Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: Colorado State Legislature
November 1, 2012
By Ballotpedia's State legislative team
| Colorado's State Legislative Elections in 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate seats | Contested senate seats | House seats | Contested house seats |
| 20 | 18 (90.0%) | 65 | 55 (84.6%) |
Denver: Colorado: There are 85 total legislative seats with 2012 elections in Colorado, where polling places are open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM Mountain Time .[1]
In the state senate, Republicans need to win three seats to gain control of the chamber. The state house has been identified as a chamber that has a highly likelihood of changing partisan control. The current makeup of 33 Republicans and 32 Democrats means that even one lost seat for Republicans will give Democrats the majority.
Of the 85 incumbents up for election in 2012, 53 (62.4%) of them are running for re-election. A total of 73 of 85 (85.9%) districts will see more than one major party candidate in the general election.
Here are a few races to watch:
Senate
- District 22: Incumbent Ken Summers (R) faces a challenge from current state house incumbent Andrew Kerr (D).
- District 35: Incumbent Democrat Joyce Foster is retiring, but in the wake of redistricting this race is not necessarily being "defended" by Democrats, as the new rural parts of the district have drastically changed the demographics, indicating a chance for Republican Larry Crowder to pick up the seat.[2]
House
- District 3: Incumbent Daniel Kagan (D) saw her safely Democratic district wash away with redistricting, and will face challenger Brian Watson (R), the owner of a local real estate investment company.[2]
- District 34: Incumbent John Soper (D) retired due to term limits. This is a seat that Republicans will attempt to pick up, with Jodina Widhalm (R) facing Steve Lebsock (D).
- District 47: Keith Swerdfeger (R) is retiring, leaving a seat for Democrats to potentially pick up. Netto Charles Rodosevich (D) will challenge Clarice Navarro-Ratzlaff (R) in the general election.
| Colorado State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 20 | 19 | |
| Republican Party | 15 | 16 | |
| Total | 35 | 35 | |
| Colorado House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 32 | 37 | |
| Republican Party | 33 | 28 | |
| Total | 65 | 65 | |
See also
- Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: Colorado Congressional Seats
- Ballotpedia:2012 general election preview articles
- State legislative elections, 2012
- November 6, 2012 election results
- Colorado elections, 2012
Footnotes
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