Colorado State Senate District 35
Colorado State Senate District 35 is represented by Rod Pelton (R).
As of the 2020 Census, Colorado state senators represented an average of 165,205 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 144,141 residents.
About the office
Members of the Colorado State Senate serve four-year terms with term limits.[1] Colorado legislators assume office on the first day of the legislative session after their election. The legislative session must begin no later than 10:00 AM on the second Wednesday of January.[2] The state constitution requires the newly elected governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, and secretary of state to take office on the second Tuesday of January.[3] In the year after those offices are elected, the legislative session must begin before the second Tuesday of January to declare the winners of those races.[4][5]
Qualifications
Article 5, Section 4 of the Colorado Constitution states:[6]
| “ | No person shall be a representative or senator who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, who shall not be a citizen of the United States, and who shall not for at least twelve months next preceding his election, have resided within the territory included in the limits of the district in which he shall be chosen.[7] | ” |
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[8] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $43,977/year for legislators whose terms began in 2023. $41,449/year for legislators whose terms began in 2021. | For legislators residing within 50 miles of the capitol: $45/day. For legislators living more than 50 miles from the capitol: $237/day. |
Term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
The Colorado General Assembly is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. Voters enacted the Colorado Term Limits Act in 1990. That initiative said that Colorado senators are subject to term limits of no more than two four-year terms.[9]
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Colorado General Assembly, then the political party that last held the seat is responsible for selecting a replacement.[10] A vacancy committee consisting of members representing the political party holding the vacant seat must conduct an election to appoint a replacement. The person selected to fill the vacant seat must be approved by a majority of the members of the vacancy committee. The committee must submit and certify their selection to the Secretary of State within 30 days of the vacancy. If, within those 30 days, the committee fails to certify a selection, the governor must select a candidate within five days that meets the appropriate qualifications. The person who is selected to fill the vacancy remains in the seat until the next scheduled general election.[11]
If the outgoing officeholder was politically unaffiliated, or was a member of a minor-party, nominations to fill the vacancy follow the nomination procedure for regularly scheduled general elections.
See sources: Colorado Art. 5, Sec. 2(3) Colorado Rev. Stat. §1-4-802 and Colorado Rev. Stat. §1-12-203
2016 pivot county
This district was one of 710 state legislative districts that, based on boundaries adopted after the 2010 census, intersected with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.
The 206 Pivot Counties were located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. At that time, the partisan makeup of state legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties was slightly more Republican than the overall partisan makeup of state legislatures throughout the country.[12]
District map
Redistricting
2020-2022
On November 15, 2021, the Colorado Supreme Court approved the state legislative redistricting plans approved by the state's Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission on October 11 and 12, 2021.[13] These maps took effect for Colorado’s 2022 state legislative elections.
The Colorado Sun's Thy Vo wrote that the House and Senate maps "appear to favor Democrats' maintaining their majority in the General Assembly."[13] Colorado Politics' Evan Wyloge wrote that the new maps created nine House districts where previous election results fell within a five percentage point margin and eight such Senate districts. At the time of approval, Democrats held a 42-23 majority in the House and a 20-15 majority in the Senate.[14]
How does redistricting in Colorado work? On November 6, 2018, Colorado voters approved two constitutional amendments, Amendment Y and Amendment Z, establishing separate non-politician commissions for congressional and state legislative redistricting. Each commission consists of four members belonging to the state's largest political party, four members belonging to the state's second-largest party, and four members belonging to no party. Commission members are appointed by a panel of three judges selected by the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. The amendment requires at least eight of the commission's 12 members, including at least two members not belonging to any political party, to approve a map.[15]
The Colorado Constitution requires that state legislative district boundaries "be contiguous, and that they be as compact as possible based on their total perimeter." In addition, "to the extent possible, districts must also preserve the integrity of counties, cities, towns and–where doing so does not conflict with other goals–communities of interest." There are no similar requirements for congressional districts.[16][17]
Colorado State Senate District 35
until January 8, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Colorado State Senate District 35
starting January 9, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2022
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 35
Rod Pelton defeated Travis Nelson in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 35 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Rod Pelton (R) | 74.3 | 58,478 |
 | Travis Nelson (D) | 25.7 | 20,230 | |
| Total votes: 78,708 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 35
