Colorado's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2014
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November 4, 2014 |
June 24, 2014 |
Scott Tipton  |
Scott Tipton |
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Cook Political Report: Solid R[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R[2] |
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The 3rd Congressional District of Colorado held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014.
Incumbent Scott Tipton (R) won re-election in 2014. He defeated David Cox in the Republican primary and went on to beat Abel Tapia (D) in the general election.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
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Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election.
Colorado utilizes a semi-closed primary system. According to Section 1-7-201 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, "An eligible unaffiliated elector, including a preregistrant who is eligible under section 1-2-101 (2)(c), is entitled to vote in the primary election of a major political party without affiliating with that political party."[3][4]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Voter registration: Voters were able to register to vote in the primary by either June 2 (by mail, at a voter registration agency, voter registration drive or DMV), June 16 (online) or on election day (in-person at a voter service polling center). For the general election, voters could register through election day, November 4, 2014.[5]
- See also: Colorado elections, 2014
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Scott Tipton (R), who was first elected in 2010.
Colorad's 3rd Congressional District is located in western and southern Colorado and includes Alamosa, Archuleta, Conejos, Costilla, Custer, Delta, Dolores, Garfield, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Huerfano, Jackson, La Plata, Lake, Mesa, Mineral, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, Pueblo, Rio Blanco, Rio Grande, Routt, Saguache, San Juan, and San Miguel counties. A portion of Eagle County is also included in the district. [6]
Candidates
General election candidates
June 24, 2014, primary results
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Withdrew
Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Scott Tipton Incumbent |
58% | 163,011 | |
| Democratic | Abel Tapia | 35.7% | 100,364 | |
| Independent | Tisha Casida | 4% | 11,294 | |
| Libertarian | Travis Mero | 2.3% | 6,472 | |
| Total Votes | 281,141 | |||
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Scott Tipton Incumbent |
74.5% | 46,177 | ||
| David Cox | 25.5% | 15,773 | ||
| Total Votes | 61,950 | |||
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State |
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Key votes
Below are important votes the incumbent cast during the 113th Congress.
HR 676
On July 30, 2014, the U.S. House approved a resolution 225 to 201 to sue President Barack Obama for exceeding his constitutional authority. Five Republicans—Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Paul Broun of Georgia, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Walter Jones of North Carolina and Steve Stockman of Texas—voted with Democrats against the lawsuit.[7] Tipton joined the other 224 Republicans in favor of the lawsuit. All Democrats voted against the resolution.[8][9]
Government shutdown
- See also: United States budget debate, 2013
On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[10] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[11] Scott Tipton voted for the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[12]
The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[13] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Scott Tipton voted for HR 2775.[14]
Campaign contributions
Scott Tipton
| Scott Tipton (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[15] | April 15, 2013 | $136,546.31 | $134,162.65 | $(59,509.85) | $211,199.11 | ||||
| July Quarterly[16] | July 15, 2013 | $211,199.11 | $232,402.00 | $(47,985.24) | $395,615.87 | ||||
| October Quarterly[17] | October 15, 2013 | $395,615.87 | $158,997.00 | $(72,382.37) | $482,230.50 | ||||
| Year-End[18] | January 16, 2014 | $482,230 | $132,947 | $(53,770) | $560,807 | ||||
| April Quarterly[19] | April 15, 2014 | $560,807 | $201,433 | $(49,169) | $713,071 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[20] | June 12, 2014 | $713,071 | $67,052 | $(60,330) | $719,793 | ||||
| July Quarterly[21] | July 16, 2014 | $719,793 | $122,399 | $(59,540) | $782,652 | ||||
| October Quarterly[22] | October 16, 2014 | $782,652 | $177,927 | $(576,906) | $383,672 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,227,319.65 | $(979,592.46) | ||||||||
Abel Tapia
| Abel Tapia (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[23] | April 15, 2014 | $0 | $39,644 | $(246) | $39,397 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[24] | June 12, 2014 | $39,397 | $67,264 | $(32,683) | $73,978 | ||||
| July Quarterly[25] | July 15, 2014 | $73,978 | $34,996 | $(16,804) | $92,170 | ||||
| October Quarterly[26] | October 15, 2014 | $92,170 | $110,629 | $(160,028) | $42,771 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $252,533 | $(209,761) | ||||||||
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
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2012
On November 6, 2012, Scott Tipton (R) won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Sal Pace, Gregory Gilman, Tisha Casida, Morgan West and Jaime McMillan in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sal Pace | 41.1% | 142,619 | |
| Republican | Scott Tipton Incumbent |
53.4% | 185,291 | |
| Libertarian | Gregory Gilman | 2.4% | 8,212 | |
| Independent | Tisha Casida | 3.2% | 11,125 | |
| Total Votes | 347,247 | |||
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Scott Tipton won election to the United States House. He defeated incumbent John Salazar (D), Gregory Gilman (L), Jake Segrest (Unaffiliated), John Hargis Sr. (Write-in) and James Fritz (Write-in) in the general election.[27]
| U.S. House, Colorado District 3 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Scott Tipton |
50.1% | 129,257 | |
| Democratic | John Salazar incumbent | 45.8% | 118,048 | |
| Libertarian | Gregory Gilman | 2.2% | 5,678 | |
| Unaffiliated | Jake Segrest | 1.9% | 4,982 | |
| Write-in | John Hargis Sr. | 0% | 23 | |
| Write-in | James Fritz | 0% | 11 | |
| Total Votes | 257,999 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR June 26, 2014," accessed July 28, 2014
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed July 28, 2014
- ↑ LexisNexis, "Colorado Revised Statutes § 1-7-201," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Primary Elections FAQs," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State Website, "Voter Registration FAQs," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ U.S. House, "House Resolution 676," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "Suing Obama: GOP-led House gives the go-ahead," July 31, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "House clears way for lawsuit against Obama," accessed July 30, 2014
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Buzzfeed, "Government Shutdown: How We Got Here," accessed October 1, 2013
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013
- ↑ U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 550," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Scott Tipton April Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Scott Tipton July Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Scott Tipton October Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Scott Tipton Year-End," accessed February 4, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Scott Tipton April Quarterly," accessed April 20, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Scott Tipton Pre-Primary," accessed June 23, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Scott Tipton July Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Scott Tipton October Quarterly," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Abel Tapia April Quarterly," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Abel Tapia Pre-Primary," accessed June 23, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Abel Tapia July Quarterly," accessed July 24, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Abel Tapia October Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
