Colorado's 6th 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 ...

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 ...

. Located in central Colorado, the district encompasses much of the eastern part of the

Denver metropolitan area Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver regi ...

, including all of

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

, as well as portions of the southern Denver metro area (

Centennial A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

and Littleton). The district is currently represented by Democrat

Jason Crow Jason Crow (born March 15, 1979) is an American politician, lawyer, and former U.S. Army officer serving since 2019 as the United States representative for . Crow is the first member of the Democratic Party to represent the district, which e ...

. The district was created in 1983 as a result of the redistricting cycle after the 1980 census, and was originally a classic suburban Republican bastion; this was once the safest seat for Colorado Republicans outside of

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

. However, changing demographics in the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encounter ...

, especially in Arapahoe County which went from a traditional conservative suburban/exurban stronghold to a densely populated, ethnically and culturally diverse Democratic-leaning inner suburban county, has made these suburban areas much friendlier to Democrats. The 2010 redistricting shifted the more rural, GOP-dominated sections of the district to the nearby 4th and added heavily populated and Democratic parts of

, turning the 6th district into a Democratic-leaning swing district. However, Republicans are still competitive downballot, and the Democratic strength was limited to western Arapahoe County for much of its history, as the components of Douglas County and Adams County in the 6th were still Republican leaning: this changed in 2020, as Joe Biden and Representative Jason Crow won all county areas in the district. After 2020 redistricting, the 6th became a purely inner suburban district anchored in western Arapahoe County, although small parts of Jefferson, Douglas, and Adams Counties were included as well to completely take in the cities of Littleton and

. A small portion of the City and County 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 ...

near Four Square Mile is also located in the district.

History

1990s

Following the 1990 U.S. census and associated realignment of Colorado congressional districts, the 6th congressional district consisted of portions of Arapahoe and Jefferson counties.

2000s

Following the 2000 U.S. census and associated realignment of Colorado congressional districts, the 6th congressional district consisted of Douglas and Elbert counties as well as portions of Arapahoe, Jefferson, and

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

counties.

2010s

During the 2010 Colorado Redistricting, the 6th congressional district lost most of its previous area; the district now consisted of the western portions of Arapahoe and Adams counties plus the community of

Highlands Ranch Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The p ...

in Douglas County and a very little part of Jefferson County.

2020s

During the 2020 Colorado Redistricting, the 6th congressional district became a pure inner-suburban district consisting of western Arapahoe County, the portions of the City of Aurora located in Adams and Douglas counties, as well as parts of Jefferson County bordering Littleton near Highway 470.

Characteristics

Suburban in character, this ethnically and economically diverse district takes in Denver's southern and eastern suburbs and is now fairly Democratic, despite historically being a Republican district.

, a diverse city with 21% foreign-born residents makes up the base of the population: while the city generally votes to the left and is a suburban stronghold for Colorado Democrats, it also provided enough support for Republican

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 ...

to hold the district for a decade. The suburbs to Denver's south side in the district are a mixed bag - Greenwood Village and Cherry Hills Village have a large amount of registered Republicans, however the Republicans here are mainly economically conservative and much more moderate socially compared to the rest of the state.

and Littleton have historically tended to vote Republican but have voted Democratic since 2016: Englewood and Sheridan, being closer socially and economically to nearby Denver are safe for the Democrats, however they do not make up a large part of the district's population.

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:https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST08/CD118_CO06.pdf Adams County (1) :

(shared with Arapahoe and Douglas counties) Arapahoe County (17) : Aetna Estates,

(shared with Adams and Douglas counties), Bennett (part; also

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

; shared with Adams County), Bow Mar (shared with Jefferson County),

, Cherry Creek, Cherry Hills Village, Columbine (shared with Jefferson County), Columbine Valley, Dove Valley, Englewood, Four Square Mile, Foxfield, Greenwood Village,

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, Littleton (shared with Douglas and Jefferson counties), Sheridan Denver County (1) :

(part; also

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

) Douglas County (2) :

(shared with Adams and Arapahoe counties), Littleton (shared with Douglas and Jefferson counties) Jefferson County (5) :

(shared with Adams and Arapahoe counties), Bow Mar (shared with Arapahoe County), Columbine (shared with Arapahoe County), Ken Caryl, Littleton (shared with Arapahoe and Jefferson counties)

Recent election results from statewide races

List of members representing the district

Election results

1982

1983 (Special)

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

Republican primary

General election

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

Historical district boundaries

References

Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{coord, 39, 45, 18, N, 104, 45, 55, W, region:US_type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title 6 Douglas County, Colorado Elbert County, Colorado Arapahoe County, Colorado Jefferson County, Colorado Park County, Colorado 1983 establishments in Colorado