Travis Nelson advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 35 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Travis Nelson | 100.0 | 8,778 |
| Total votes: 8,778 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 35
Rod Pelton advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 35 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rod Pelton | 100.0 | 29,362 |
| Total votes: 29,362 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2020
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 35
Cleave Simpson Jr. defeated Carlos Lopez in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 35 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Cleave Simpson Jr. (R) | 60.1 | 43,970 |
 | Carlos Lopez (D) | 39.9 | 29,163 | |
| Total votes: 73,133 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 35
Carlos Lopez advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 35 on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Carlos Lopez | 100.0 | 15,609 |
| Total votes: 15,609 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 35
Cleave Simpson Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 35 on June 30, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cleave Simpson Jr. | 100.0 | 17,504 |
| Total votes: 17,504 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Colorado State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 28, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 4, 2016.[18]
Incumbent Larry Crowder defeated Jim Casias and William Bartley in the Colorado State Senate District 35 general election.[19][20]
| Colorado State Senate, District 35 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Larry Crowder Incumbent |
59.90% | 38,880 | |
| Democratic | Jim Casias | 35.99% | 23,358 | |
| Libertarian | William Bartley | 4.11% | 2,668 | |
| Total Votes | 64,906 | |||
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State | ||||
Jim Casias ran unopposed in the Colorado State Senate District 35 Democratic primary.[21][22]
| Colorado State Senate, District 35 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Jim Casias (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Larry Crowder ran unopposed in the Colorado State Senate District 35 Republican primary.[21][22]
| Colorado State Senate, District 35 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Larry Crowder Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2012
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2012
Elections for the Colorado State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 26, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 2, 2012. Larry Crowder defeated Crestina Martinez (D) and William Bartley (L) in the general election. The candidates ran unopposed in the June 26 primary elections.[23][24]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Larry W. Crowder |
49.2% | 31,117 | |
| Democratic | Crestina Martinez | 46.9% | 29,617 | |
| Libertarian | William Stuart Bartley | 3.9% | 2,461 | |
| Total Votes | 63,195 | |||
Campaign contributions
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From 2000 to 2022, candidates for Colorado State Senate District 35 raised a total of $1,076,698.
Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $53,835 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Colorado State Senate District 35 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2022 | $41,130 | 2 | $20,565 |
| 2020 | $143,039 | 2 | $71,520 |
| 2016 | $201,434 | 3 | $67,145 |
| 2012 | $232,164 | 3 | $77,388 |
| 2010 | $14,546 | 1 | $14,546 |
| 2008 | $191,516 | 3 | $63,839 |
| 2006 | $350 | 1 | $350 |
| 2004 | $32,823 | 2 | $16,412 |
| 2002 | $1,585 | 1 | $1,585 |
| 2000 | $218,111 | 2 | $109,056 |
| Total | $1,076,698 | 20 | $53,835 |
See also
- Colorado State Legislature
- Colorado State Senate
- Colorado House of Representatives
- Colorado state legislative districts
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ colorado.gov, "Term limits," accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Colorado Constitution - Article 5, Section 7," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Colorado Constitution - Article 4, Section 1," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Colorado Constitution - Article 4, Section 3," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Colorado LegiSource, "Surprise! The 2019 Legislative Session Convening a Week Earlier," September 20, 2018
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Article V - Legislative Department - Section 4," accessed January 25, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ LexisNexis, "Colorado Legal Resources," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ JUSTIA US Law, "Colorado Constitution," accessed February 10, 2021 (Article V, Section II, Subsection 3))
- ↑ FindLaw, "Colorado Revised Statutes Title 1 Elections § 1-12-203 Vacancies in general assembly," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 1-12-203, (1)-(3))
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Colorado Sun, "Colorado legislative maps get final approval from state Supreme Court," Nov. 15, 2021
- ↑ Colorado Politics, "Supreme Court approves Colorado legislative redistricting maps," Nov. 15, 2021
- ↑ Colorado General Assembly, "SCR18-004: Congressional Redistricting," accessed May 14, 2018
- ↑ All About Redistricting, "Colorado," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ Redistricting in Colorado, "Constitutional Provisions," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Elections & Voting," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "General election candidates," accessed August 16, 2016
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 14, 2016
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate List," accessed May 3, 2016
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "June 28, 2016 Primary Election," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, “2012 General Election,” October 24, 2013
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, “2012 General Primary,” October 24, 2013
