United States presidential election in Colorado, 2016

United States presidential election in Colorado, 2016
Colorado
November 8, 2016
 
Nominee TBA Donald Trump
(presumptive)
Party Democratic Republican
Home state New York
Running mate TBA TBA

Incumbent President

Barack Obama
Democratic

The 2016 United States presidential election in Colorado will take place on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 General Election in which all 50 states plus The District of Columbia participate. Colorado voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote.

On March 1, 2016, in the presidential primaries, Colorado voters expressed their preferences for the Democratic and Libertarian parties' respective nominees for President. The Republican Party did not hold a preference poll because the party decided to cancel it in August 2015.[1] Registered members of each party only voted in their party's caucus, while unaffiliated voters were unable to participate.

Background

Article Two of the United States Constitution provides that for a person to be elected and serve as President of the United States, the individual must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for a period of no less than 14 years. Candidates for the presidency typically seek the nomination of one of the various Political parties of the United States, in which case each party devises a method (such as a primary election) to choose the candidate the party deems best suited to run for the position. The primary elections are usually indirect elections where voters cast ballots for a slate of party delegates pledged to a particular candidate. The party's delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party's behalf. The general election in November is also an indirect election, where voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the Electoral College; these electors in turn directly elect the President and Vice President.

The incumbent, President Barack Obama, a Democrat and former U.S. Senator from Illinois, is ineligible to seek reelection to a third term due to restrictions of the Twenty-second Amendment; in accordance with Section 1 of the Twentieth Amendment, his term expires at noon on January 20, 2017. In the 2008 election, Obama was elected president, defeating the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, receiving 52.9% of the popular vote and 68% of the electoral vote.[2][3] Obama succeeded two-term Republican President George W. Bush, the former Governor of Texas. Since the end of 2009, polling companies such as Gallup have found Obama's approval ratings to be between 40 and 50 percent.[4][5] Analysts such as Larry Sabato have noted that Obama's approval ratings could impact the 2016 campaign, helping or hurting the Democratic candidate.[6][7] If Obama and Vice President Joe Biden serve out the remainder of their respective terms, the voters will elect the 45th President and 48th Vice President of the United States, respectively.

In the 2010 midterm elections, the Democratic Party suffered significant losses in Congress; the Republicans gained 63 seats in the House of Representatives (thus taking control of the chamber), and six seats in the Senate, though short of achieving a majority. As a result of the Republicans' recapture of the House, John Boehner became the 53rd Speaker of the House of Representatives. This made Obama the first President in 16 years to lose the House of Representatives in the first half of his first term, in an election that was characterized by the economy's slow recovery, and the rise of the Tea Party movement.[8] In the 2012 presidential election, incumbent President Barack Obama defeated former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, with 51.1% of the popular vote and 332 (or 61.7%) of 538 electoral votes.[9] Meanwhile, Republicans retained their majority of seats in the House of Representatives despite minor losses, while Democrats increased their majority in the Senate.[3] Speculation about the 2016 campaign began almost immediately following the 2012 campaign, with New York magazine declaring the race had begun in an article published on November 8, 2012, two days after the 2012 election.[10] On the same day, Politico released an article predicting the 2016 general election may be between Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, while a New York Times article named Chris Christie and Cory Booker as potential candidates.[11][12] In the 2014 midterm elections, voter turnout was the lowest seen in 70 years, with only 34.4% of eligible voters voting.[13] As a result of the election, the Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives, increasing their majority to its largest level since 1928. Republicans also gained a majority in the Senate.

Primary elections

Green Party Convention

On April 3, the Green Party of Colorado held a presidential nominating convention in Centennial, Colorado for registered Green voters.[14]

On April 4, the Green Party of Colorado announced that Jill Stein had won the convention and received all 5 delegates.[15]

Colorado Green Party Convention, April 3 2016.
Candidate Votes Percentage National delegates
Jill Stein - - 5
William Kreml - - -
Kent Mesplay - - -
Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry - - -
Darryl Cherney - - -
Uncommitted - - -
Total - - 5

Democratic caucuses

Results of the Democratic caucuses by county.
  Bernie Sanders
  Hillary Clinton
  Tie
Colorado Democratic caucuses, March 1, 2016
Candidate Popular vote Estimated delegates
Count Percentage Pledged Unpledged Total
Bernie Sanders 73,416 59.44% 39 39
Hillary Clinton 49,219 39.85% 27 9 36
Uncommitted 822 0.67% 0 3 3
Others 51 0.04%
Total 123,508 100% 66 12 78
Sources: The Green Papers and Colorado Democrats 2016 Caucus results

Republican conventions

From April 2-8, 2016, conventions were held in each of Colorado's seven congressional districts. Cruz swept all seven, winning 21 delegates total.[16][17][18][19] On April 9, 2016, the state convention was held to elect the 13 statewide delegates and the 3 RNC delegates.[20] Again, Cruz won all 13 statewide at-large delegates.[21] Cruz was also the only candidate to address the state convention.

