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Colorado's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

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Colorado's 4th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 17, 2020
Primary: June 30, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Ken Buck (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Colorado
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Colorado's 4th Congressional District
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th
Colorado elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 4th Congressional District of Colorado, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent Ken Buck won election in the general election for U.S. House Colorado District 4.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
March 17, 2020
June 30, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Republican Ken Buck, who was first elected in 2014.

Colorado's 4th Congressional District is located in eastern Colorado and includes Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Elbert, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Las Animas, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Otero, Phillips, Prowers, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma counties. The district also includes portions of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Douglas, and Weld counties. [4]

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Colorado's 4th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 40.8 36.6
Republican candidate Republican Party 56.6 60.1
Difference 15.8 23.5

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Colorado did not modify any procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

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Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Colorado District 4

Incumbent Ken Buck defeated Ike McCorkle, Bruce Griffith, and Laura Ireland in the general election for U.S. House Colorado District 4 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ken Buck
Ken Buck (R)
 
60.1
 
285,606
Image of Ike McCorkle
Ike McCorkle (D)
 
36.6
 
173,945
Image of Bruce Griffith
Bruce Griffith (L)
 
2.3
 
11,026
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Laura Ireland (Unity Party)
 
1.0
 
4,530

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 475,107
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 4

Ike McCorkle advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 4 on June 30, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ike McCorkle
Ike McCorkle
 
100.0
 
81,719

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 81,719
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 4

Incumbent Ken Buck advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 4 on June 30, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ken Buck
Ken Buck
 
100.0
 
109,230

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 109,230
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Colorado District 4

Bruce Griffith advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Colorado District 4 on April 13, 2020.

Candidate
✔
Image of Bruce Griffith
Bruce Griffith (L)

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Unity Party convention

Unity Party convention for U.S. House Colorado District 4

Laura Ireland advanced from the Unity Party convention for U.S. House Colorado District 4 on April 4, 2020.

Candidate
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Laura Ireland (Unity Party)

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Four of 64 Colorado counties—6 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Conejos County, Colorado 3.56% 9.22% 12.93%
Huerfano County, Colorado 6.61% 8.27% 11.23%
Las Animas County, Colorado 15.60% 2.65% 7.04%
Pueblo County, Colorado 0.50% 13.99% 14.97%

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Colorado with 48.2 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 43.3 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Colorado voted Republican 63.3 percent of the time and Democratic 36.7 percent of the time. Colorado voted Republican in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, but voted Democratic in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 elections.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Colorado. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[5][6]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 37 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 27.3 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 40 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 24.8 points. Clinton won four districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 28 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 21.2 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 25 out of 65 state House districts in Colorado with an average margin of victory of 25.8 points. Trump won one district controlled by a Democrat heading into the 2018 elections.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+13, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Colorado's 4th Congressional District the 106th most Republican nationally.[7]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.04. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.04 points toward that party.[8]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[9] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[10] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Ken Buck Republican Party $479,682 $540,092 $290,666 As of December 31, 2020
Ike McCorkle Democratic Party $380,437 $227,964 $152,473 As of December 31, 2020
Bruce Griffith Libertarian Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Laura Ireland Unity Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[11]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[12][13][14]

Race ratings: Colorado's 4th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 4th Congressional District candidates in Colorado in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Colorado, click here.

Filing requirements, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Colorado 4th Congressional District Major party 1,500 1,500 or 10% of votes cast in last primary (whichever is less) N/A N/A 3/17/2020 Source
Colorado 4th Congressional District Unaffiliated 1,500 1,500, or 2.5% of votes cast for office in last election (whichever is less) N/A N/A 7/9/2020 Source

District election history

2018

See also: Colorado's 4th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Colorado District 4

Incumbent Ken Buck defeated Karen McCormick in the general election for U.S. House Colorado District 4 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ken Buck
Ken Buck (R)
 
60.6
 
224,038
Image of Karen McCormick
Karen McCormick (D)
 
39.4
 
145,544
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
39

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 369,621
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 4

Karen McCormick defeated Chase Kohne in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Colorado District 4 on June 26, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Karen McCormick
Karen McCormick
 
64.7
 
37,120
Image of Chase Kohne
Chase Kohne
 
35.3
 
20,269

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 57,389
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 4

Incumbent Ken Buck advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Colorado District 4 on June 26, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Ken Buck
Ken Buck
 
100.0
 
85,290

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 85,290
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2016

See also: Colorado's 4th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Ken Buck (R) defeated Bob Seay (D), Bruce Griffith (L), and Donald Howbert (R write-in) in the general election on November 8, 2016. No candidate faced a primary opponent in June.[15][16][17]

U.S. House, Colorado District 4 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngKen Buck Incumbent 63.5% 248,230
     Democratic Bob Seay 31.7% 123,642
     Libertarian Bruce Griffith 4.8% 18,761
Total Votes 390,633
Source: Colorado Secretary of State

2014

See also: Colorado's 4th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 4th Congressional District of Colorado held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Cory Gardner (R) did not seek re-election in 2014. He instead ran for election to the U.S. Senate. Ken Buck (R) defeated Vic Meyers (D), Jess Loban (L) and Grant Doherty (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, Colorado District 4 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngKen Buck 64.7% 185,292
     Democratic Vic Meyers 29.2% 83,727
     Libertarian Jess Loban 3.3% 9,472
     Independent Grant Doherty 2.8% 8,016
Total Votes 286,507
Source: Colorado Secretary of State

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Colorado is a vote-by-mail state. In order to vote by mail, registration must be completed at least eight days prior to the election. If voting in person on Election Day, a voter can register at the polls.
  2. ↑ Colorado is a vote-by-mail state. In order to vote by mail, registration must be completed at least eight days prior to the election. If voting in person on Election Day, a voter can register at the polls.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Colorado is a vote-by-mail state. Early voting dates and polling hours apply to vote centers where individuals can instead vote in person.
  4. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
  5. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  6. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  7. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  8. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  9. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  10. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  11. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  12. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  13. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  14. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  15. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate List," accessed May 2, 2016
  16. ↑ Politico, "Colorado House Primaries Results," June 28, 2016
  17. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 General Election Candidate List," accessed September 5, 2016


Colorado's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Michael Bennet (D)
John Hickenlooper (D)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
Jeff Hurd (R)
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
Democratic Party (6)
Republican Party (4)


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