Smart Politics: Political Analysis By and Beyond the Numbers

John Hickenlooper was renominated by Democrats in Colorado on Tuesday, but with what is currently the second lowest support across the 28 renomination attempts by U.S. Senators in the state over the last 110+ years. Hickenlooper received 53+ percent of the vote – less than eight points ahead of State Representative Julie Gonzales – with nearly 95 percent of the vote counted. That fell below the 54.2 percent won by appointed Senator Michael Bennet in 2010. Only one Colorado U.S. Senator has been defeated in a primary: Republican Rice Means lost to Denver Attorney Charles Waterman by 13.7 points in 1926 with 36.1 percent of the vote. Colorado U.S. Senators have been renominated without opposition in 21 of 28 primaries during the direct election era.

For just the second time in state history, the Democratic and Republican nominees are running unopposed in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial primaries with Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro and GOP state Treasurer Stacy Garrity advancing to the general election on Tuesday. The only other cycle in which neither party held a contested primary for the office was in 2006 when Democratic Governor Ed Rendell and former NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swann won nominations without opposition. Uncontested primaries were also held in 1930, 2018, and 2022 for the Democrats and 1970, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, and 2014 for the GOP out of the 29 primaries held for the office since 1914.