Republicans had hoped to gain some of the ground they lost in 2022 in the state House but early returns don’t favor any major changes in the chamber’s 46-19 Democratic majority. 

As of 9 p.m., the margins for several races with Democratic incumbents were narrowing.

There are 65 seats in the Colorado House of Representatives, all of which were up for election on Tuesday.

This year’s election featured 20 open seats, almost all in safe districts.

• Five representatives were term-limited: Reps. Marc Catlin, R-Montrose; Chris deGruy Kennedy, D-Lakewood; Leslie Herod, D-Denver; Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango; and, Mike Weissman, D-Aurora.

• Three lawmakers chose not to run again: Rep. Rod Bockenfeld, R-Watkins, who is battling cancer; and Reps. Jennifer Parenti, D-Erie, and David Ortiz, D-Centennial.

• Three (all Democrats) lost their primary bids: Reps. Tim Hernandez and Elisabeth Epps, both of Denver, and Julia Marvin of Thornton.

• Five chose to run for the state Senate rather than seek reelection to the House: Reps. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada; Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock; Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins; and, Marc Snyder, D-Manitou Springs.

• Three left to run for Congress: Reps. Gabe Evans of Fort Lupton, who’s running for Congressional District 8; and Reps. Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, and Richard Holtorf, R-Akron, who both lost in the primary for Congressional District 4.

• One — Rep. Don Wilson, R-Monument — chose to run for a seat on the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners.

Democrats and their funders played defense in the 2024 general election, seeking to hang onto their 46-seat majority after a substantial gain of five seats in the 2022 election. Democrats have been steadily increasing their advantage for the past decade, winning 34 seats in the 2014 election and gaining ground ever since. 

Candidates and independent expenditure committees, which can raise unlimited amounts of money, spent millions as they waged battles for House seats, focused primarily on five districts. Republican-leaning groups appeared to have spent slightly more than Democratic-leaning ones through Oct. 28.

Just after 8:30 p.m., House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, who holds a substantial lead in the House District 13 race over her Republican challenger, Dave Williams of Buena Vista, spoke to supporters at the Colorado Democratic Party’s election watch party at Number 38 in RINO North. 

Democrats, it appeared, will hold onto the majority in the state House heading into the 2025 session. McCluskie said it showed voters believe “we are the right people to lead our state.”

Here are some highlights from Tuesday night’s results: 

House District 16

As of 9 p.m., first-term lawmaker and Democratic Rep. Stephanie Vigil held a lead of just 282 votes, or just over 1 percentage point, over Republican challenger Rebecca Keltie, both of Colorado Springs. Vigil was the first Democrat in 2022 to represent the House District 16 seat. 

House District 19

Former state Rep. Dan Woog of Erie was trailing in his efforts to return to the House against newcomer Jilliaire McMillan. The district includes eastern Boulder and southern Weld counties. As of 9 p.m., McMillan held a lead of nearly 1,500 votes or just over 4 percentage points.

House District 25

As of 9 p.m., the gap between first-term House lawmaker Rep. Tammy Story, D-Evergreen, and her Republican challenger George Mumma of Littleton had narrowed from 10 percentage points to just over 5 percentage points, or about 3,000 votes.

The district stretches all the way from Genesee to the Douglas and Teller county borders, and includes Evergreen, Ken Caryl and western Littleton.

House District 43

First-term lawmaker Rep. Bob Marshall, D-Highlands Ranch, surprised political observers in 2022 by becoming the first Democrat to represent any portion of Douglas County in the state House. He won the 2022 contest by just 405 votes, the closest race by percentage that year.

This year, he faces Republican Matt Burcham. The unofficial early returns as of 9 p.m. showed Marshall leading Burcham by about 3.5 percentage points or 3,804 votes.

House District 50

The closest House race of 2024 is likely to be the same as it was in 2022. Three-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Young of Greeley had an early small lead of 99 votes over Republican challenger Ryan Gonzalez, but, by 9 p.m., that lead had narrowed to just 36 votes or 0.24 percentage points.

Young won her 2022 race by only 330 votes in a three-way low-turnout (39.3%) contest, in which a Libertarian candidate took 615 votes. This year’s contest was a two-person race that both sides spent heavily to win.