Colorado's 7th 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 ...

. Formerly located only in the northeast part of the state, the district now encompasses the western parts 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 Golden, Lakewood, Arvada and Broomfield, along with the central Colorado counties of El Paso County, Jefferson,

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 ...

, Teller,

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

, Chaffee, Fremont, and Custer. The district has been represented by Democrat

Brittany Pettersen Brittany Louise Pettersen (born December 6, 1981) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Colorado's 7th congressional district since 2023. She previously served as a member of the Colorado Senate from the 22nd distric ...

since 2023.

History

2000s

The 7th congressional district was created following the 2000 U.S. census and associated realignment and

reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionment ...

of Colorado congressional districts. It formerly consisted of portions of Adams, Arapahoe, and Jefferson counties, see above for the more recent list. The boundaries were drawn by a court after the state legislature failed to agree on a redistricting plan.

Characteristics

As originally drawn, the 7th was a "fair fight" district that was split roughly 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. The seat's original congressman, Republican Bob Beauprez, gave up the seat in 2006 to run for governor, and was succeeded by Democrat Ed Perlmutter. Since then, a growing Democratic trend in the Denver suburbs allowed Perlmutter to strengthen his hold on the seat. Redistricting after the 2010 census shifted the district to the more populated portions of Jefferson County, making it slightly more Democratic. The 2020 census has changed the district significantly, absorbing the rural areas in the central portion of the state. While the district takes in much more rural population than before, the bulk of population still lives in Jefferson and Broomfield counties, giving the district a mildly Democratic tilt.

Recent election results from statewide races

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_CO07.pdf Adams County (1) : Arvada (part; also

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

and

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 Jefferson County) Broomfield County (1) : Broomfield Chaffee County (8) : All 8 communities Custer County (2) : Silver Cliff, Westcliffe El Paso County (1) : Green Mountain Falls (shared with Teller County) Fremont County (12) : All 12 communities Jefferson County (20) : Applewood, Arvada (part; also

and

; shared with Adams County), Aspen Park, Brook Forest (part; also 2nd; shared with Clear Creek County), Dakota Ridge, East Pleasant View, Edgewater,

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

, Fairmount, Genesee, Golden, Idledale, Indian Hills, Kittredge, Lakeside, Lakewood,

Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

(part; also

; shared with Adams County), West Pleasant View, Wheat Ridge Lake County (3) : All 3 communities Park County (4) : All 4 communities Teller County (8) : All 8 communities

List of members representing the district

Election results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

Historical district boundaries

References

Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado's 7th Congressional District 7 Adams County, Colorado Arapahoe County, Colorado Jefferson County, Colorado Constituencies established in 2003 2003 establishments in Colorado