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| Elections in Colorado |
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The 2026 United States Senate election in Colorado will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Colorado. Incumbent Democratic Senator John Hickenlooper, who was first elected in 2020 is running for re-election to a second term in office. [1]
The 100 seats in the United States Senate are divided into three classes for the purpose of determining which seats will be up for election in any two-year cycle, with only one class being up for election at a time. With senators being elected to fixed terms of six years, the classes allow about a third of the seats to be up for election in any presidential or midterm election year instead of having all 100 be up for election at the same time every six years. The seats are also divided in such a way that any given state's two senators are in different classes so that each seat's term ends in different years. Class 1 and 2 consist of 33 seats each, while class 3 consists of 34 seats. Elections for class 1 seats are scheduled to take place in 2024, class 2 in 2026, and the elections for class 3 seats in 2028.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. It is the only organization solely dedicated to electing Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current Chair is Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, who succeeded Nevada‘s Catherine Cortez Masto after the 2020 Senate elections. DSCC's current executive director is Christie Roberts.
The 1972 United States Senate elections were held on November 7, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. They coincided with the landslide re-election of Republican President Richard Nixon. Despite Nixon's landslide victory, Democrats increased their majority by two seats. The Democrats picked up open seats in Kentucky and South Dakota, and defeated four incumbent senators: Gordon Allott of Colorado, J. Caleb Boggs of Delaware, Jack Miller of Iowa, and Margaret Chase Smith of Maine. The Republicans picked up open seats in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, and defeated one incumbent, William B. Spong Jr. of Virginia.
John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 2019 and as the 43rd mayor of Denver from 2003 to 2011. He was a geologist and businessman before entering politics.
The 1912–13 United States Senate elections were held on various dates in various states. They were the last U.S. Senate elections before the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, establishing direct elections for all Senate seats. Senators had been primarily chosen by state legislatures. Senators were elected over a wide range of time throughout 1912 and 1913, and a seat may have been filled months late or remained vacant due to legislative deadlock. Some states elected their senators directly even before passage of Seventeenth Amendment. Oregon pioneered direct election and experimented with different measures over several years until it succeeded in 1907. Soon after, Nebraska followed suit and laid the foundation for other states to adopt measures reflecting the people's will. By 1912, as many as 29 states elected senators either as nominees of their party's primary or in conjunction with a general election.
The politics of Colorado, United States, are that of a blue state. Once considered a swing state that used to be Republican-leaning, Colorado has been trending Democratic since the early part of the 21st century due to changing demographics and a rising number of the large unaffiliated bloc of voters leaning Democratic. The growing shift of the state's Republican Party towards social and religious conservatism along with shifting further to the right has also been cited as reasons for the changing voting patterns of Colorado.
The 2010 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of Colorado, who would serve a four-year term that began in January 2011. One-term incumbent Democrat Bill Ritter announced that he would not run for re-election in 2010. Dan Maes, backed by the Tea Party movement, won the Republican nomination in the primary with 50.6% of the vote and a 1.3% margin over rival Scott McInnis. In claiming victory, Maes called on former representative Tom Tancredo, running as the Constitution Party's nominee to "stop your campaign tonight." Denver mayor John Hickenlooper was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Hickenlooper won the race with over 50% of the vote.
The 2011 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 8. This was an off-year election, in which the only seats up for election in the United States Congress were special elections. There were also four gubernatorial races, including a special election in West Virginia. There were also state legislative elections in four states and judicial elections in three states; as well as numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races, and a variety of other local offices on the ballot.
The 2014 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, concurrently with the election to Colorado's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Colorado on November 4, 2014. All of Colorado's executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat and all of Colorado's seven seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on June 24, 2014.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the seven U.S. representatives from the state of Colorado, one from each of the state's seven congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on June 28.
The 1956 United States Senate election in Iowa took place on November 6, 1956. Incumbent Republican Senator Bourke B. Hickenlooper was re-elected to a third term in office over Democrat Rudolph M. Evans.
The 1950 United States Senate election in Iowa took place on November 7, 1950. Incumbent Republican Senator Bourke B. Hickenlooper was re-elected to a second term in office over Democratic U.S. Undersecertary of Agriculture Albert J. Loveland.
The 1944 United States Senate election in Iowa took place on November 7, 1944. Incumbent Democratic Senator Guy M. Gillette ran for a second full term in office but was defeated by Republican Governor Bourke B. Hickenlooper.
The 2020 United States Senate election in Colorado was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Colorado, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 1914 United States Senate election in Colorado took place on November 3, 1914. It was the first direct U.S. Senate election in Colorado following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment. Incumbent U.S. Senator Charles S. Thomas, a Democrat, who was first elected by the state legislature to fill a vacancy in 1913, ran for re-election to a full term.
The 1962 United States Senate election in Iowa took place on November 6, 1962. Incumbent Republican Senator Bourke B. Hickenlooper was re-elected to a fourth term in office over Democrat E.B. Smith.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the seven U.S. representatives from the state of Colorado, one from each of the state's seven congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The 2026 United States Senate elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, with 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate being contested in regular elections, the winners of which will serve six-year terms in the United States Congress from January 3, 2027, to January 3, 2033. Senators are divided into three groups, or classes, whose terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every two years. Class 2 senators were last elected in 2020, and will be up for election again in 2032.