The 2016 United States Senate election in Colorado was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to represent the State of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the 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 western edge of t ...

, concurrently with the

2016 U.S. presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald ...

, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

to 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and various

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

. Major party candidates can qualify for the ballot through party assemblies or by petition. To qualify by assembly, a candidate must receive at least 30 percent of the vote from the party's state assembly. To qualify by petition, the candidate must file at least 1,500 signatures from each congressional district by April 4, 2016. Incumbent Democratic Senator

Michael Bennet Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Colorado, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed t ...

won re-election to a second full term in office. Bennet's main challenger was

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee Darryl Glenn, an El Paso County commissioner. Glenn won a crowded, five-way Republican primary in June. Three other candidates were on the ballot: former

Eagle County Eagle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,731. The county seat is the Town of Eagle and the most populous community is Edwards. The county is named for the Eagle River. Eagl ...

Commissioner Arn Menconi was the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

nominee; Lily Tang Williams was the

Libertarian Party Active parties by country Defunct parties by country Organizations associated with Libertarian parties See also * Liberal parties by country * List of libertarian organizations * Lists of political parties * Outline of libertarianism ...

nominee; and Unity Party of America Chairman Bill Hammons was the Unity Party nominee.

Background

Democratic U.S. Senator

Ken Salazar Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Mexico. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Ba ...

resigned in January 2009 to become

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Bill Ritter August William Ritter Jr. (born September 6, 1956) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the district attorney for Denver before his ele ...

appointed Bennet, the

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

Denver Public Schools The Denver County School District No. 1, more commonly known as the Denver Public Schools (DPS), is the public school system in the City and County of Denver, Colorado, United States. History In 1859, Owen J. Goldrick established the Union Scho ...

, to replace him. Bennet was elected to a full term in 2010, defeating Republican

Ken Buck Kenneth Robert Buck (born February 16, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who has represented Colorado's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2015. From March 30, 2019, to March 27, 2021, Buck s ...

by 48.1% to 46.4%.

Democratic primary

Incumbent Senator

was unopposed for renomination.

Candidates

Declared

, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

Republican primary

The Colorado Republican Party State Assembly was held April 9, 2016. Darryl Glenn won the convention with 70% of the vote. Robert Blaha, Jack Graham, Jon Keyser, and Ryan Frazier sought to qualify for the ballot by petition instead of through the State Assembly. Glenn won the June primary with about 37.5% of the vote in the crowded, five-candidate Republican primary field.

Candidate controversies

In early May, the Denver ABC affiliate uncovered over 10 forged voter signatures on the petition which placed Republican candidate Jon Keyser on the June Republican primary ballot. The circulator who forged the signatures was arrested for 34 felonies. A late May lawsuit claiming at least 60 forged signatures based on the analysis of a handwriting expert and challenging Keyser's placement on the primary ballot was dismissed because it didn't fall within the five-day window to challenge a ballot placement. When asked on-camera about the forgeries, Keyser didn't address the issue and proceeded to inform the interviewer that Keyser's dog was larger than the interviewer. In early June, when asked by a fellow Republican candidate and a retired air force lieutenant colonel whether Keyser received his Bronze Star for work on a software program or for "kicking in doors" in combat as "represented to the community", Keyser refused to answer the question and claimed he had "no idea" what software program his rival was talking about. Yet, according to the article announcing Keyser's citation, Keyser "developed and implemented a unique and effective technique to provide critical force protection and situational-awareness data to ground counter-terrorism operations." In August 2014, Republican candidate Jack Graham was fired as Colorado State University Athletic Director for reasons that were not specified, though he would continue to be paid through the November 2016 election.

