The Howes Group Newsletter November 2016 THE MILE HIGH MEMO Political News & Updates from The Howes Group *Election Results Special Edition* __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Trump Wins in a Shocker Shock. Disbelief. Heartbreak and ecstasy. Just some of the emotions felt by Americans last night during an election night that was as historic as it was surprising. On a night that will surely put many polling firms out of business for good, Americans witnessed the election of a man who has zero experience in either the government or the military and with his win denied a woman seeking to be the first ever woman president. The win sent a clear and powerful message that repudiates the Washington establishment and proves Americans were yearning for a ‘change’ candidate this year. With a Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives, Trump now has a real chance to push through the legislative agenda of his own making. Colorado Gets Its Purple On It’s difficult to look at last night’s election results and find a common theme that represents the will of the people in Colorado. Change candidate Donald Trump wins in the biggest surprise of a our lifetime, but Colorado Democrats gain more seats in the State House of Representatives. Incumbent congressman Mike Coffman (R) successfully fends off a challenge from former state senator Morgan Carroll (Democrat from Aurora) while Hillary Clinton wins the State of Colorado with its 9 electoral A publication of The Howes Group, LLC The Howes Group Newsletter November 2016 votes. Voters passed an increase to the state minimum wage while at the same time defeating the proposed tax increase on tobacco products. Contradictions abound, so making wholistic sense of the results remains a mystery. Last month’s forecasts by the Sunday morning talking heads that Colorado was turning into a ‘blue state’ may have been premature. US Senator Michael Bennet Defeats Daryl Glenn Incumbent US Senator Michael Bennet (D) managed to gain six more years in Washington by defeating upstart candidate Daryl Glenn (R) of Colorado Springs. The race was probably a touch closer than Bennet would have liked with the senator winning by only three percentage points. Colorado voters seem to enjoy splitting their ticket as US Senator Cory Gardner is a conservative Republican who won his seat by defeating Mark Udall just two years ago. Over in the western part of the state, incumbent congressman Scott Tipton (R) managed to defeat former state senator Gail Schwartz fairly easily. Turnout of the Trump voters no doubt helped Tipton get over the top and keep that seat for another two years. Jared Polis (D) of Boulder easily hung on his congressional seat, as did Denver’s Dianna DeGette. Doug Lamborn (R) of Colorado Springs won in a walk. Congressman Ed Perlmutter will also be heading back to Washington on behalf of his constituents in the Denver suburbs. Although he was not on the ballot, Governor John Hickenlooper did not have a very good night. He had been lobbying for a cabinet position in a new Clinton administration which will now obviously not be possible. He was also seen in TV campaign ads asking the voters to support a number of fellow Democrat candidates, many of whom lost. With a split General Assembly, he will now have a tougher time passing his budget and legislative agenda. On the other hand, he can also blame that split for not being particularly engaged on the second floor. A publication of The Howes Group, LLC The Howes Group Newsletter November 2016 Coloradans Vote to Keep Colorado Senate in Republican Hands With Democrats increasing their grip on the Colorado House and Democrat Governor John Hickenlooper occupying the governor’s mansion, control of the Colorado Senate was a much sought after prize last night. The Republicans currently control the chamber by a mere one vote margin. These relatively small races with only 80,000 voters in the district once again broke records for campaign spending. Incumbent state senator Laura Woods (R) lost her critical race to Rachel Zenzinger (D) of Arvada - the very same woman she beat just two years by a few hundred votes. Unfortunately for the Democrats, they also lost a Look for Senator critical seat formerly held by Sen. Mary Hodge in Brighton/Aurora to former Kevin Grantham, R (below) to become State Rep. Kevin Priola (R). Priola managed to overcome a healthy voter the next President of registration deficit to beat former State Rep. Jenise May (D) for the win. It the Colorado Senate appears that after all that money spent, nothing will have changed, with the Republicans maintaining their slim one-vote margin going into 2017/2018! With the Priola victory it looks virtually certain that Kevin Grantham of Canyon City (R) will be the next President