La Plata County saw record-breaking voter turnout in Tuesday’s off-year election, mirroring national trends of increased Democratic participation and sweeping wins across the board.
About 47% of eligible voters cast ballots – up from 43% in 2023 and 38% in 2021, according to county election data.
Local Democratic Party Chair Teal Lehto said the higher turnout reflects a surge in civic engagement fueled by both national politics and local movements.
“What it tells me as a local party leader is that people are interested, people are engaged and there’s momentum,” she said. “We’ll definitely be doing our best to capitalize on that momentum, both for elections and for the betterment of our community.”
The Durango School District board race, one of the most closely watched local contests, drew sharp ideological divides and record attention from voters. Candidates endorsed by local Democrats won decisively, capturing more than 70% of the vote.
Meanwhile, Ballot Measure 1A, a proposal to raise the county’s sales tax by 1%, passed by 12 percentage points, marking a rare local victory for a tax increase in a historically tax-averse area. Both fire district mill levy increases also passed comfortably, signaling broad support for local services.
Political consultant Craig Hughes of Hilltop Public Solutions said La Plata County’s results reflect a wider national trend of pushback against the President Donald Trump-aligned Republican movement.
“What you historically see when you have a president as unpopular as Trump is that the opposition party makes gains in the off years,” he said. “With Trump’s approval rating nationally under 40%, it really drove progressive turnout and a desire to register their objections.”
Democrats swept many contested elections across Colorado and the nation, Hughes said, adding: “If there was a relatively contested election, more likely than not the Democratic or more progressive candidate won.”
Even so, he said local measures often transcend partisan divides.
“In general, the more local a tax measure can be made, the better chance of success it has in succeeding,” he said.
Some local Republicans say that the countywide passage of the largely liberal measures and school board candidates reflects poor voter turnout on behalf of eligible voters who have more conservative beliefs.
“Once again, conservatives did not vote,” said a Facebook post published by Southwest Republican Women, a grassroots political organization in La Plata County the day after the election.
Amber Morris, the group’s vice president, said the conservative turnout was disappointing.
“There’s no excuse to not cast a ballot,” she said. “There’s no excuse. You have a month to mail in a ballot. It’s so easy – there’s no lines.”
While Republican groups within the county did make efforts to mobilize their local voter base Morris said, she thinks there is a feeling of apathy among swaths of conservative voters.
“I honestly just think that they’re indifferent because they don’t feel like it matters in this community. That’s why they vote for the presidency. That’s why they vote on election years – because they feel their voice is heard on a national platform,” she said. “But on local ballot measures, local issues, we don’t feel like we have a voice in Colorado any more than we have a voice in Durango.”
Looking forward to the 2026 midterm elections, Morris’ outlook is cautious.
“I have no delusion and no thought that I can change Durango into a red community,” she said, adding that all she wants is more space for conservative voices to be heard and respected.
The local Democratic Party is much more organized externally than the Republicans are – which may hurt chances of conservative voters turning out to the polls. But Morris said a big part of that is because any public vocalization of their beliefs puts them on trial in the local community.
“People are not going to speak out publicly, because they’re going to be persecuted,” she said.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
By the numbers
All figures were calculated using raw voter data obtained from the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
A total of 21,748 ballots were returned countywide. Of those voters, 49% were unaffiliated or belonged to smaller parties, 27% were registered Democrats and 24% were registered Republicans.
By age, 6% of voters were 18 to 28, 20% were 29 to 44, 25% were 45 to 60, 45% were 61 to 79, 7% were 80 to 97, and less than 1% were 98 or older. The oldest voter to cast a ballot was 102 years old.
By gender, 52% of voters were women, 47% were men and 1% did not specify.
In the Durango School Board elections, 15,653 voters participated. Among them, 51% were unaffiliated, 30% were registered Democrats, 18% were registered Republicans and 1% belonged to other parties.
