DENVER – Colorado Republican Rep. Scott Tipton has been re-elected to Congress.
Tipton defeated Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush on Tuesday to win his fifth term.
Tipton has previously survived Democratic challenges in a district that used to vote Democratic but is increasingly Republican. The 3rd Congressional District extends from Pueblo to the Western Slope.
Mitsch Bush argued that Tipton was influenced to energy interests. Tipton argued that Mitsch Bush would kill rural jobs with her environmental proposals, and he tied her to national Democrats.
Colorado voters rejected a proposal that would have tightly restricted where new oil and gas wells could be drilled statewide.
Proposition 112 would have required that new wells be at least 2,500 feet from occupied buildings and “vulnerable areas” such as parks, creeks and irrigation canals. It also would have allowed local governments to require even bigger buffer zones.
Groups backed by the energy industry pointed to a state analysis that determined the measure would make 85 percent of non-federal land in Colorado off-limits to drilling.
Supporters of the measure say the stricter rules will better protect people and the environment.
The state currently requires wells be 500 feet from homes and 1,000 feet from schools.
Colorado voters have rejected a proposal to raise income tax rates to fund public education.
Amendment 73 would have increased the state individual income tax rate for people who earn more than $150,000 a year and boosted the corporate income tax rate to raise an additional $1.6 billion annually for schools.
The proposal was defeated Tuesday in a state that has typically been averse to raising taxes. Voters rejected similar measures in 2011 and 2013 by a 2-to-1 margin.
Opponents argued the measure would be bad for the economy and would not guarantee better academic performance. They also said the Legislature would not have been able to adjust tax thresholds to account for inflation.
First-time Democratic candidate Jason Crow has defeated five-term Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman in a suburban Denver district.
Crow is a former U.S. Army Ranger who was national Democrats’ choice to take on Coffman. He won Tuesday after outspending the incumbent, who lost TV ad spending from the national Republican Party in the campaign’s final weeks.
Coffman is an Army and Marine veteran who until Tuesday had repeatedly won in a district that has increasingly turned Democratic. He faced his toughest challenge yet against Crow.
The Democrat sought to wed Coffman to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. He also criticized the Republican’s pro-gun stance in a district that saw the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting.
Coffman represented Colorado’s 6th Congressional District since 2009 and served twice in Iraq.
Crow served in Iran and Afghanistan.
