Colorado's 2nd congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. The district is located in the north-central part of the state and encompasses the northwestern suburbs of

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

including Boulder and

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. The district also includes the mountain towns of

Vail Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numer ...

, Granby, Steamboat Springs, and

Idaho Springs The City of Idaho Springs is the Statutory City that is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 ...

. Redistricting in 2011 moved Larimer County, including the cities of

and Loveland, to the 2nd from the 4th district."Judge rules in favor of Democratic map in Colorado redistricting." ''Denver Post''. 2011-11-14

/ref> Meanwhile, redistricting in 2021 moved Loveland back to the 4th district and Broomfield, Colorado, Broomfield and western Jefferson County to the 7th district. The district is currently represented by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Joe Neguse Joseph D. Neguse ( ; born May 13, 1984) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 2nd congressional district since 2019. The district is based in Boulder and includes many of Denver's northwestern s ...

. He was elected in 2018 to replace

Jared Polis Jared Schutz Polis (; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 20 ...

, who retired after being elected

governor of Colorado The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either app ...

History

1890s

Following the 1890 U.S. census and associated reapportionment of seats in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Colorado gained a second congressional district. The first representative elected to this district was

John Calhoun Bell John Calhoun Bell (December 11, 1851 – August 12, 1933) was a U.S. Representative from Colorado. Biography Born near Sewanee, Tennessee, Bell was the son of Harrison and Rachel Laxon Bell. He attended public and private schools in Franklin ...

of The Populist party.

1990s

Following the 1990 U.S. census and associated realignment of Colorado congressional districts, the 2nd congressional district consisted of Boulder, Clear Creek, and Gilpin counties, as well as portions of Adams, and Jefferson counties.

2000s

Following the 2000 U.S. census and associated realignment of Colorado congressional districts, the 2nd congressional district consisted of Broomfield, Clear Creek,

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

, Gilpin,

Grand Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and c ...

, and Summit counties, as well as portions of Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, and Weld counties.

2010s

Following the

2010 U.S. census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

and associated realignment of Colorado congressional districts, the 2nd congressional district consisted of Broomfield, Clear Creek, Gilpin,

and Summit counties; most of Boulder and Jefferson counties; and portions of

, Larimer and Weld counties. Following the census, the 2nd district stretched further north to the

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

border while losing the western portion of Eagle County.

2020s

Voting

Characteristics

This district is anchored in Boulder and Larimer counties which have the bulk of population in the district: both counties are mainly anchored by the large college towns of Boulder and

, providing Democratic strength in the district. The other parts of the district are diverse, ranging from far western Denver suburbs to agricultural areas and mountain towns.

and Summit counties, home to the ski resort towns of

and Breckenridge and other tourism dependent towns such as Avon, Frisco and Silverthorne, are Democratic strongholds: however Gilpin and Clear Creek counties, while also being tourism dependent and Democratic leaning, do not vote as strongly for the Democrats. Grand County leans Republican, though the ski resort areas of the county in Winter Park are heavily Democratic. The suburban areas of Denver represented in the 2nd district are more competitive; while Broomfield, Colorado, Broomfield itself leans Democratic, the Jefferson County foothills are historically a Republican stronghold, though

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

is eroding Republican dominance in the area. Similarly, Larimer County outside of Fort Collins is heavily Republican, however the county leans Democratic due to the influence and population of

List of members representing the district

Previous election results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Historical district boundaries

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{coord, 40, 08, 53, N, 105, 44, 40, W, region:US_type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title 2 Adams County, Colorado Boulder County, Colorado Broomfield, Colorado Clear Creek County, Colorado Eagle County, Colorado Gilpin County, Colorado Grand County, Colorado Jefferson County, Colorado Summit County, Colorado Weld County, Colorado 1893 establishments in Colorado