A Bellwether for Democrats

WHILE IT IS UNCLEAR HOW VOTER PERCEPTIONS of President Joe Biden’s performance will affect the November midterms, particularly with regard to Latino voters, a Colorado House district nestled between the northern Denver suburbs and the more agricultural town of Greeley is a likely bellwether for Democrats nationally.

Colorado had seven congressional districts until this year, when an independent commission created the new 8th Congressional District in the wake of the 2020 census. It sits on a political razor’s edge, with Democrats holding a slim 1.3 percent advantage in statewide races from 2016 to 2020. The 2022 midterms will be the first contest for the seat. Latinos make up 38.5 percent of the district’s population, the largest such percentage in the state.

As part of its work in drawing up the new district, the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission looked at the