The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the seven

U.S. 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 ...

from the state, one from each of the state's seven

congressional districts 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 ...

. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

. Primary elections were held on June 26, 2012.

Overview

Redistricting

During the redistricting process, Republicans argued for minimal changes to the existing map while Democrats pushed for more competitive districts. After a committee of ten members of the

Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the ''Colorado Revised Statutes'' (C.R.S.). The se ...

failed to draw a map, in November 2011 Judge Robert Hyatt ruled in favor of Democrats' proposals. In December 2011, the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. Powers and duties Appellate jurisdiction Discretionary appeals The Court ...

affirmed Hyatt's ruling.

District 1

Colorado's 1st congressional district, which has been represented by Democrat

Diana DeGette Diana Louise DeGette (; born July 29, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, her district is based in Denver. DeGette was a Chief Deputy Whip from 2005 ...

since 1997, was not significantly modified in redistricting and continues to be based in

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 ...

. The new 1st district includes Ken Caryl and

Cherry Hills Village The City of Cherry Hills Village is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 6,442 at the 2020 United States Census. Cherry Hills Village is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, C ...

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *Danny Stroud, Army Major

=Eliminated in primary

= *Richard Murphy

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Results

District 2

In redistricting,

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. ...

, home to

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'' ...

, was added to

Colorado's 2nd congressional district Colorado's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. The district is located in the north-central part of the state and encompasses the northwestern suburbs of Denver including Boulder and Fort Col ...

, which has been represented by Democrat

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 ...

since 2009 and is still based in Boulder.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

Kevin Lundberg Kevin Lundberg (born July 29, 1952) is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Before his appointment to the State Senate in 2009 as a United States Republican Party, Republican, he was elected to serve as the Representative to House ...

, state senator

=Eliminated in primary

= *Eric Weissmann, businessman

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Results

District 3

In redistricting,

Colorado's 3rd congressional district Colorado's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. It takes in most of the rural Western Slope in the state's western third portion, with a tendril in the south taking in some of the southern port ...

, which stretches from

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

to Grand Junction, was made slightly more favorable to Democrats. Part of Eagle County was added to the district, while Las Animas County was removed from it.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Scott Tipton, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Democratic primary

Democrat

John Salazar John Tony Salazar (born July 21, 1953) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 until 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed Commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture in the C ...

, who represented the district from 2005 until 2011, said in December 2010 that he was considering seeking a rematch against

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 ...

Scott Tipton, to whom he lost his seat in 2010. He commented "We're thinking that we might run again in two years, but who knows? I'm keeping all options open. We've been offered a possibility of serving at many other places, or there's a great possibility of going back to the ranch and raising cattle." In January 2011,

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 ...

John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. (; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 20 ...

appointed Salazar to serve as Colorado Agriculture Commissioner. On May 19, 2011, Democratic state representative Sal Pace said he was "likely to put a campaign together", having met with U.S. House minority whip Steny Hoyer. On May 31, Pace declared his intention to challenge Tipton. Hoyer also suggested the name of Perry Haney, a surgeon, as a potential candidate; however Haney later formed an

exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...

to run in the 6th district but withdrew from the race in February 2012.

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Sal Pace, state representative

=Declined

= * Perry Haney, surgeon *

, former U.S. Representative

Primary results

Libertarian primary

Primary results

Tisha Casida, a businesswoman, ran as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate.

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 4

After redistricting,

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 Eastern Plains as well as the larger Colorado Front Range citie ...

continued to strongly favor Republicans. It lost Fort Collins to the 2nd District; as a result, the largest city in the district is now Greeley. Republican incumbent

Cory Gardner Cory Scott Gardner (born August 22, 1974) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States senator from Colorado from 2015 to 2021. A Republican, he was the U.S. representative for Colorado's 4th congressional dis ...

, who was first elected to represent

in 2010, raised over $300,000 in the first

quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement ...

of 2011.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= * Brandon Shaffer, president of the Colorado Senate

=Declined

= *

Betsy Markey Elizabeth Helen Markey (born April 27, 1956) is a former American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 2009 to 2011. She also served as assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs in th ...

, assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs in the

U.S. Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

and former U.S. Representative

Primary results

Constitution primary

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Results

District 5

Colorado's 5th congressional district, which has been represented by Republican

Doug Lamborn Douglas Lawrence Lamborn (born May 24, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party. His district is based in Colorado Springs. Early life and career Born ...

since 2007, was not significantly modified in redistricting and is still centered in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. It is expected to continue to strongly favor Republicans.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

=Eliminated in primary

= *Robert Blaha, businessman *Doug Bergeron, Insurance Agent

Primary results

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Withdrawn

= *Bob Evans

Constitution primary

Primary results

General election

The Republican candidate did not see a Democratic challenger, as Democratic candidate Bob Evans suspended his campaign. However, Jim Pirtle (Libertarian), Kenneth R. Harvell (American Constitution), and Dave Anderson (No Party Affiliation) all challenged the Republican Party nominee.

Endorsements

Results

District 6

In redistricting,

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 ...

was made more favorable to Democrats. While the 6th has leaned Republican since its creation in 1983, the new 6th's population will be evenly split between Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters. All of

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 ...

was added to the district. Republican

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

has represented the 6th district since 2009.

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

Joe Miklosi Joe Miklosi is an American businessman and politician who served as a Colorado Representative from 2009 to 2013, he worked eight years for Project C.U.R.E., an international health care nonprofit organization, which donates life-saving medical su ...

, state representative

=Withdrawn

= *Perry Haney,

chiropractor Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscien ...

=Declined

= * Morgan Carroll, state senator * John Morse,

majority leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

of the state senate * Andrew Romanoff, former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives * Brandon Shaffer, tpresident of the Colorado Senate (running in the

4th district Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

)

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Polling

Predictions

Results

District 7

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, including ...

, which has been represented by Democrat

Ed Perlmutter Edwin George Perlmutter (born May 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in the northern and western suburbs of the Denver metropolitan are ...

since 2007, was modified in redistricting to include the more populated suburbs of Adams County.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Nominee

= *Joe Coors Jr, brother of 2004 U.S. Senate candidate

Pete Coors Peter Hanson Coors (born September 20, 1946) is an American businessman and politician. He formerly served as the chairman of the Molson Coors Brewing Company and chairman of MillerCoors. Coors was the Republican party nominee in the 2004 United S ...

Primary results

Constitution primary

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 8, 2012

Polling

Predictions

Results

References

External links

Elections & Voting
from the Colorado Secretary of State
United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado, 2012
at Ballotpedia
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

Outside spending
at the Sunlight Foundation {{2012 United States elections

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 gat ...

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 ...

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 ...