The 2020 United States presidential election in Colorado took place on November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election. Colorado voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College to vote for President and Vice-President.
Colorado was won by incumbent President William C. Holland (D-Texas) with 68.55% of the popular vote, against Senator John Dickenson (R-Mississippi) with 28.48% of the popular vote. Holland won the election in Colorado by a resounding 40.07% margin. These very decisive results were reflective of Holland's nation-wide landslide, as the President received a commanding mandate from the electorate to embark upon his second term. Holland did so well that Colorado actually weighed in as 6.47% more Democratic than the national average.
Senator Dickenson, the Republican nominee, was considered to be a right-wing extremist by many across the United States. This was especially true in Colorado, which has been a swing state since the 1988 election, in which George H.W. Bush had carried it by a single-digit margin over Michael Dukakis. From the beginning of the century, starting with Al Gore's landslide reelection in 2000, Colorado trended increasingly Democratic, voting Republican only in 2004 and 2008 for Lamar Alexander. In the 2020 presidential election, Dickenson's views on foreign, social, and domestic policy alienated all segments of Colorado's electorate. He upset suburbanites, college-educated voters, and military voters with his calls for withdrawal from the U.N. and for aggressive bombing campaigns overseas. Minorities were upset by his pejorative remarks about African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, and his vote against the Criminal Justice Reform Act. Rural and working-class voters were repelled by his views on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, farm subsidies, and energy development programs. Thus, Holland was able to win over large numbers of Republicans and independents throughout the state, flipping many typically Republican counties, and winning by the widest margin of any presidential candidate in Colorado history since 1900.
Holland won all but three counties: the Western Colorado county of Rio Blanco, which has not voted Democratic since 1964, the Central Colorado county of Elbert, which has never voted Democratic since Franklin D. Roosevelt carried it in 1932, and the Eastern Colorado county of Kit Carson, which has also not voted Democratic since 1964. Dickenson carried all of his counties with absolute majorities. Holland was the first Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt in 1936 to win Washington and Hinsdale Counties, carrying them with 51% and 58% of the vote respectively. He broke 60% in seventeen Colorado counties. This included the suburban counties of Jefferson County, home to Golden, and Arapahoe County, home to Aurora, both of which are critical to any presidential candidate in carrying the state. He received 69% in Jefferson County and 67% in Arapahoe County. Among other counties where Holland exceeded 60% were the City and County of Broomfield, Mesa County (Grand Junction), Montrose County (Montrose), Huerfano County (Walsenburg), Chaffee County (Salida), Garfield County (Glenwood Springs), Routt County (Steamboat Springs), and Larimer County (Fort Collins).
Holland received more than 70% in eight counties: Adams County (Northglenn), Pueblo County (Pueblo), Las Animas County (Trinidad), Pitkin County (Aspen), Gilpin County (Central City), Gunnison County (Gunnison), Lake County (Leadville), and San Juan County (Silverton). He broke 80% in four counties: Alamosa County (Alamosa), Boulder County (Boulder), San Miguel County (Telluride), and Summit County (Breckenridge). Holland broke 90% in two counties: the City and County of Denver, Colorado's capital and long a Democratic stronghold, and Costilla County, which has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1928. Holland received 95% of the votes cast in Costilla County, making it one of his best counties in the nation. He also won by decisive margins in El Paso County, home to Colorado Springs; in Douglas County, home to Castle Rock; and in Weld County, home to Greeley, all of which are traditionally Republican strongholds; Holland carried them with 56%, 57%, and 54% of the vote respectively.
Holland won all seven of Colorado's congressional districts.
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | William C. Holland (incumbent) | 1,905,859 | 68.55% | |
| Republican | John Dickenson | 792,020 | 28.48% | |
| Total votes | 2,780,247 | 100% | ||