Colorado's 7th congressional district

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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 Golden, Lakewood, Arvada and Broomfield, along with the central Colorado counties of El Paso County, Jefferson, Park, Teller, Lake, Chaffee, Fremont, and Custer.

Colorado's 7th congressional district
Map
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative
Distribution
  • 99.44% urban[1]
  • 0.56% rural
Population (2023)726,989[2]
Median household
income
$99,041[3]
Ethnicity
Cook PVID+4[4]

The district has been represented by Democrat Brittany Pettersen since 2023.

History

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2000s

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The 7th congressional district was created following the 2000 U.S. census and associated realignment and reapportionment 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.[5]

Characteristics

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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.

Voting

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Election results from presidential races[6]

Election results from presidential races
Year Office Results
2004 President Kerry 51–48%
2008 President Obama 59–40%
2012 President Obama 56–41%
2016 President Clinton 51–39%
2020 President Biden 60–37%

Composition

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# County Seat Population
14 Broomfield Broomfield 76,860
15 Chaffee Salida 20,617
27 Custer Westcliffe 5,534
43 Fremont Cañon City 50,318
59 Jefferson Golden 576,366
65 Lake Leadville 7,365
93 Park Fairplay 18,117
119 Teller Cripple Creek 24,617

Cities of 10,000 people or more

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2,500 – 10,000 people

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List of members representing the district

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Name Party Years Cong–
ress
Electoral history District location
District created January 3, 2003
 
Bob Beauprez
(Arvada)
Republican January 3, 2003 –
January 3, 2007
108th
109th
Elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Retired to run for Governor of Colorado.
2003–2013
 
 
Ed Perlmutter
(Arvada)
Democratic January 3, 2007 –
January 3, 2023
110th
111th
112th
113th
114th
115th
116th
117th
Elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Re-elected in 2010.
Re-elected in 2012.
Re-elected in 2014.
Re-elected in 2016.
Re-elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020.
Retired.
2013–2023
 
 
Brittany Pettersen
(Lakewood)
Democratic January 3, 2023 –
present
118th Elected in 2022. 2023–present
 

Election results

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20022004200620082010201220142016201820202022

2002

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2002[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Beauprez 81,789 47%
Democratic Mike Feeley 81,668 47%
Green Dave Chandler 3,274 2%
Reform Victor Good 3,133 2%
Libertarian G. T. "Bud" Martin 2,906 2%
Independent Stanford Andress (as a write-in) 109 0%
Total votes 172,879 100%
Republican win (new seat)

2004

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2004[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Beauprez (incumbent) 135,571 55%
Democratic Dave Thomas 106,026 43%
Constitution Clyde J. Harkins 6,167 2%
Total votes 247,764 100%
Republican hold

2006

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2006[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ed Perlmutter 103,918 55%
Republican Rick O'Donnell 79,571 42%
Green Dave Chandler 3,073 2%
Constitution Roger McCarville 2,605 1%
Total votes 189,172 100%
Democratic gain from Republican

2008

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2008[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ed Perlmutter (incumbent) 173,931 63%
Republican John W. Lerew 100,055 37%
Total votes 273,986 100%
Democratic hold

2010

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2010[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ed Perlmutter (incumbent) 112,667 53%
Republican Ryan Frazier 88,026 42%
Libertarian Buck Bailey 10,117 5%
Total votes 210,810 100%
Democratic hold

2012

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2012[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ed Perlmutter (incumbent) 182,460 54%
Republican Joe Coors, Jr. 139,066 41%
Libertarian Buck Bailey 9,148 3%
Constitution Douglas Campbell 10,296 2%
Total votes 340,970 100%
Democratic hold

2014

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2014[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ed Perlmutter (incumbent) 148,225 55%
Republican Don Ytterberg 120,918 45%
Total votes 269,143 100%
Democratic hold

2016

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2016[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ed Perlmutter (incumbent) 199,758 55.18%
Republican George Athanasopoulos 144,066 39.80%
Libertarian Martin L. Buchanan 18,186 5.02%
Total votes 362,010 100%
Democratic hold

2018

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2018[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ed Perlmutter (incumbent) 204,260 60.42%
Republican Mark Barrington 119,734 35.42%
Libertarian Jennifer Nackerud 14,012 4.14%
Total votes 338,067 100%
Democratic hold

2020

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2020[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ed Perlmutter (incumbent) 250,525 59.1%
Republican Casper Stockham 159,301 37.6%
Libertarian Ken Biles 11,510 2.7%
Unity Dave Olszta 2,355 0.6%
Total votes 423,691 100%
Democratic hold

2022

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United States House of Representatives elections, 2022[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Brittany Pettersen 204,984 56.4%
Republican Erik Aadland 150,510 41.4%
Libertarian Ross Klopf 6,187 1.7%
Unity Critter Milton 1,828 0.5%
Independent JP Lujan (write-in) 92 0.0%
Total votes 363,601 100%
Democratic hold

Historical district boundaries

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2003–2013[18]
 
2013–2023

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (State-based)". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013.
  2. ^ "My Congressional District".
  3. ^ "My Congressional District".
  4. ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  5. ^ Greenhouse, Linda (June 8, 2004). "Colorado Republicans Lose Redistricting Effort". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Presidential Election Results, by district, swingstateproject.com
  7. ^ 2002 Election Results
  8. ^ 2004 Election Results
  9. ^ 2006 Election Results
  10. ^ 2008 Election Results
  11. ^ "2010 Election Results". Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  12. ^ 2012 Election Results
  13. ^ 2014 Election Results
  14. ^ 2016 Election Results
  15. ^ "2018 Colorado general election results". Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  16. ^ "2020 General Election - Official Compiled Results". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  17. ^ "Certificate & Results - General Election Statewide Abstract of Votes Cast" (PDF). Colorado Secretary of State.
  18. ^ "The national atlas". nationalatlas.gov. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2014.

39°49′34″N 105°02′32″W / 39.82611°N 105.04222°W / 39.82611; -105.04222