Colorado 2010 legislative election results
Senate
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| Other 2010 Election information |
Colorado State Senate Election Results
This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Colorado State Senate. For results in individual contests see our Colorado State Senate elections, 2010 page. The following is a breakdown of the state senate before and after the election:
| Colorado State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 1, 2010 | After the 2010 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 21 | 20 | |
| Republican Party | 14 | 15 | |
| Total | 35 | 35 | |
What You'll See on This Page
This page displays the following lists of candidates
- Incumbents who ran on November 2
- Incumbents who were defeated
- Challengers who defeated an incumbent
- Newly elected senators
- List of all winners
- Unopposed candidates
- Third party candidates
State Senate Overview:
- There were 13 incumbents who ran in the November 2 general election. Only 1 incumbent lost, and thus 12 incumbents were re-elected to the Colorado State Senate.
- No Republican incumbents lost in the general election, while 1 Democratic incumbent lost.
- There will be 7 new senators sworn-in. Of those 7, 3 are Democrats and 4 are Republicans
- Of the 19 seats up for election, 10 were won by Democrats and 9 by Republicans.
- 1 candidate was unopposed, a Republican.
- Only 3 candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate in the general election.
Incumbency Analysis
Of the 1,167 state senate seats up for election in 2010, incumbents ran for 894 (76.6%) of them. Of these 894, 94 lost their re-election bids, 89 Democrats and 5 Republicans. In Colorado, six incumbent senators did not run for re-election on the November 2 ballot, while 13 incumbents (68.4%) ran for re-election. Of these 13 incumbents, 1 was defeated. He was a Democrat.
Incumbents who ran on November 2
The following is a list of all of the incumbents who ran on the November 2 general election ballot:
Incumbents defeated
The following is a list of incumbents defeated on November 2:
| Candidate | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Bruce Whitehead |
Challengers who beat an incumbent
The following is a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent on November 2:
| Candidate | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Ellen Roberts |
New State Senators and General Election Winners
388 new senators were elected across the country. This includes challengers who defeated incumbents as well as candidates who won open seats. Of these 388, 278 were Republicans and 110 were Democrats. In Colorado, 7 new senators will be sworn-in. Of those 7, 3 are Democrats and 4 are Republicans. In the 6 open seat contests, Republicans won 3 and Democrats 3. In total, Colorado elected 19 senators, 9 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
Newly elected senators
The following are the newly-elected members of the Colorado State Senate:
Democratic
Republican
Open Seat Winners
The following is a list of candidates who won election in seats where no incumbent was running:
Democratic
Republican
Candidates who won election
The following is a list of all candidates elected to the Colorado State Senate:
Democratic
Republican
Competitiveness
Across the nation, 1,167 state senate seats were up for election in 2010. 1,143 of those seats were partisan seats (24 seats were up for election in Nebraska's nonpartisan unicameral legislature). In 320 (28.0%) of these state senate contests, there was a major party candidate with no major party opposition. In Colorado, 1 candidate (5.3% of seats) faced no major party opposition. He was a Republican.
Unopposed candidates in general election
The following candidates did not face major party competition:
Democratic
No candidates were unopposed.
Republican
Ballot Access
Across the nation, 140 independent or third party candidates ran for state senate. In Colorado, 3 (7.7%) of the 39 senate candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate. None were elected on November 2.
Third party candidates
The following is a list of third party and independent candidates who ran in 2010:
House
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| Other 2010 Election information |
Colorado State House Election Results
This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Colorado House of Representatives. For results in individual contests, see our Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2010. The following is a breakdown of the state house before and after the election:
| Colorado House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 1, 2010 | After the 2010 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 37 | 32 | |
| Republican Party | 27 | 33 | |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 65 | 65 | |
What You'll See on This Page
This page displays the following lists of candidates
- Incumbents who ran on November 2
- Incumbents who were defeated
- Challengers who defeated an incumbent
- Newly elected senators
- List of all winners
- Unopposed candidates
- Third party candidates
State House Overview:
- There were 50 incumbents who ran in the November 2 general election. Only 6 incumbents lost, and thus 44 incumbents were re-elected to the Colorado House of Representatives.
- Five incumbent who lost were Democrats, and one was an Independent.
- There will be 20 new representatives sworn-in. Of those 20, 8 are Democrats and 12 are Republicans
- Of the 65 seats up for election, 32 were won by Democrats and 33 by Republicans.
- 11 candidates were unopposed, all of them Republicans.
- Only 6 candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate in the general election.
Incumbency Analysis
Of the 4,958 state house seats up for election, incumbents ran in the general election for 4,091 (79.5%) of them. Of these 4,091 incumbents, 413 lost their re-election bids, 403 Democrats and 10 Republicans. In Colorado, 50 (82.9%) incumbents ran in the general election. Of these 50, 6 incumbent representatives were defeated. One was an Independent and 5 were Democrats.
