Colorado was one of the easier Senate races to predict. Polls have consistently shown Democrat John Hickenlooper leading Republican incumbent Cory Gardner. Now Hickenlooper has been declared the winner, giving the Democrats another seat in the Senate.
Hickenlooper was a former governor of the state and a former mayor of Denver.
Gardner served one term in the Senate. The Colorado Sun points out that the state has changed a lot since he was first elected in 2014:
Colorado’s political foundation has shifted significantly.
More than a quarter million voters switched political parties. And more than a half million new voters registered in the state, a new Colorado Sun analysis shows.
The new baseline voter demographics in Colorado undoubtedly favor Democrats.