2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the seven U.S. Representatives from the state, one from each of the state's seven congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election. Primary elections were held on June 26, 2012.

Overview

Redistricting

During the redistricting process, Republicans argued for minimal changes to the existing map while Democrats pushed for more competitive districts. After a committee of ten members of the Colorado General Assembly failed to draw a map, in November 2011 Judge Robert Hyatt ruled in favor of Democrats' proposals. In December 2011, the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed Hyatt's ruling.

District 1
Colorado's 1st congressional district, which has been represented by Democrat Diana DeGette since 1997, was not significantly modified in redistricting and continues to be based in Denver. The new 1st district includes Ken Caryl and Cherry Hills Village.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Results

District 2
In redistricting, Larimer County, home to Fort Collins, was added to Colorado's 2nd congressional district, which has been represented by Democrat Jared Polis since 2009 and is still based in Boulder.

State senator Kevin Lundberg was the Republican nominee.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Results

District 3
In redistricting, Colorado's 3rd congressional district, which stretches from Pueblo to Grand Junction, was made slightly more favorable to Democrats. Part of Eagle County was added to the district, while Las Animas County was removed from it.

Democrat John Salazar, who represented the district from 2005 until 2011, said in December 2010 that he was considering seeking a rematch against Republican Scott Tipton, to whom he lost his seat in 2010. He commented "We're thinking that we might run again in two years, but who knows? I'm keeping all options open. We've been offered a possibility of serving at many other places, or there's a great possibility of going back to the ranch and raising cattle." In January 2011, Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Salazar to serve as Colorado Agriculture Commissioner.

On May 19, 2011, Democratic state representative Sal Pace said he was "likely to put a campaign together", having met with U.S. House minority whip Steny Hoyer. On May 31, Pace declared his intention to challenge Tipton. Hoyer also suggested the name of Perry Haney, a surgeon, as a potential candidate; however Haney later formed an exploratory committee to run in the 6th district but withdrew from the race in February 2012.

Tisha Casida, a businesswoman, ran as an independent candidate.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

Libertarian primary

Primary results

General election

Polling

Results

District 4
After redistricting, Colorado's 4th congressional district continued to strongly favor Republicans.  It lost Fort Collins to the 2nd District; as a result, the largest city in the district is now Greeley. Republican incumbent Cory Gardner, who was first elected to represent Colorado's 4th congressional district in 2010, raised over $300,000 in the first quarter of 2011.

Brandon Shaffer, the president of the Colorado Senate, sought the Democratic nomination to challenge Gardner. Betsy Markey, the Democrat who represented the 4th district from 2009 until 2011, is now the assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and said in February 2011 she would not run for Congress again in 2012.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

Constitution primary

Primary results

General election

Results

District 5
Colorado's 5th congressional district, which has been represented by Republican Doug Lamborn since 2007, was not significantly modified in redistricting and is still centered in Colorado Springs. It is expected to continue to strongly favor Republicans.

Lamborn was challenged in the Republican primary by Businessman Robert Blaha and Insurance Agent Doug Bergeron.

The Republican candidate did not see a Democratic challenger, as Democratic candidate Bob Evans suspended his campaign.

However, Jim Pirtle (Libertarian), Kenneth R. Harvell (American Constitution), and Dave Anderson (No Party Affiliation) all challenged the Republican Party nominee.

Republican primary

Primary results

Constitution primary

Primary results

General election

Results

District 6
In redistricting, Colorado's 6th congressional district was made more favorable to Democrats.  While the 6th has leaned Republican since its creation in 1983, the new 6th's population will be evenly split between Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters. All of Aurora was added to the district. Republican Mike Coffman has represented the 6th district since 2009.

Democrat Joe Miklosi, a state representative, challenged Coffman. Perry Haney, a chiropractor, who had formed an exploratory committee to seek the Democratic nomination, withdrew from the race in February 2012. State senator Morgan Carroll; John Morse, the majority leader of the state senate; Andrew Romanoff, a former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives; and Brandon Shaffer, the president of the Colorado Senate (who will instead run in the 4th district), all decided against running.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

General election

Results

District 7
Colorado's 7th congressional district, which has been represented by Democrat Ed Perlmutter since 2007, was modified in redistricting to include the more populated suburbs of Adams County.

Joe Coors Jr., the brother of unsuccessful 2004 U.S. Senate candidate Pete Coors, became the Republican nominee to challenge Perlmutter.

Democratic primary

Primary results

Republican primary

Primary results

Constitution primary

Primary results

General election

References

External links
 Elections & Voting from the Colorado Secretary of State
United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado, 2012 at Ballotpedia
 Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
 Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation

2012
Colorado

United States House of Representatives