13 candidates running for Colorado legislative seats this year don’t have a major-party opponent
The number of uncontested state House and Senate races in Colorado this year is up from 2022, where there were two uncontested Senate districts and four uncontested House districts
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Thirteen candidates vying for state legislative seats this year are running without a major-party opponent, according to a Colorado Sun analysis of the 2024 ballot.
There are 10 candidates — seven Democrats and three Republicans — running unopposed in state House districts, and three Democrats running opposed in state Senate districts.
The Sun defines a candidate as running unopposed if they don’t have any general election opponent or if their only opponent is a third-party candidate, since it is exceedingly rare in Colorado for such candidates to mount a competitive state legislative campaign. The 13 races will determine the makeup of 13% of the legislature.
The Sun’s analysis comes amid increasing national focus on the thousands of partisan races that go uncontested each election cycle. Ballotpedia, the election tracking website, says that an annual average of 58% of the races it tracked between 2018 and 2023 were uncontested, with candidates facing no challengers whatsoever.
The number of uncontested legislative races in Colorado this year, by The Sun’s definition, is up from 2022, where there were two uncontested Senate districts and four uncontested House districts. In 2020, there were two uncontested state Senate races and nine uncontested state House races.
The Colorado legislative districts that are uncontested this year are almost universally in areas that are considered Democratic or Republican strongholds. And given Democrats’ control of state politics in recent years and recent state Republican party disarray, it’s not surprising that there are more districts where the GOP doesn’t have a candidate than vice versa.
“I have been laser focused on the races where we have the best chance to win and bring back accountability to our state government,” said House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, a Colorado Springs Republican who is in charge of the Colorado House GOP campaign efforts. “I’m glad some great candidates have stood up to run in important races.”
There are some exceptions.
Because the Nov. 5 ballot was certified last week by state elections officials, it’s too late for Republicans to appoint nominees in House Districts 37 and 61, two districts where the GOP candidates exited the race midcycle.
In House District 61, Republican Luis A. Moy was disqualified from running by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office after he didn’t submit a candidate affidavit or a personal financial disclosure as required by law. Moy was expected to have a decent shot of unseating Democratic state Rep. Eliza Hamrick of Centennial. She won in 2022 by fewer than 1,200 votes in the district that straddles the line between Arapahoe and Douglas counties.
Hamrick doesn’t even have a third-party opponent this year.
Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams last year called Hamrick one of his 11 most-wanted Democrats in 2024 as the party tries to battle its way out of a 46-19 Democratic supermajority in the House. If Republicans flip just three seats, they can extinguish the supermajority. But only a handful of districts, including Hamrick’s, are considered competitive enough for that to happen.
In House District 37, Republican Danny Moore, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2022, abruptly ended his campaign to unseat Democratic state Rep. Chad Clifford of Centennial. Clifford was expected to cruise to reelection, but District 37 isn’t a Democratic stronghold, meaning the GOP had a distant chance at winning.
Moore didn’t publicly offer an explanation for his decision.
Clifford’s only opponent this year is an unaffiliated write-in candidate.
Here are all of the state House districts where candidates are running unopposed:
- In House District 32, Democratic state Rep. Manny Rutinel of Commerce City is running completely unopposed. He has neither a Republican nor a third-party opponent.
- In House District 37, Clifford’s only opponent is a write-in challenger, Kevin Biehl, who is unaffiliated
- Democrat Michael Carter, an Aurora Public Schools board member, has no Republican opponent in House District 36. He faces Forward Party candidate Eric Mulder on Nov. 5.
- State Rep. Mandy Lindsay, D-Aurora, faces no opponent — Republican or otherwise — in House District 42
- Republican Carlos Barron, a Mexican immigrant who works in the oil and gas industry, is the only candidate running in the general election in House District 48, where he is the de facto replacement for state Rep. Gabe Evans, a Republican who is running for Congress this year
- Fort Collins tax attorney Yara Zokaie has no GOP challenger in House District 52. Her lone opponent is Steve Yurash of the Center Party.
- State Rep. Matt Soper, R-Delta, is running completely unopposed in House District 54. He has neither a Democratic nor a third-party opponent.
- State Rep. Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction, is running unopposed in House District 55. He has neither a Democratic nor a third-party opponent.
- Hamrick, D-Centennial, is running completely unopposed in House District 61
- Republican Dusty Johnson, a former statehouse and congressional aide, is running unopposed in House District 63 for the seat vacated by Republican state Rep. Richard Holtorf of Akron when he unsuccessfully ran for Congress. She has neither a Democratic nor a third-party opponent.
Here are the state Senate districts where candidates are running unopposed:
- In Senate District 18, Democratic state Rep. Judy Amabile of Boulder has no Republican challenger. Her one opponent is Gary Swing of the Unity Party.
- Democratic state Sen. Janet Buckner of Aurora has no opponent — Republican or otherwise — in Senate District 29
- In Senate District 31, state Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver, has no GOP challenger. His lone opponent is David Aitken of the Libertarian Party.
There are no Colorado congressional candidates running unopposed this year.
Democrat Kathy Gebhardt has no Republican challenger in the race to represent the 2nd Congressional District on the State Board of Education, though she has a Libertarian Party opponent in Ethan Augreen.
Ballots will start being mailed to Colorado voters Oct. 11.
The Colorado Sun will write more about candidates running in competitive legislative races, including their policy positions, as the Nov. 5 election nears. You can use this site to see which state House and Senate districts you live in.
