Colorado wrapped up its primary elections on Tuesday, June 25. Although voter turnout was reportedly lower for this year’s primary elections across the state, the results could still portend shifts in the trajectory of Colorado politics—for both state and federal lawmakers. Overall, it was a good night for centrists as voters selected several candidates—on both sides of the aisle—who were perceived to be more moderate than their primary opponents.
Tuesday’s results also highlight the increasing role of unaffiliated voters in Colorado after the state opened its primaries several years ago. The politically unaffiliated represent the state’s largest voting bloc, outnumbering any other party in active registrations at 48% of Colorado’s 3.9 million, according to the most recent statistics from the Secretary of State’s Office. Although they only made up 35% of votes in these primary elections, according to Colorado Public Radio, they played a key role in several races on Tuesday night and will be a deciding factor in close races in the general election, which is now only 132 days away.
Click here for a summary of the results from the primaries for both the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislative seats.