DENVER – Unlike much of the rest of the country, Colorado Democrats have come out on top in recent redistricting battles in this hotly competitive state. But it has been of limited help – a reminder that candidates here can counter some of the effects of redistricting.

Nationally, Republicans generally have been able to define where congressional districts begin and end. That’s helped them hold the U.S. House of Representatives and insulate them from public opinion on several issues.

But in Colorado, after the 2010 census, Democrats won a court battle for their proposed congressional map. The 2011 case went to a judge because Democrats and Republicans each controlled one of the state legislature’s two chambers, and they couldn’t agree on redistricting.

That Democratic map moved Republican Rep. Mike Coffman from a safe district to a more competitive one. Even so, Coffman won re-election in 2012 in a district President Barack Obama carried by 5 points.

And Republicans still outnumber Democrats in the state’s congressional delegation, 4-3.

That could change this year. Coffman, who never has lost a political race in Colorado, faced a lackluster Democratic candidate in 2012. Now he is being challenged by former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. Their contest is expected to be one of the most costly and hard-fought in the country in a district that is evenly split between Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Colorado’s other six congressional seats are fairly stable: Three are heavily Republican, two largely Democratic and one in Denver’s western suburbs leans Democratic.

Marc Grueskin, the attorney who represented Democrats during the 2011 redistricting battle, said the courts accepted Democrats’ argument that districts had to be “competitive” – not, he noted, lopsided toward his party or the Republicans.

“Does that have the potential to help Democrats?” Grueskin asked. “Yeah. But does it lock anything in for Democrats? No.”

In such an evenly divided state as Colorado, Coffman’s district became competitive by adding only small numbers of conservative voters to other districts.

Richard Westfall, the attorney who represented the GOP in the court battle, said that he hoped Democrats over-reached and inadvertently made some of their safe seats less secure.

“I hope they outfoxed themselves,” Westfall said. “We’re not going to know until the election of 2014.”