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The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Colorado:
The table also indicates the historical party composition in the:
- State Senate
- State House of Representatives
- State delegation to the U.S. Senate
- State delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives
For years in which a presidential election was held, the table indicates which party's nominees received the state's electoral votes.
Pre-statehood (1861–1875)
| Year | Executive offices | Territorial Assembly | U.S. Congress | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Secretary of State | Attorney General | Treasurer | Territorial Council | House | Delegate | |
| 1861 | William Gilpin (R) | Lewis Ledyard Weld (NP) | James E. Dalliba (R) | George T. Clark (R) | [?] | [?] | Hiram Pitt Bennet (CR) |
| 1862 | [?] | [?] | |||||
| 1863 | John Evans (R) | Samuel Hitt Elbert (R) | Samuel E. Brown (R) | ||||
| 1864 | Alexander W. Atkins (NP) | [?] | [?] | ||||
| 1865 | [?] | [?] | Allen Alexander Bradford (R) | ||||
| 1866 | Alexander Cummings (R) | Frank Hall (NP) | George W. Chamberlain (R) | Alexander Cameron Hunt (NP) | [?] | [?] | |
| 1867 | John Wanless (NP) | [?] | [?] | George M. Chilcott (R) | |||
| 1868 | Alexander Cameron Hunt (I) | Columbus Nuckolls (NP) | [?] | [?] | |||
| 1869 | Allen Alexander Bradford (R) | ||||||
| 1870 | Edward M. McCook (R) | Henry C. Thatcher (R) | George T. Clark (R) | [?] | [?] | ||
| 1871 | Jerome B. Chaffee (R) | ||||||
| 1872 | [?] | [?] | |||||
| 1873 | Samuel Hitt Elbert (I) | vacant | |||||
| 1874 | Edward M. McCook (R) | John W. Jenkins (NP) | David H. Moffat (NP) | [?] | [?] | ||
| 1875 | John Long Routt (R) | John Taffe (NP) | [?] | [?] | Thomas M. Patterson (D) | ||
1876–present
Y
N
- The territory was formed on February 28, 1861, but no governor was appointed until March 25, 1861. Gilpin himself did not arrive in the territory until May 27, 1861. Removed from office for improper financial drafts from the federal treasury.
- Resigned at the request, made July 18, 1865, of President Andrew Johnson following the Sand Creek massacre.
- Removed from office by petition.
- Records show Elbert served "less than a year", but his successor was appointed on June 19, 1874, which was 14 months after Elbert took office.
- Position was filled by the U.S. Attorney due to lack of funding by the territorial government.
- A coalition of Democrats and Populists elected a Democrat, Casimiro Barela, as President Pro Tempore and organized the chamber.
- A coalition of Democrats, Populists, Silver Republicans elected a Populist, Francis Patrick Carney, as President Pro Tempore and organized the chamber.
- A coalition of Democrats, Populists, Silver Republicans elected a Silver Republican, John R. Schermerhorn, as President Pro Tempore and organized the chamber.
- A coalition of Democrats, Populists, Silver Republicans elected a Silver Republican, William Grover Smith, as Speaker and organized the chamber.
- ^ The 1904 election was rife with fraud and controversy. Adams took office, but soon afterwards the Republican-majority state legislature declared James Peabody to be the actual winner, on the condition that Peabody immediately resign. Since Peabody had been governor for a few moments before resigning, it was his lieutenant governor, Jesse McDonald, that succeeded to the governorship. In all, Colorado had three governors on March 17, 1905.
- Resigned to take elected seat in the United States Senate.
- ^ As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term.
- Resigned to take a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
- Gubernatorial terms changed from two to four years during McNichols' term; his first term was two years, his second term was four years.
- Resigned to become director of the Office of Energy Policy.
- Entered office as a Republican but by 1990 had switched parties and become a Democrat.
- Died in office on July 17, 1999.
- ^ Initially appointed to fill vacancy; later elected in their own right.
- Resigned following appointment as United States Secretary of the Interior.
- ^ Appointed to fill a vacancy.
- Resigned in 2005 in order to re-join the United States Marine Corps, with whom he then served tour-of-duty in Iraq. Upon Coffman's resignation as treasurer, Governor Bill Owens appointed State Senator Mark Hillman to the office. Hillman served as treasurer until 2006, when Coffman returned from Iraq and was able to fulfill the duties of the office.
- Elected in November 2008 to U.S. House representing Colorado's 6th congressional district.
- Democrats Angela Giron (District 3) and John P. Morse (District 11) were recalled.
- State Sen. Kevin Priola (D-Henderson District 25) left the Republican Party to register as a Democrat on August 22, 2022.
See also
References
- Senate journal of the General Assembly of the State of Colorado. 1894. p. 16-17. Retrieved 2021-06-20 – via HathiTrust.
- Senate journal of the General Assembly of the State of Colorado. 1897 AND EXTRA. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-06-20 – via HathiTrust.
- Senate, Colorado General Assembly (1899). Senate Journal of the General Assembly of the State of Colorado. p. 8.
- "House journal. 1899". HathiTrust. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
- Polls open for Colorado's first ever recall elections at 7 am Archived 2013-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
- Frank, John (2022-08-22). "Colorado lawmaker exits GOP, switches to Democratic Party, citing Jan. 6 attack and Trump". Axios. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
Further reading
- Martin, Curtis. “The 1962 Election in Colorado.” The Western Political Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 2, 1963, pp. 421–425.
| Political party strength in U.S. states | |
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| List of third-party and independent performances in United States elections | |
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