3 swing counties key to winning Colorado's electoral votes

Denver and Boulder County will provide the greatest number of votes in Colorado for Democrat Hillary Clinton on Election Day. On the other hand, the strongest voting support for Republican Donald Trump will come from El Paso County (Colorado Springs), Douglas County (Castle Rock), and Weld County (Greeley).

The important swing counties, which have significant populations and could vote for either Clinton or Trump, are Jefferson County (western Denver suburbs), Arapahoe County (southern Denver suburbs), and Larimer County (Fort Collins). All three of these populous counties voted for Republican George W. Bush in 2004 (the last time a Republican presidential candidate won Colorado) but shifted to Democrat Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

Jefferson, Arapahoe, and Larimer counties are thus must-win counties for Donald Trump if he is to capture Colorado.

Elsewhere in Colorado, there are other centers of Democratic support. Broomfield City and County, Adams County (Brighton), Pueblo County, and downtown Colorado Springs (plus Manitou Springs) are four of them. Southern Colorado (Huerfano, Saguache, Alamosa, Costilla, and Conejos counties) are consistently Democratic as a result of Hispanic voters, but small populations reduce the effect of these counties on the statewide outcome.

Read more: http://gazette.com/three-swing-counties-key-to-winning-colorados-electoral-votes/article/1589578