Colorado's 2nd congressional district is a
congressional district
Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...
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 so ...
of
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. The district is located in the north-central part of the state, and encompasses the Front Range northwest of
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, mainly centered around the college towns of
Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
and
Fort Collins. 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 nume ...
,
Granby,
Steamboat Springs, and
Idaho Springs. Redistricting in 2011 moved
Larimer County
Larimer County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Colli ...
, including the cities of
Fort Collins and
Loveland, to the 2nd from the 4th district. Meanwhile, redistricting in 2021 moved
Loveland back to the 4th district and
Broomfield and western
Jefferson County to the 7th district.
The district is currently represented by
Democrat Joe Neguse. He was elected in 2018 to replace
Jared Polis
Jared Schutz Polis ( ; ; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 to 2007, and five terms as the Unite ...
, 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 (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of Government of Colorado, Colorado's state government and is cha ...
.
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 is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, Colorado gained a second congressional district. The first representative elected to this district was
John Calhoun Bell 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
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
,
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 the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
,
Gilpin,
Grand, and
Summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
counties, as well as portions of
Adams,
Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
,
Jefferson, and
Weld counties.
2010s
Following the
2010 U.S. census and associated realignment of Colorado congressional districts, the 2nd congressional district consisted of
Broomfield,
Clear Creek,
Gilpin,
Grand and
Summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
counties; most of
Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
and
Jefferson counties; and portions of
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
,
Larimer and
Weld counties. Following the census, the 2nd district stretched further north to the
Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
border while losing the western portion of Eagle County.
2020s
Redistricting in
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
moved Loveland back to the 4th district and Broomfield and western Jefferson County to the 7th district. Also the 3rd congressional district lost Jackson County,
Routt County, and most of
Eagle County to the 2nd district.
Composition
For the
118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the
2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:
:
Boulder County (34)
:
Allenspark,
Altona,
Bark Ranch,
Bonanza Mountain Estates,
Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
,
Coal Creek (shared with Gilpin and Jefferson counties),
Crisman,
Eldora,
Eldorado Springs,
Erie (shared with Weld County),
Glendale,
Gold Hill,
Gunbarrel,
Hidden Lake,
Jamestown,
Lafayette,
Lazy Acres,
Leyner,
Longmont (shared with Weld County),
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
,
Lyons
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
,
Mountain Meadows,
Nederland,
Niwot,
Paragon Estates,
Pine Brook Hill,
St. Ann Highlands,
Seven Hills,
Sugarloaf
A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, ...
,
Sunshine,
Superior,
Tall Timber,
Valmont,
Ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
Clear Creek County (14)
: All 14 communities
Eagle County (10)
:
Avon,
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
,
Edwards,
Fulford,
Gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
(part; also
3rd),
McCoy,
Minturn,
Red Cliff,
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 nume ...
,
Wolcott
Gilpin County (4)
: All 4 communities
Grand County (8)
: All 8 communities
Jackson County (1)
:
Walden
''Walden'' (; first published as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is an 1854 book by American transcendentalism, transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. T ...
Jefferson County (2)
:
Arvada,
Coal Creek (shared with Boulder and Gilpin counties)
Larimer County (5)
:
Estes Park
Estes Park () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town, statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropo ...
,
Fort Collins,
Laporte,
Red Feather Lakes,
Timnath
Routt County (5)
: All 5 communities
Summit County (9)
: All 9 communities
Weld County (2)
:
Erie (shared with Weld County),
Longmont (shared with Weld County)
Recent election results from statewide races
Characteristics
This district is anchored in Boulder and Larimer counties which have the bulk of population in the district: both counties are anchored by the large college towns consisting of Colorado's two main state universities -
University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...
in
Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
and
Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...
in
Fort Collins, 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.
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
and
Summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
counties, home to the ski resort 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 nume ...
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. While the district included
Denver's northwestern suburbs for a long time, redistricting caused
Jefferson and
Broomfield counties to be mostly moved to the
7th district outside of a small part of
Arvada that remains in the 2nd.
List of members representing the district
Previous election results
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Historical district boundaries
See also
*
Colorado's congressional districts
*
List of United States congressional districts
Congressional districts in the United States are electoral divisions for the purpose of electing members of the United States House of Representatives. The number of voting seats within the House of Representatives is currently set at 435, wi ...
References
*
*
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
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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