Incumbents who ran on November 2
The following is a list of all of the incumbents who ran on the November 2 general election ballot:
- Jeanne Labuda
- Mark Ferrandino
- Daniel Kagan
- Lois Court
- Beth McCann
- Joe Miklosi
- Dickey Hullinghorst
- Claire Levy
- Mark Waller (Colorado)
- Larry Liston
- Dennis Apuan
- Marsha Looper
- Amy Stephens
- Bob Gardner
- Kenneth Summers (Colorado)
- Max Tyler
- Sue Schafer
- Cheri Gerou
- Sara Gagliardi
- James Kerr
- Debbie Benefield
- Kevin Priola
- Judith Anne Solano
- Edward Casso
- Dianne Primavera
- John Soper
- Cherylin Peniston
- Su Ryden
- Spencer Swalm
- Joe Rice
- David Balmer
- Nancy Todd
- Frank McNulty
- Carole Murray
- Sal Pace
- Glenn Vaad
- B.J. Nikkel
- Brian DelGrosso
- John Kefalas
- Randy Fischer
- Laura Bradford
- Christine Scanlan
- Randy Baumgardner
- Thomas Massey
- Edward Vigil
- Wesley McKinley
- Jerry Sonnenberg
- Kathleen Curry
- Cindy Acree
Incumbents defeated
The following is a list of incumbents defeated on November 2:
| Candidate | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Dennis Apuan | ||
| Sara Gagliardi | ||
| Debbie Benefield | ||
| Dianne Primavera | ||
| Joe Rice | ||
| Kathleen Curry |
Challengers who beat an incumbent
The following is a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent on November 2:
| Candidate | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Mark H. Barker | ||
| Libby Szabo | ||
| Robert Ramirez (Colorado) | ||
| Donald Beezley | ||
| Kathleen Conti | ||
| Roger Wilson (Colorado) |
New Representatives and General Election Winners
1,345 new representatives were elected across the country. This includes challengers who defeated incumbents as well as candidates who won open seats. Of these 1,345, 988 were Republicans and 357 were Democrats. In Colorado, 20 new representatives will be sworn-in. Of those 20, 8 are Democrats and 12 are Republicans. In the 14 open seat contests, Republicans won 7 and Democrats 7. In total, Colorado elected 65 representatives, 33 Republicans and 32 Democrats.
Newly elected representatives
The following are the newly-elected members of the Colorado House of Representatives:
Democratic
Republican
Open Seat Winners
The following is a list of candidates who won election in seats where no incumbent was running:
Democratic
Republican
Candidates who won election
The following is a list of all candidates elected to the Colorado House of Representatives:
Democratic
- Jeanne Labuda
- Mark Ferrandino
- Daniel Kagan
- Dan Pabon
- Crisanta Duran
- Lois Court
- Angela Williams (Colorado)
- Beth McCann
- Joe Miklosi
- Dickey Hullinghorst
- Deb Gardner
- Matt Jones (Colorado)
- Claire Levy
- Pete Lee
- Max Tyler
- Sue Schafer
- Andrew Kerr
- Kevin Priola
- Judith Anne Solano
- Edward Casso
- John Soper
- Cherylin Peniston
- Su Ryden
- Nancy Todd
- Rhonda Fields
- Sal Pace
- John Kefalas
- Randy Fischer
- Christine Scanlan
- Edward Vigil
- Wesley McKinley
- Roger Wilson (Colorado)
Republican
- Janak Joshi
- Mark Waller (Colorado)
- Larry Liston
- Mark H. Barker
- Marsha Looper
- Amy Stephens
- Bob Gardner
- Kenneth Summers (Colorado)
- Cheri Gerou
- Libby Szabo
- James Kerr
- Robert Ramirez (Colorado)
- Donald Beezley
- Spencer Swalm
- Kathleen Conti
- David Balmer
- Frank McNulty
- Chris Holbert
- Carole Murray
- Keith Swerdfeger
- Glenn Vaad
- B.J. Nikkel
- Brian DelGrosso
- Ray Scott
- Laura Bradford
- Randy Baumgardner
- J. Paul Brown
- Thomas Massey
- Jon Becker
- Jerry Sonnenberg
- Cindy Acree
- Don Coram
Competitiveness
Across the nation, 4,958 state house seats were up for election in 2010. In 1,680 (33.9%) of these state house contests, there was a major party candidate with no major party opposition. In Colorado, 63 candidates (60% of all seats) faced no major party opposition. Of these 63, 31 were Democrats and 32 were Republicans.
Unopposed candidates in general election
The following candidates did not face major party competition:
Democratic
No Democrats ran unopposed.
Republican
Ballot Access
In Colorado, 6 (4.8%) of the 125 house candidates ran as independent or third party candidates. None won election in the November 2 general election.
