Despite lower-than-expected turnout – only 36% of La Plata County’s eligible voters cast a ballot – the primary election offered an early glimpse into shifting voter participation.
Democrats and unaffiliated voters who chose Democratic ballots outnumbered Republicans by a wide margin Tuesday, a reversal from the county’s 2022 primary, even as local political observers cautioned against reading too much into a single election.
In 2022, unaffiliated and Republican voters in La Plata County far outnumbered Democratic voters. And while final voter statistics will not be available for several days, unofficial election results indicate Democratic turnout far outpaced Republican turnout this year and early voter data released Wednesday by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office suggests a shift among unaffiliated voters.
The Democratic contest with the highest turnout drew 10,436 voters, compared with 5,367 in the Republican race with the highest turnout.
Among unaffiliated voters, 3,762 cast ballots in the Democratic races, and 1,149 in the Republican race. However, the party preference of 2,700 ballots had not yet been reported by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, even though those ballots had been counted and included in the overall vote totals.
“Between Democratic turnout and unaffiliated voters who voted Democratic, I was very happy with it,” said Anne Markward, a grassroots volunteer for Attorney General Phil Weiser’s gubernatorial campaign and former chair of the La Plata County Democratic Party.
In the closely watched Democratic gubernatorial primary, Weiser defeated U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. Markward attributed Weiser’s strong performance in La Plata County less to ideology than to his visibility and engagement with rural communities.
La Plata County voters favored Weiser by 40 percentage points, far exceeding his statewide lead of 14 percentage points.
“To me, it just says Democrats want somebody who shows up, who knows their issues, who doesn’t just court them during election season, but full time, and listens to the needs of rural Colorado,” she said.
Another closely watched race was CD1, where Melat Kiros’ win over longtime U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette has fueled discussion about whether Democratic voters in Colorado and nationally are moving toward a preference for younger, more progressive candidates.
Nationally, several progressive challengers have defeated more established Democrats this election cycle. But Markward cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from Colorado’s results or from voting patterns in La Plata County.
She pointed to the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, where incumbent John Hickenlooper defeated state Sen. Julie Gonzales, who campaigned from the party’s left flank. Hickenlooper also won comfortably in La Plata County, receiving 58% of the vote.
Markward said the Democratic attorney general primary may provide a better test of whether Democratic voters in La Plata County are moving toward more progressive or anti-establishment candidates.
The results offered little evidence of such a shift. David Seligman, whom Markward described as the most progressive candidate in the four-person race, finished fourth in La Plata County with about 13% of the vote. Statewide, however, Seligman placed second behind Jena Griswold in a race where the top three candidates finished within a narrow margin.
Despite strong Democratic turnout and signs that more unaffiliated voters may have participated in the Democratic primary, Markward said she expects Democrat Dwayne Romero will face an uphill battle in November against incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd. She nevertheless believes Democrats have opportunities to expand their support.
“It was a really fun election to knock for because people were genuinely curious,” she said.
Markward said many of the conversations she had while canvassing were with voters looking for information rather than expressing deeply entrenched political views.
Neither Teal Lehto, chair of the La Plata County Democratic Party, nor Vanessa Ruggles, chair of the La Plata County Republican Party, responded to requests for comment Thursday.
This year, Republican ballots accounted for roughly 30% of the 16,209 ballots counted.
“It’s disappointing that more Republicans didn’t turn out,” said Cathy Berra, a member of the La Plata County Republican Party and part-time campaign director for Naomi Riess, the Republican candidate for House District 59.
Berra said lower turnout may reflect voter apathy, uncertainty or distrust surrounding mail-in voting, or broader political polarization. She doesn’t believe it signals declining Republican support in La Plata County.
Riess faces a difficult general election campaign against the Democratic incumbent in House District 59, a seat Democrats have held for the past decade.
Still, Berra said she is not concerned by the lower primary turnout, noting that participation typically increases significantly during general elections.
The focus will be on unaffiliated voters over the next several months, she said.
Like Democrats, Republicans also saw several races featuring political newcomers challenging more established candidates. In the gubernatorial primary, Victor Marx – a podcaster, social media personality and relative political newcomer outside conservative Christian circles – remained locked in a close race with longtime legislator Barb Kirkmeyer.
As of 3 p.m. Thursday, Marx led by less than one percentage point, and the race had not been called. In La Plata County, however, Marx outperformed Kirkmeyer, leading by about three percentage points.
Berra said she was unsure what conclusions, if any, should be drawn from Marx’s stronger performance in La Plata County.