Candidates

Declared

* Robert Blaha, businessman and candidate for

Colorado's 5th congressional district Colorado's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. The district lies in the center of the state and comprises Colorado Springs and its suburbs including Cimarron Hills and Fort Carson. The distri ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

* Ryan Frazier, former

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

city councilman, nominee for

Colorado's 7th congressional district Colorado's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Formerly located only in the northeast part of the state, the district now encompasses the western parts of the Denver metropolitan area, includin ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, and candidate for mayor of

in 2011 (withdrew) * Darryl Glenn, El Paso County

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

* Jack Graham, businessman and former

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

athletic director *

Jon Keyser Jonathan Michael Keyser is an attorney and former state representative who served in the Colorado House of Representatives. He represented House District 25, which encompasses Western Jefferson County, Colorado including Morrison, Conifer, Ever ...

, former state representative

Withdrew

* Greg Lopez, former director of the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stren ...

Colorado District, former mayor of

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado * Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Park ...

and candidate for

Colorado Senate The Colorado Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of about 123, ...

in 2000

Rejected at convention

* Charlie Ehler, retired air force computer programmer and Tea Party activist * Jerry Eller, former insurance and real estate agent * Tom Janich, former

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

School board-member and

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

* Michael Kinlaw, mortgage broker *

Peggy Littleton Peggy Littleton (Propst) is a candidate for Colorado State Board of Education, Congressional District 8. She was the county commissioner for El Paso County, Colorado. Her Commissioner District 5 jurisdiction is over El Paso County, Colorado, ...

, El Paso County commissioner and former

Colorado State Board of Education The Colorado State Board of Education is a government body in the U.S. state of Colorado tasked with "general supervision of public schools." It is composed of members elected from districts corresponding to Colorado's congressional districts – ...

member * Jerry Natividad, businessman *

Tim Neville Tim Neville is a former Republican member of the Colorado Senate from the 16th district. Neville was born and raised in Florida. He has a degree in business administration from Regis University and has lived in Jefferson County, Colorado sin ...

, state senator * Donald Rosier, Jefferson County

* Erik Underwood, former congressional staffer

Declined

* Christian Anschutz, real estate developer * Wil Armstrong, businessman, candidate for

Colorado's 6th congressional district Colorado's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in central Colorado, the district encompasses much of the eastern part of the Denver metropolitan area, including all of Aurora, as well as ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and son of former U.S. Senator

William L. Armstrong William Lester Armstrong Jr. (March 16, 1937 – July 5, 2016) was an American businessman, administrator, and politician. He was a member of the Republican Party and served as a United States representative and Senator from Colorado. Early li ...

* Dan Caplis, radio host * Dan Domenico, former Solicitor General of Colorado *

Owen Hill Owen Hill (born February 17, 1982) is a former State Legislator for the U.S. State of Colorado. First elected to the Colorado State Senate as a Republican in 2012, he served two terms representing Senate District 10, which encompasses Eastern C ...

, state senator and candidate for the U.S. Senate in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Steve Laffey Stephen (Steve) Laffey is an American politician, businessman, author and filmmaker. He is the former Republican mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island from 2003 to 2007 and lost a bid for the United States Senate in 2006. He is a former executive of M ...

, former mayor of

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second largest in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island i ...

, candidate for U.S. Senate from Rhode Island in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, and candidate for

Colorado's 4th congressional district Colorado's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in the eastern part of the state, the district encompasses most of the rural Colorado Eastern Plains, Eastern Plains as well as the larger C ...

Gale Norton Gale Ann Norton (born March 11, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 48th United States Secretary of the Interior under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006. A member of the Republican Party, she previously serve ...

, former

Attorney General of Colorado The Attorney General of the State of Colorado is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Colorado and the head of the Colorado Department of Law, a principal department of the Colorado state government. It is an elected position with a four- ...

, and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1996 *

Walker Stapleton Walker Stapleton (born April 15, 1974) is an American politician who served two terms as Colorado's State Treasurer from 2011 to 2019. Stapleton was the Republican nominee for Governor of Colorado in the 2018 election, which he lost to Democrat J ...

, Colorado State Treasurer *

Amy Stephens Amy Stephens is a Principal in Public Policy and Regulation Practice at Dentons, a multinational law firm; previously, she served as Colorado House Majority Leader and House Minority Caucus Chairman in the Colorado House of Representatives. Bio ...

