<\/p>\n
Republican incumbent Marc Catlin defeated Democratic candidate Seth Cagin in a landslide victory of 65% to 35% in the race for the Colorado House of Representatives, according to final unofficial results from the Colorado Secretary of State\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
In Montezuma County, Catlin surged ahead with 64% of the votes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a real awkward campaign,\u201d Catlin said.<\/p>\n
With the coronavirus pandemic surging across Colorado, the Republican incumbent has not campaigned as much in-person as a normal election year. And Catlin is \u201cnot much of a digital person,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The signs cropping up for Catlin across House of Representatives District 58, which encompasses Montrose County, Montezuma County, San Miguel County and Dolores County in Southwest Colorado, were a good indication for a renewed term in the Colorado House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they do trust me enough to send me, I will do everything I can for them \u2013 it\u2019s not a role I take lightly,\u201d Catlin said in a phone interview with The Journal<\/em> before the election.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you walk up those steps (to the Capitol in Denver), and you\u2019re not thinking about home, you\u2019re not the right guy for the job,\u201d Catlin said.<\/p>\n Catlin was first elected to the state House by a committee of Republican leaders in 2017. He was selected to replace then-Rep Don Coram, R-Montrose, who was chosen to serve the rest of Sen. Ellen Roberts\u2019 term until 2018.<\/p>\n He was reelected to a full two-year term in a statewide vote in 2018.<\/p>\n Catlin\u2019s opponent, Cagin, also ran against him in 2018. The Democratic candidate said he knocked on more than 8,000 doors that year, campaigning door to door for nine months. But under the coronavirus pandemic, it was not possible to knock on doors this year, Cagin said.<\/p>\n He ran a digital campaign, but decided the race was not worth a lot of time or money this year, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe results are very close to the results two years ago,\u201d Cagin said.<\/p>\n In the 2018 general election, Catlin won with about 63% of the votes. Cagin secured 37% of the votes, according to results posted by the Colorado Secretary of State\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n \u201cThe district\u2019s 60-40 partisan makeup is very clear, and the lesson I\u2019ve taken away from my two races is that it is all-but-impossible to change partisan minds,\u201d Cagin posted to Facebook Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n The Democrat said he spent a lot of time and energy on talking with Republican voters in 2018 about issues that heavily impact people in Southwest Colorado, such as drought, teacher shortages and affordable health care. He proposed policies that reach across the aisle to solve these important issues, Cagin said.<\/p>\n But at the end of the day, Republicans \u201cjust couldn\u2019t vote for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans are locked into two tribes living in separate realities,\u201d Cagin wrote about the current divide between political parties. But Americans have to continue to try and find common ground to \u201ctackle the enormous problems we face as a society,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Catlin said his policy priorities address urgent issues in Southwest Colorado for Republicans and Democrats, such as being proactive in preventing wildfires, protecting Colorado\u2019s water and watersheds during drought and directing more funding toward mental health resources in rural areas.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I go to Denver, I represent everyone, not just Republicans and farmers,\u201d Catlin said.<\/p>\n