- Colorado's 7th congressional district
-
"CO-7" redirects here. For the state highway, see Colorado State Highway 7.
Colorado's 7th congressional district 
Current Representative Ed Perlmutter (D–Golden) Area 1,265 mi² Distribution 97.7% urban, 2.3% rural Population (2000) 614,465 Median income $46,149 Ethnicity 68.9% White, 5.8% Black, 2.9% Asian, 19.6% Hispanic, 0.6% Native American, 0.1% other Cook PVI D+4 Colorado's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in the central part of the state, the district encompasses much of the northern parts of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area, including the suburbs of Lakewood, Arvada, and Aurora as well as the large, rural eastern portions of Adams County.
The district is currently represented by Democrat Ed Perlmutter.
Contents
History
2000s
The 7th Congressional District was created following the 2000 U.S. Census and associated realignment and reapportionment of Colorado congressional districts. It consists of portions of Adams, Arapahoe, and Jefferson counties. The boundaries were drawn by a court after the state legislature failed to agree on a redistricting plan. It has been described as the most competitive congressional district in the United States, being almost equally split three ways among registered Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters.
In 2003, Colorado Republicans, who at that time controlled both houses of the state legislature, redrew the district's boundaries to make it more favorable to them, removing much of the western suburbs and adding much of Arapahoe and Elbert counties. Democrats sued to block the plan and won, with the Colorado Supreme Court ruling that redistricting could not be done more than once every ten years, so the legislature could not redistrict after failing to do so before the first post-census election.
Characteristics
This evenly balanced seat had been trending Democratic, attributed to some by the increase of the Hispanic population in Commerce City and Aurora in Adams County and a slight leftward lean, due to apathy of conservatives in the Jefferson County portion of the seat. The shift in control of the state legislature took place partly because of Democratic wins in the 7th Congressional District portion of Jefferson County in the last few election cycles.
Voting
Election results from presidential races[1]
Year Office Result 2004 President Kerry 51 - 48% 2008 President Obama 59 - 40% List of representatives
Representative Party Years Congress District Home Electoral history District created January 3, 2003 
Bob BeauprezRepublican January 3, 2003 –
January 3, 2007108th Arvada First elected in 2002
Retired to run for Governor of Colorado109th 
Ed PerlmutterDemocratic January 3, 2007 –
Present110th Golden First elected in 2006 111th 112th Election results
2002
United States House of Representatives elections, 2002[2] Party Candidate Votes Percentage Republican Bob Beauprez 81,789 47.31% Democratic Mike Feeley 81,668 47.24% Green Dave Chandler 3,274 1.89% Reform Victor Good 3,133 1.81% Libertarian G. T. "Bud" Martin 2,906 1.68% Independent Stanford Andress (as a write-in) 109 0.06% Totals 172,879 100.0% Republican win (new seat) 2004
United States House of Representatives elections, 2004[3] Party Candidate Votes Percentage Republican Bob Beauprez (incumbent) 135,571 54.72% Democratic Dave Thomas 106,026 42.79% Constitution Clyde J. Harkins 6,167 2.49% Totals 247,764 100.0% Republican hold 2006
Main article: Colorado's 7th congressional district election, 2006United States House of Representatives elections, 2006[4] Party Candidate Votes Percentage Democratic Ed Perlmutter 103,918 54.93% Republican Rick O'Donnell 79,571 42.06% Green Dave Chandler 3,073 1.62% Constitution Roger McCarville 2,605 1.38% Totals 189,172 100.0% Democratic gain from Republican 2008
United States House of Representatives elections, 2008[5] Party Candidate Votes Percentage Democratic Ed Perlmutter (incumbent) 173,931 63.48% Republican John W. Lerew 100,055 36.52% Totals 273,986 100.0% Democratic hold 2010
United States House of Representatives elections, 2010[6] Party Candidate Votes Percentage Democratic Ed Perlmutter (incumbent) 112,667 53.44% Republican Ryan Frazier 88,026 41.76% Libertarian Buck Bailey 10,117 4.80% Totals 210,810 100.0% Democratic hold References
Colorado's congressional districts All districts: Territory At-large 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
See also: Colorado's past & present Representatives, Senators, and Delegations, 2010 elections, 2012 elections
All U.S. districts – Apportionment – Redistricting – Gerrymandering – MapsCategories:- Congressional districts of Colorado
- Adams County, Colorado
- Arapahoe County, Colorado
- Jefferson County, Colorado
- United States Congress stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
