Hillary Clinton won Colorado's nine electoral votes with strong support from Denver's southern suburbs, which have been the proving ground for many of Colorado's successful candidates, two of the state's top political analysts said.
But two Republican congressional incumbents whose futures had been in some doubt, Mike Coffman in the 6th Congressional District outside Denver and Scott Tipton in the 3rd CD on the Western Slope, kept their seats in the Republican wave that accompanied Donald Trump's victory, according to former state Republican chairman Dick Wadhams.
Coffman worked hard during the campaign to put distance between himself and the controversies that hit Trump during his campaign, as did current U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, who didn't face reelection this year. Wadhams predicted Trump won't try to punish Coffman and Gardner because he needs to build congressional support and unity.
Another incumbent, Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, kept his seat, partly because of his reputation for bipartisanship, said Democratic consultant Craig Hughes. Hughes managed Bennet's first senate campaign, in 2010.
Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner spoke with Hughes and Wadhams.
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