Colorado maintained its position as among the most Democratic Party-oriented states in the 2024 presidential election.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris defeated Republican candidate Donald Trump by 11 percentage points in Colorado. She won about 54% of the vote, a little more than Obama’s nearly 54% in 2008 and slightly less than Joe Biden’s 55% four years ago in 2020.
Voter turnout in Colorado was lower than in 2020, which was true throughout the nation.
The city and county of Denver and Boulder County, as usual, got the electoral ball rolling for Harris and the Democrats. She carried Boulder County with 79% of the vote compared to just 21% for Trump and the Republicans. She repeated that score in Denver, again by 79% to 21%.
Harris pulled off another double hit in Denver metro. She carried both Arapahoe and Jefferson counties by 60% to 40%. Forty years ago, back in the 1980s, those two counties were reliably Republican, but not anymore.
In the entire Denver metropolitan area, Harris carried every major county except for Douglas County, the populous county south of Denver with its county seat at Castle Rock. Douglas went for Donald Trump by 54% to 46% for Harris.
Here’s a side note: Four additional former rural counties were added to the Denver metropolitan area for this presidential election. Two of the new counties, Clear Creek (Georgetown) and Gilpin (Central City), are located west of Denver in the foothills and voted for Harris and the Democrats.
One of the other new counties, Park County (Fairplay), is located southwest of Denver and voted for Trump. The other new county, Elbert County (Elizabeth) is located east of Douglas County and voted for Trump.
Denver Metro voted for Harris by 63% to 37% for Trump. That was a significant point spread of 26 points. Harris’ margin of victory over Trump in Denver Metro was about 450,000 votes. About 56% of the votes cast statewide in the election were cast in Denver Metro.
The Front Range is the urbanized strip located just to the east of the Rocky Mountains. It consists of the Denver metropolitan area plus five additional counties. North of Denver Metro are Larimer County (Fort Collins) and Weld County (Greeley).
Larimer County voted 59% for Harris and 41% for Trump. Weld County, on the other hand, voted 61% for Trump and 39% for Harris.
South of Denver Metro lies El Paso County. It cast more votes in this election, almost 370,000, than any other county in Colorado. That made it 12% of the statewide electorate in Colorado.
El Paso County has traditionally been one of the most Republican counties in Colorado. It upheld that reputation in 2024 by voting 55% for Trump to 45% for Harris. But that is below its customary performance since 2000 of usually voting 60% for Republican candidates for president.
Just to the south of El Paso County is Pueblo County (Pueblo), an industrial area with a large steel mill. Pueblo County traditionally was a Democratic stronghold with much union labor support. In recent years, similar to working-class counties all over the United States, Pueblo County has been voting more Republican. It supported Donald Trump by 53% to 47% for Harris.
The Front Range overall voted 58% for Harris and 42% for Trump. It accounted for 84% of the votes cast statewide for the 2024 presidential election. That was the end of the good news for the Democrats, however. Except for the ski counties, the remainder of Colorado went solidly and enthusiastically for Trump. Here’s how:
Eastern Plains. These 14 Colorado counties extend from the Kansas border to the eastern edge of the Front Range. The rolling prairies are prime farm and ranch territory. They have been Republican for decades and will likely remain that way into the future.
They voted 75% Republican and 25% Democratic. Cheyenne County (Cheyenne Wells) at the Kansas border voted a stunning 90% Republican for Trump.
Eastern Mountains. Here are six counties that fill the Eastern Slope of the Rockies from the western edge of the Front Range to the high Continental Divide.
They voted 59% for Trump to 41% for Harris. Two of these counties, Chaffee (Salida) and Lake (Leadville) voted for Harris.
Southern Colorado counties. These six counties are a majestic part of Colorado. The counties along or just above the border with New Mexico have a distinct Hispanic heritage. In the past that gave them a Democratic flavor. Lately, however, they have been trending Republican.
Trump won them for the Republicans in 2024 with 56% of the vote. However, Costilla County (San Luis) and Saguache County (Saguache) voted Democratic.
Ski resort counties. An unusual source of Democratic votes in the high mountains of Colorado can be found in those rural communities that contain major ski areas or similar resort attractions. The two best known are the Aspen ski area in Pitkin County and the Vail ski area in Eagle County.
The people who choose to live and vote in these ski areas are well-educated and wealthy. The result is strong support for the national Democratic Party over the Republicans.
Pitkin County voted 73% for Harris and 27% for Trump. In Eagle County, with Vail, the tally was 63% for Harris and 37% for Trump.
All 10 Colorado ski and resort counties together voted 63% for Harris and 37% for Trump.
Western Slope minus ski counties. Beautiful scenery composed of high mountains and deep rocky canyons are the order of the day in that portion of the Western Slope that contains no ski areas or other resort attractions. Cattle and sheep ranching are the major industries.
Most of these counties are sparsely populated and almost as solidly Republican as the Eastern Plains. An exception is Mesa County (Grand Junction), which is the most populous county on the Western Slope yet still voted 61% for Trump.
Highly rural Rio Blanco County voted 83% for Trump. The 10 counties that comprise “Western Slope-no ski counties” voted 62% for Trump and 38% for Harris.
This study was conducted one week after Election Day on Nov. 12. A small number of votes remained to be counted before the official vote tally was posted.
