Kamala Harris won Colorado and its 10 electoral votes on Tuesday, easily beating Donald Trump in a state that’s become reliably Democratic in recent years.
Harris, the vice president, had 56% of the presidential election vote in Colorado to former President Donald Trump’s 42% at 8:08 p.m. when The Associated Press called the race.
Harris’ victory in the Centennial State was never in doubt. She consistently led Trump by large margins in polls conducted in Colorado. As a result, both campaigns effectively ignored the state, spending minimal money and time trying to sway voters here.
Trump stopped in Aurora in October, but only to use the city as a prop to talk about his immigration platform. Harris never visited the state after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid in July.
The last Republican to win a presidential election in Colorado was President George W. Bush in 2004. Biden beat Trump in Colorado in 2020 by 13.5 percentage points.
The Harris’ campaign was so confident about its chances in Colorado that it moved some staff to Arizona, which was expected to be far more competitive, in the closing days of the election.
Trump, meanwhile, really didn’t have any campaign presence in Colorado this year.
Jen Ribera, a La Plata County Democrat, voted before Election Day. But on Tuesday she dragged a friend over to the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder’s Office in Durango to make sure he voted.
Ribera was quick to share her choice for president.
“Mamala!” Ribera said, referring to her vote for Harris. “It’s just that she’s a woman. I hate that people say that, but it’s a really big deal – a minority woman – considering I am one and I have children who are minorities. It’s really important to see someone in office that represents the rest of the population.”
The 34-year-old office assistant at a local asphalt company also said she didn’t think a felon should be president, a reference to Trump.
Colorado Sun staff writer Shannon Mullane contributed to this report.
