Jefferson County tells us all we need to know about Colorado’s last election

As goes JeffCo, so goes Colorado.

The old political axiom trotted out every two years held true again in 2018. As Democrats swept to office and almost unprecedented political power in Colorado, the blue wave washed through JeffCo.

Similarly, the county perfectly reflected the preferences of Coloradans on statewide constitutional amendments and statutory propositions, going a combined 12 for 12 and never deviating by more than three points from statewide percentages.

Even if I didn’t agree with all the outcomes, as a born, raised, and still residing member of the JeffCo community, I retain some civic pride in our bellwether status.

At the top of the ticket, JeffCo voted for each of the four winning Democrats by about two points more than the state as a whole.

That’s a pattern that should terrify Republicans going forward. A blue JeffCo makes Colorado unwinnable for Republicans. There simply aren’t enough votes in more reliably conservative areas, such as El Paso County or rural Colorado, to counter-balance a Denver-Boulder-JeffCo axis.

Read the rest of this column in the Colorado Sun.