Third party candidates
The following is a list of third party and independent candidates who ran in 2010:
National Partisan Trends
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National Partisan Trends
The following tables detail the partisan breakdown of national election results. These results provide context for Republican gains in Colorado.
Incumbents who were defeated in the general election
Across the nation, only 15 Republican incumbents were defeated while 492 Democratic incumbents were defeated. In total, 507 (10.4%) of the 4,872 incumbents running in the general election were defeated. The following is a breakdown of incumbent defeats in the 2010 general election:
The following is the breakdown of incumbents who lost.
| Incumbents defeated in 2010 legislative elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Senate | House | Total |
| Democratic | 89 | 403 | 492 |
| Republican | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| TOTALS | 94 | 413 | 507 |
Total new legislators elected
In total, 1,733 (28.3%) new legislators were elected in 2010. Of these 1,733, 1,266 (73.1%) are Republicans and 467 (26.9%) are Democrats.
The following is the breakdown of new legislators.
| New Legislators after the 2010 legislative elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Senate | House | Total |
| Democratic | 110 | 357 | 467 |
| Republican | 278 | 988 | 1,266 |
| TOTALS | 388 | 1,345 | 1,733 |
Winners of Open Seats
Open seats contests made up 1,178 (19.2%) of the 6,125 seats on November 2. Of these 1,178 open seats, Republicans won 729 (61.9%) while Democrats won 449 (38.1%). Going into the election, the number of open seats formerly held by each party was quite similar. Estimates prior to the election suggest that approximately 52% of the open seats were previously held by Republicans and 48% were held by Democrats.
The following is the breakdown of open seat winners.
| Open Seat Winners in 2010 legislative elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Senate | House | Total |
| Democratic | 108 | 341 | 449 |
| Republican | 191 | 538 | 729 |
| TOTALS | 299 | 879 | 1,178 |
Impact on legislative majorities
- See also: Partisan balance of state legislatures
Heading into the November 2 elections, the Democratic Party held a commanding lead in state houses in the 88 legislative chambers that held elections in 2010. 52 of the 88 chambers, or nearly 60% of them, had a Democratic majority, while only 33 of them had a Republican majority. (Two chambers had an exactly equal number of Democrats and Republicans and one is officially nonpartisan.) The following is a partisan breakdown of state legislatures prior to the November 2 election:
| Partisan breakdown before the November 2010 Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legislative chamber | 
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| State senates | 23 | 18 | 1 | 1 |
| State houses | 29 | 15 | 1 | - |
| Totals: | 52 | 33 | 2 | 1 |
As a result of the election, Republicans picked up 20 legislative chambers while Democrats lost 20. Republicans won 53 total chambers on November 2, while Democrats won only 32. The following is a partisan breakdown of state legislatures after the November 2 election:
| Partisan breakdown after the November 2010 Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legislative chamber |
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| State senates | 16 | 25 | 1 | 1 |
| State houses | 16 | 28 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals: | 32 | 53 | 2 | 1 |
Another way to examine the data is to gauge how many chambers had gains for the Democratic Party versus the Republican Party. Using this variable, the wide-sweeping Republican victory is further amplified. Democrats bolstered their majorities in only 7 of 88 (7.96%) state chambers. These legislatures are as follows:
| State legislative chambers where Democrats gained seats on November 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| State | Chamber | Number of seats gained by Democrats |
| California | Assembly | + 2 |
| Delaware | House | + 2 |
| Hawaii | Senate | + 1 |
| Maryland | Senate | + 2 |
| Massachusetts | Senate | + 1 |
| Missouri | Senate | + 1 |
| West Virginia | Senate | + 1 |
In 7 chambers, the GOP kept their current number of seats. In one chamber, the California State Assembly, both major parties gained seats by filling 2 vacancies and defeating an incumbent independent. Overall, the Republican Party picked up legislative seats in 75 (85.2%) of the 88 legislative chambers that held elections on November 2.
Impact on State Politics
Along with the GOP capture of the U.S. House of Representatives, state Republicans gained trifectas (control of the governorship, house, and senate) in 12 states. The following is a breakdown of trifectas across the nation, before and after the 2010 election:
| Trifectas before and after the 2010 Election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Before election | U.S. House seats | After election | U.S. House seats | Gain/loss states | Gain/loss congressional seats |
| 16 | 131 | 11 | 115 | -5 | -16 | |
| 8 | 66 | 20 | 198 | +12 | +132 | |
Before the election, 131 U.S House seats were in states with Democratic trifectas, while 66 districts were in states with Republican trifectas. After the election, Republicans trifectas control redistricting for 198 U.S. House seats while Democrats control only 115. Additionally, California, the strongest Democratic trifecta with 53 U.S. House representatives, passed propositions that take redistricting power away from state government.