A proposal to forbid Colorado Republican delegates from voting for Donald Trump was written in March 2016 by Robert Zubrin.[22] The group "Colorado Republicans for Liberty" handed out fliers of Zubrin's resolution at the state's convention. Irregularities on the ballot were discovered at the state's convention. Delegate #379 (Jerome Parks, a Trump delegate) was replaced on the ballot with a duplicate of delegate #378 (a Ted Cruz delegate).[23][24] Larry Wayne Lindsey, a state delegate, claims he was removed from the ballot without knowing until shortly before the beginning of the convention because he is a Trump supporter.[23] The Colorado Republican Party's Twitter account posted a the message "We did it #NeverTrump" after Cruz received all the bound delegates at the April convention. The party claims somebody hacked its Twitter account, and the party claims to be investigating how the message was posted.[25][26] In May 2015, the Colorado Senate defeated a bill to hold a 2016 presidential primary. State senators Kevin Grantham, Kent Lambert, Laura J. Woods, and Jerry Sonnenberg voted to stop the bill.[27] Sonnenberg, Woods, Grantham, and Lambert are members of the Ted Cruz "Colorado Leadership Team" for Ted Cruz.[28] Congressman Ken Buck and Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams are also members of the Ted Cruz "Colorado Leadership Team".[28]

The conventions were selected through statewide caucuses, which were conducted at the precinct level on March 1.[20] No voter preference poll was held due to a decision in August by the state party to cancel it.[1]

Three candidates contested the Republican presidential conventions:

Marco Rubio and Ben Carson had dropped out of the race by the time the conventions were held, though they were still running during the March 1 caucuses.

Colorado Republican district conventions, April 2, 2016, April 7-8, 2016
Candidate Votes Percentage Actual delegate count
Bound Unbound Total
Ted Cruz 0 0.0% 17 4 21
Donald Trump 0 0.0% 0 0 0
John Kasich 0 0.0% 0 0 0
Marco Rubio (withdrawn) 0 0.0% 0 0 0
Ben Carson (withdrawn) 0 0.0% 0 0 0
Uncommitted 0 0.0% 0 0 0
Unprojected delegates: 0 0 0
Total: 0 100.00% 17 4 21
Source: The Green Papers
Colorado Republican state convention, April 9, 2016
Candidate Votes Percentage Actual delegate count
Bound Unbound Total
Ted Cruz 0 0.0% 13 0 13
Donald Trump 0 0.0% 0 0 0
John Kasich 0 0.0% 0 0 0
Marco Rubio (withdrawn) 0 0.0% 0 0 0
Ben Carson (withdrawn) 0 0.0% 0 0 0
Uncommitted 0 0.0% 0 0 0
Unprojected delegates: 0 3 3
Total: 0 100.00% 13 3 16
Source: The Green Papers

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Colorado Republicans cancel presidential vote at 2016 caucus
  2. ↑ "United States House of Representatives floor summary for Jan 8, 2009". Clerk.house.gov. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Federal elections 2008" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Presidential Approval Ratings -- Barack Obama". Gallup. Gallup. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Election Other – President Obama Job Approval". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  6. ↑ Sabato, Larry J. (May 11, 2015). "Clinton’s Real Opponent: Barack Obama". Politico. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  7. ↑ Cohn, Nate (January 16, 2015). "What a Rise in Obama’s Approval Rating Means for 2016". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Mid-term Elections 2010: Democrats lose the House in Republican tsunami". Daily Mail. Daily Mail and General Trust. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  9. ↑ "President Map". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). November 29, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  10. ↑ Amira, Dan (November 8, 2012). "Let the 2016 Campaign Season Begin!". New York. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  11. ↑ Martin, Johnathon; Haberman, Maggie (November 8, 2012). "2016 election: Hillary Clinton vs. Jeb Bush?". Politico. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  12. ↑ Barbaro, Micharl (November 8, 2012). "After Obama, Christie Wants a G.O.P. Hug". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  13. ↑ "2014 midterm election turnout lowest in 70 years | PBS NewsHour". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  14. ↑ "PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION CONVENTION". Colorado Green Party. 2015-12-14. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  15. ↑ "Green Party of Colorado". Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  16. ↑ http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2016/04/02/ted-cruz-wins-colorado-delegates-donald-trump/125427/
  17. ↑ http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/colorado-loss-reveals-chaotic-overwhelmed-trump-campaign-n552781
  18. ↑ http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/events.phtml?s=c
  19. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/09/us/politics/ted-cruz-wins-majority-of-delegates-in-colorado.html
  20. 1 2 http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/CO-R
  21. ↑ http://www.denverpost.com/election/ci_29746409/ted-cruz-controls-state-gop-convention-fiery-stump-speech
  22. ↑ Colorado GOP resolution: No voting for Trump
  23. 1 2 DISGUSTING! Colorado Trump Delegates Scratched From Ballots at GOP Convention – Cruzers Listed TWICE
  24. ↑ Cruz Sweeps Colorado as Trump Campaign Issues Error-Filled Ballots
  25. ↑ Colorado GOP hastily deletes 'Never Trump' tweet following sweeping Ted Cruz delegate victory,
  26. ↑ Colorado GOP deletes #nevertrump tweet, pledges investigation
  27. ↑ Senate Republicans kill party’s own push for 2016 presidential primary
  28. 1 2 Cruz for President Announces Colorado Leadership Team

External links

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