, former state representative and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 * Brian Watson, real estate developer *

Rob Witwer Rob Witwer (born February 2, 1971) is a Colorado politician, lawyer, and former Republican member of the Colorado House of Representatives. In the State House, Witwer represented House District 25, which encompasses most of western Jefferson ...

, former state representative * George Brauchler,

Arapahoe County Arapahoe County may refer to: *Arapahoe County, Colorado *Arapahoe County, Kansas Territory Arapahoe County was a county of Kansas Territory in the United States that existed from August 25, 1855, until Kansas's admission into the Union on January ...

District Attorney *

, U.S. Representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010 (running for re-election) * Bill Cadman, president of the

* Cynthia Coffman,

Colorado Attorney General The Attorney General of the State of Colorado is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Colorado and the head of the Colorado Department of Law, a principal department of the Colorado state government. It is an elected position with a four- ...

Mike Coffman Michael Harold Coffman (born March 19, 1955) is an American politician, businessman, and veteran of the United States Army, U.S. Army and United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps serving as Mayor of Aurora, Colorado since 2019. A Republican ...

, U.S. Representative, former

Secretary of State of Colorado The secretary of state of Colorado is the secretary of state of the state of Colorado in the United States. The office is one of five elected constitutional offices in the state. The current secretary of state is Democrat Jena Griswold. Structure ...

and former

Colorado State Treasurer The Treasurer of the State of Colorado is one of the five elected officials of the U.S. state of Colorado, the other four being the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General. The State Treasurer is responsible for man ...

( running for reelection) *

Mike Kopp Mike Kopp (born c. 1969) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a member of the Colorado Senate, representing Senate District 22, which encompassed southern Jefferson County. He served from 2007 and as Sena ...

, former state senator and candidate for

Josh Penry Josh Penry (born February 1, 1976) is the former minority leader of the Colorado Senate. Elected in 2006, Penry was the youngest member of the Colorado state Senate. According to ''The Denver Post'', Penry played a leadership role in opposing re ...

, former state senator *

Ellen Roberts Ellen Stuart Roberts (born August 27, 1959 ) is an attorney and former Republican legislator in the U.S. State of Colorado. From 2006-2010, Roberts served as the State Representative for House District 59. In 2010, she was elected to Senate Di ...

, state senator * Doug Robinson, businessman *

Mark Scheffel Mark Scheffel is an American politician and a former Majority Leader of the Colorado Senate. First elected to the Colorado State Senate as a Republican in 2008, Scheffel represented Senate District 4 in Douglas County, which encompasses Castl ...

, Majority Leader of the

* Ray Scott, state senator * Justin Smith,

Larimer County Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins. The county was named for William Larimer, Jr., the founder of Denver. ...

Sheriff * Jerry Sonnenberg, state senator *

Scott Tipton Scott Randall Tipton (born November 9, 1956) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. A Republican, he was previously a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2009 to 2011. Tipton was f ...

, U.S. Representative ( running for re-election)

Endorsements

Results

Darryl Glenn won the general primary on June 28 and went on to face the other candidates in the November election.

Third party and independent candidates

Declared

* Bill Hammons (Unity Party), chairman and founder of the Unity Party of America * Arn Menconi (

), former

Commissioner and founder of SOS Outreach * Gary Swing (Boiling Frog Party), promoter and perennial candidate * Lily Tang Williams (

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

), former chair of the

Libertarian Party of Colorado The Libertarian Party of Colorado is the state affiliate of the Libertarian Party in Colorado. The state chair is Wayne Harlos. Elected libertarians in Colorado include city councilmen Doug Anderson in Lakewood, Colorado, Joe Johnson in Frederick ...

and candidate for the state house in 2014

Endorsements

General election

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Graphical summary

;with Scott Tipton ;with Mike Coffman ;with Cynthia Coffman

Results

References

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Michael Bennet

Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Results

Republican primary

Candidate controversies

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Rejected at convention

Declined

Endorsements

Results

Third party and independent candidates

Declared

Endorsements

General election

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Graphical summary

Results

References

External links