Posted on 11/04/2008 11:44:31 PM PST by Kukai
Colorado, once a reliably red state, swung blue tonight as voters chose Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president, Mark Udall for the state's open Senate seat and a host of Democrats for Congress.
GOP Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave was unseated by Democratic challenger Betsy Markey after an intense campaign full of attack ads, topping off a landslide victory for Democrats.
Celebrating at the downtown Sheraton Hotel in Denver, cheering Democrats grew louder and louder as election results rolled in.
The crowd erupted into a frenzy that lasted for several minutes following CNN's pronouncement that Obama won the election. "Obama! Obama! Obama!" they roared.
"Colorado, this is a new day! It's a new day for this nation and for
FULL RESULTS View Colo. & US Maps View Presidential results View results by Race View results by County View results by City MULTIMEDIA Text of Obama's victory speech Obama's victory speech Text of McCain's concession speech McCain concedes presidency Obama wins presidency The elderly vote Voting at Denver's Rishel Middle School National anthem, sung at Colorado campaign stops What would you do as president? View photos of election day in Colorado View national election day photos Photos of the candidates' final cross-country campaigning ELECTION NEWS All Election news President news U.S. Senate news U.S. House news Colo. Statehouse news Ballot Issue news Voting news C.U. Regents news RTD Board news Board of Education news District Attorney news Metro Counties news Blogs from Politics West this world!" former Gov. Roy Romer shouted. The mood in the hotel ballroom, with its cash bar, was like a celebrity wedding reception. It would be a long night, and Democrats were rollicking.
"Colorado has gone from red to purple to blue," said U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democratic who easily kept her seat.
"How much better can it get?" an excited Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper asked the hundreds of people in the crowded hotel ballroom. They roared back in victory.
The party started on the streets of Denver in earnest shortly after media sources called Colorado for Obama. A stream of cars blew their horns, hooted, hollered and waved blue Obama signs at people gathered at bus stops on Colfax Avenue while the Democrat was pulling ahead here.
Obama - who will become the first African American president - was leading in Colorado 53 percent to 44 percent over Republican Sen. John McCain.
In the contentious battle for Colorado's open Senate seat, Democrat Udall led Republican Bob Schaffer 53 percent to 41 percent with 49 percent of precincts reporting.
The GOP was gathered tonight at the Park Meadows Marriott on the southern end of the city, where a bright spot was the election of Secretary of State Mike Coffman to the 6th Congressional District. He easily defeated Hank Eng to replace retiring Tom Tancredo in one of the state's remaining Republican strongholds.
Still, Coffman was lamenting the performance of the GOP overall and blaming the Bush administration.
"This election was not a rejection of the core conservative values of the Republican Party but it was a referendum on the Bush Administration," he said.
"Tomorrow will be the first day in our march forward to be the majority party again in this country. Tomorrow the Republican Party will no longer be the party of George W. Bush but the party of Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln."
Democrats, meanwhile, were celebrating the re-election of U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, John Salazar
Chet Sisk, second from right, and Artuo Gomez, left, watch early results on a television at Brother Jeff's Cultural Center in Denver's Five Points neighborhood. (Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post)and Ed Perlmutter tonight. The state also picked former state school board member Jared Polis, a Democrat, to take the U.S. House seat being vacated by Mark Udall.
Polis, an Internet entrepreneur from Boulder, won a heated Democratic primary in August and beat back Republican opponent Scott Starin.
Amendment 58
Colorado voters rejected a measure that would have rolled back a tax credit for the oil and gas industry and put the money toward college scholarships.
Amendment 58, pushed by Gov. Bill Ritter and attacked by the oil and gas industry, would have raised an estimated $300 million per year.
The industry spent about $11 million trying to defeat it.
The measure was failing tonight 57 percent to 42
( | )percent with 48 percent of precincts reporting.
Amendment 59
The measure that would weaken the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights and allow the state to keep more of its money was failing 55 percent to 44 percent with 50 percent of precincts reporting.
It would end the constitutional requirement that revenues in excess of a TABOR-imposed limit be refunded to taxpayers. It also would repeal the requirement that education spending rise every year.
Amendment 59 would put the extra cash in the state education fund, reserving 10 percent of the money each year in a special savings account for schools.
Amendment 47
The so-called right-to-work measure that would prohibit mandatory union fees as a condition of employment was failing 53 percent to 46 percent with 52 percent of precincts reporting.
The amendment, viewed as anti-union and backed by business groups, would make Colorado the nation's 23rd "right-to-work" state.
A related amendment - 49 - would prohibit automatic deductions of union dues from government-employee paychecks. It appeared to be going down 60 percent to 39 percent with about half of precincts reporting.
Amendment 48
Colorado voters defeated a measure that would have declared that a fertilized egg is a person.
Amendment 48 was going down 73 percent to 26 percent with 50 percent of precincts reporting.
Pre-election polls showed nearly two-thirds of voters against this measure. The measure would have apply that definition of a person to the sections of the Colorado Constitution that protect the right to life, liberty and property.
Thanks CO...
No, not South Park.
We Got Stomped.
Words can not express...
I’ve recently viewed it as a liberal state. So where from here? Let’s get underground and communicate transparent from our enemies if we can. We have enough handicaps “built in” already.
Regards ...
kali..and vatos
killed her like yankee libs have killed NC, VA and FL
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Obama has swept every single battleground.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Goldstate-your predictions were way off.
They will pay along with the rest of us. Bend over and smile. You are about to be violated.
There is only one thing that will stop this. Get your kids out of public schools.
F U too, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Virginia and North Carolina.
You voted for a hostile black racist who backs communists and terrorists, and I will never forgive you sh!tholes for putting this dangerous thug into the most powerful office in the world.
We’ve all been invaded by Californian’s who screwed up their state.
agree
But at least McCain didn’t go ‘negative’ by focusing on obama’s terrorist connections, marxist upbringing, fraudulent campaign finances, etc. At least he lost ‘with honor’.
Oh, what the hell, even if he had gone after his holiness on those things it wouldn’t have mattered to the tens of millions of voters who just really, really wanted “Change” and their own supersized slice of gubmint cheese.
What about right to work? Did it pass? I refuse to have the TV on!
Actually, it's the educators.
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