The 2018 Colorado State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Colorado voters elected state senators in 17 of the 35 districts in the state senate. State senators serve four-year terms in the Colorado State Senate. The Colorado Reapportionment Commission provides a statewide map of the state Senate here, and individual district maps are available from the U.S. Census here.
A primary election on June 26, 2018, determined which candidates appeared on the November 6 general election ballot. Primary election results can be obtained from the Colorado Secretary of State's website.
Following the 2016 state Senate elections, Republicans maintained effective control of the Senate with 18 members. Democratic state Senator Cheri Jahn switched from Democrat to unaffiliated on December 29, 2017. However, Sen. Jahn decided to still caucus with Democrats. In the 2018 election, Republicans defended 10 seats, while Democrats defended six seats, with Jahn's one Independent seat up for grabs.
To claim control of the chamber from Republicans, the Democrats needed to net one Senate seat while electing a Democrat to the Independent seat. The Democratic candidate won the Independent seat, while Democrats netted two additional seats, giving the party majority status in the chamber. The results ultimately led to Democrats gaining a political trifecta for the first time since 2014.
Background Heading to the 2018 elections, Republicans held a one-seat majority in the Senate and sought to defend their very narrow majority in the election. Democrats had not held the state Senate since 2014, and aimed at flipping it to potentially achieve a political trifecta, as Democrats were expected to retain control of the state House, and gubernatorial nominee Jared Polis was considered the frontrunner heading up to the polls.
Five Senate seats were considered vital to determine the political balance of the Senate and even the political outlook of the state. Democratic women dubbed the "Fab Five" were running to defend or win these five competitive districts. Incumbent Republicans Tim Neville and Beth Humenik were seen as the most vulnerable, as both narrowly won their races in 2014, and they represented districts which Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won in 2016.
Results Districts not shown would not be up for election until 2020. DistrictIncumbent PartyElected senator Party 1st Jerry Sonnenberg RepJerry Sonnenberg Rep 2nd Kevin Grantham Rep Dennis Hisey Rep 3rd Leroy Garcia DemLeroy Garcia Dem 5th Kerry Donovan Dem Kerry Donovan Dem 6th Don Coram Rep Don Coram Rep 7th Ray Scott RepRay Scott Rep 9th Kent Lambert Rep Paul Lundeen Rep 11th Michael Merrifield Dem Pete Lee Dem 13th John Cooke Rep John Cooke Rep 15th Kevin Lundberg Rep Rob Woodward Rep 16th Tim Neville Rep Tammy Story Dem 20th Cheri Jahn Ind Jessie Danielson Dem 22nd Andy Kerr Dem Brittany Pettersen Dem 24th Beth Martinez Humenik Rep Faith Winter Dem 30th Chris Holbert Rep Chris Holbert Rep 32nd Irene Aguilar Dem Robert Rodriguez Dem 34th Lucía Guzmán Dem Julie Gonzales Dem Source:
Incumbents not seeking re-election Term-limited incumbents Seven incumbent senators (three Democrats, three Republicans and one independent) were term-limited and unable to seek a third term.
Kevin Grantham (R), District 2 Kent Lambert (R), District 9 Kevin Lundberg (R), District 15 Cheri Jahn (I), District 20 Andy Kerr (D), District 22 Irene Aguilar (D) District 32 Lucia Guzman (D), District 34
Retiring incumbents One incumbent Democrat did not seek re-election despite being able to do so.
Michael Merrifield (D), District 11
Closest races Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:
Predictions SourceRankingAs of Governing | October 8, 2018
Detailed results District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 9 • District 11 • District 13 • District 15 • District 16 • District 20 • District 22 • District 24 • District 30 • District 32 • District 34__NOTOC__ Sources:
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District 5
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District 11
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District 15
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Analysis Democrats handily flipped the state Senate by significantly outperforming their margins compared to 2016 and 2014. Most of the votes that led to the Senate flipping was due to the outsized margins Democratic candidates received throughout the Front Range and ski counties. Independent voters (the largest share of the electorate), along with women voters, younger voters, and suburban voters, helped propel Democrats to victory in many races. Races that were considered competitive but eventually won by the so-called "Fab Five" of Faith Winter, Jessie Danielson, Tammy Story, Kerry Donovan, and Brittany Pettersen were won by relatively large margins. Due to Democrats flipping the Senate, they were able to gain a political trifecta, as they expanded their majorities in the state House and won all statewide races, including for governor.
The results in the Senate and other elections throughout 2018 were called by observers a "blue wave" in which Democrats made historic gains in Colorado.
See also United States elections, 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado, 2018 Colorado elections, 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election, 2018 Colorado Attorney General election, 2018 Colorado Secretary of State election, 2018 Colorado State Treasurer election, 2018 Colorado State Board of Education election, 2018 Regents of the University of Colorado election, 2018 Colorado House of Representatives election, 2018 Elections in Colorado
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