of the Senate. Look for Democrats to once again vote for Senator Lucia Guzman to be their Minority Leader. Colorado House Gets the Blues In contrast to some of the other developments in the Centennial State, Colorado Democrats actually increased their numbers in the Colorado House of Representatives by picking up three seats. Beginning in January, their margin will now be a healthy 37-28. Tomorrow morning Democrats will elect current majority leader Rep. Crisanta Duran as the first-ever latina Speaker of the House of Representatives! There is no way to sugar coat it - it was a bad night for Republicans in the Colorado House. Boulder Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Passes The initiative to place a 2 cents per ounce tax sugar-sweetened drinks in the City of Boulder, CO did pass last night. Officially known as ballot issue 2H, the proposal was extremely well funded by the health advocacy community and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg with his own personal fortune. The breakdown of the vote was 27,857 YES votes vs. 23,723 NO votes. Implementation of the ordinance will be July 1, 2017. This outcome was no big surprise as this particular community has always been pretty friendly to taxes. A publication of The Howes Group, LLC The Howes Group Newsletter November 2016 You can draw up your own analysis on whether or not Trump will be a good change for our country, but you certainly cannot deny that last night was one of the most memorable political nights of our lives! What a wild one. Various media stores are listed below, along with the raw final election results. Please know that we try to get this information to you ASAP, so be aware that there are a few races out there where ballots are still being counted and the final results might be slightly different. We do not expect any radical surprises to come from the final results. COLORADO ELECTION NEWS STORIES • 7 News "Voters pass Amendment 71, which will alter the process for changing Colorado's constitution" November 9, 2016 • 7 News "Colorado voters approve Proposition 106, 'right-to-die' ballot measure" November 8, 2016 • 7 News "Colorado voters approve $12 minimum wage hike by 2020" November 8, 2016 • 7 News "Colorado voters reject increased cigarette, tobacco taxes in Amendment 72" November 9, 2016 • 7 News "Colorado re-elects all 7 of its Congressional Representatives" November 9, 2016 • Colorado Independent "Colorado continues split control of the state Capitol" November 9, 2016 • Colorado Springs Gazette "Colorado statehouse expected to remain in split party control" November 8, 2016 • Colorado Springs Gazette "Seven election takeaways for Colorado" November 9, 2016 • Colorado Springs Gazette "ColoradoCare, a universal health plan for state residents, is soundly defeated" November 8, 2016 • Colorado Springs Gazette "Colorado looks to return to presidential primary, but with unaffiliated voters" November 8, 2016 • Denver Business Journal "Election 2016: Colorado legislative control hangs in balance; Adams County to decide" November 9, 2016 • Denver Post "Amendments T and U: Voters lean toward keeping "slavery" reference, reject tax measure" November 9, 2016 • Denver Post "Michael Bennet defeats Darryl Glenn in Senate race in Colorado" November 9, 2016 • Denver Post "GOP on track to maintain control of Colorado Senate; House to stay in Democratic hands" November 9, 2016 • Englewood Herald "Kagan goes from state House to state Senate" November 8, 2016 • Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "Incumbent lawmakers keep seats" November 8, 2016 A publication of The Howes Group, LLC The Howes Group Newsletter November 2016 Colorado Elections Results 2016 Colorado State Senate 2016 General Election Results District 4 100% reporting Jim Smallwood (GOP) 69.4% (61,485) Christina Riegel (Dem) 30.5% (27,067) 96% reporting Randy Baumgardner (GOP) 54.6% (37,381) Emily Tracy (Dem) 45.3% (31,030) District 10 100% reporting Owen Hill (GOP) 66.2% (47,190) Mark Barrionuevo (Dem) 33.7% (24,021) District 12 100% reporting Bob Gardner (GOP) 75.5% (45,169) Manuel Quintel (Lib) 24.4% (14,609) District 14 100% reporting John Kefalas (Dem) 61.8% (46,327) Hans Hochheimer (GOP) 38.1% (28,569) District 17 A publication of The Howes Group, LLC The Howes Group Newsletter November 2016 Matt Jones (Dem) winner uncontested District 18 100% reporting Stephen Fenberg (Dem) 80.1% (58,528) Peter Spraitz (GOP) 19.8% (14,477) District 19 100% Rachel Zenzinger (Dem) 47.8% (36,616) Laura Woods (GOP) 46.1% (35,310) Hans Romer (Lib) 5.9% (4,573) District 21 Dominick Moreno (Dem) winner uncontested District 23 94% reporting Vicki Marble (GOP) 57.6% (51,720) T.J. Cole (Dem) 42.3% (37,921) District 25 100% reporting Kevin Priola (GOP) 53.8% (20,963) Jenise May