Colorado's 7th congressional district

Colorado's 7th congressional district
Colorado's 7th congressional district
	Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Brittany Pettersen; D–Lakewood
Distribution	99.44% urban; 0.56% rural;
Population (2023)	726,989
Median household; income	$99,041
Ethnicity	74.9% White; 15.1% Hispanic; 4.4% Two or more races; 3.1% Asian; 1.3% Black; 1.1% other;
Cook PVI	D+4

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.

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

History

2000s

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

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

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

#	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

Lakewood – 155,984
Arvada – 124,402
Westminster – 116,317
Broomfield – 74,112
Dakota Ridge – 33,892
Wheat Ridge – 32,398
Golden – 20,399
Cañon City – 17,141
Superior – 13,094

2,500 – 10,000 people

Fairmount – 9,324
Evergreen – 9,307
Applewood – 7,833
Salida – 5,666
Edgewater – 5,005
West Pleasant View – 4,327
Lincoln Park – 3,934
Florence – 3,822
Penrose – 3,685
Genesee – 3,610
Park Center – 2,953
Buena Vista – 2,855
Leadville – 2,633

List of members representing the district

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.	2003–2013
Ed Perlmutter (Arvada)	Democratic	January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2023	110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th		2013–2023
Brittany Pettersen (Lakewood)	Democratic	January 3, 2023 – present	118th	Elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.	2023–present

Election results

2002 • 2004 • 2006 • 2008 • 2010 • 2012 • 2014 • 2016 • 2018 • 2020 • 2022

2002

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

References

Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

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

[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".

[Cook-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

[General_Election-15] "2018 Colorado general election results". Retrieved June 21, 2019.

[COgenr-16] "2020 General Election - Official Compiled Results". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved December 6, 2020.

[auto2-17] "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.

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