large swaths of downtown Denver. Supporters of the measure said the money could be used for things like the creation of parks and open space and converting office buildings into housing.
Read More: Inside the Plan To Save Denver’s Central Business District
✅ Ballot Measure 7A: Allowing RTD to keep all of its revenue
This ballot measure passed. Its passage will allow RTD to keep revenue that it’s currently required to return to taxpayers due to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR), which puts a limit on how much money government entities can keep and spend in Colorado. Other local authorities have been successful in asking voters to get rid of such restrictions; RTD sought to do the same, so that half of its revenue (some $670 million) would no longer be subject to TABOR.
Other Notable Results
Colorado Springs approves conflicting cannabis measures.
Voters in the Centennial State’s second-largest city sent mixed messages with how they voted on two marijuana-related initiatives. Both Ballot Issue 2D, which amends the city charter to ban retail marijuana businesses within city limits, and Ballot Question 300, which allows the 90-something medical marijuana shops in Colorado Springs to apply for recreational marijuana licenses, passed with some 53 percent of the vote. It is unclear which measure takes precedent, which sets the stage for a potential legal fight.
Colorado Democrats win the state Senate and House.
Democrats are set to maintain significant majorities in the state Legislature. It appears unlikely, though, that they’ll have a supermajority. Two-thirds majorities in both the House and the Senate would have allowed the Democrats to move ahead with their legislative priorities, including criminal justice and election reform, without any support from Republicans.
Board of Regents Races
Elliot Hood (Democrat, at-large), Ray Scott (Republican, 3rd District), and Ken Montera (Republican, 5th District) were elected to the Colorado Board of Regents. The board, which is made up of representatives from each congressional district and one statewide at-large member, oversees the four campuses in the University of Colorado system. Duties include approving the system’s budget, setting tuition rates, and hiring the system’s president.
State Board of Education Races
Kathy Gebhardt (Democrat, 2nd District), Sherri Wright (Republican, 3rd District), Kristi Burton Brown (Republican, 5th District), and Yazmin Navarro (Republican, 8th District) were elected to the state Board of Education. The board, which has representatives from each congressional district and one at-large member, holds school districts accountable for test scores and sets standards for what students should learn. After the 2024 election, Democrats hold a slimmer 5-4 majority on the board.
