| State: | Colorado |
| District Number: | 4 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Elizabeth |
| Distribution Ref: | [1] |
| Percent Urban: | 72.9 |
| Percent Rural: | 27.1 |
| Population: | 748,891[2] |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $108,087[3] |
| Percent White: | 75.8 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 13.6 |
| Percent Black: | 1.7 |
| Percent Asian: | 3.5 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 4.5 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.9 |
| Cpvi: | R+13[4] |
Colorado's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in the eastern part of the state, the district encompasses most of the rural Eastern Plains, as well as portions of the Colorado Front Range, including Loveland, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, and Parker.
The district is currently represented by Republican Greg Lopez, who won a special election on June 25, 2024, following the resignation of Republican Ken Buck. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+13, it is the most Republican district in Colorado.[4] No Democrat has received more than 40% of the vote as a U.S. House candidate in the district since 2010.
Following the 1990 U.S. census and associated realignment of Colorado congressional districts, the 4th congressional district consisted of Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Elbert, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Larimer, Las Animas, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Otero, Phillips, Prowers, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld and Yuma counties, as well as portions of Adams and Arapahoe counties.
Following the 2000 U.S. census and associated realignment of Colorado congressional districts, the 4th congressional district consisted of Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Larimer, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Prowers, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld and Yuma counties, as well as portions of Boulder, and Otero counties.
Following the 2010 U.S. census and associated realignment of Colorado congressional districts, the 4th congressional district consisted of Baca, Bent, Cheyenne, Crowley, Elbert, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Las Animas, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Otero, Phillips, Prowers, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld and Yuma counties. The district also includes portions of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder and Douglas counties and very little portions of Larimer County.
This district consists mainly of the area of Colorado that is part of the Great Plains region of the United States. It is largely rural. The only large populated places in the district are Loveland, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, and Parker. Until the 2010s redistricting, Fort Collins was the largest city in the district and provided a large Democratic base, making the district somewhat competitive: before the 2020 redistricting, Greeley was the largest city in the district but has since been moved to the 8th district.
While the 4th takes in some suburbs of the Democratic-leaning Denver metropolitan area, the 4th takes in Douglas County, the most Republican region in the area. However, it is still far more friendly to the Democrats than the other counties in the district (especially in blue-leaning Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree) and is the only area in the district with any Democratic support of real significance. On the other hand, the district takes in some of the most Republican counties in Colorado, such as Washington, Kit Carson, and Logan, where Democrats rarely exceed even 20 percent of the vote.
Historically, the district has been Republican-leaning, though Marilyn Musgrave won relatively narrow victories in 2004 and 2006 due to her Democratic opponents' strength in Fort Collins. Musgrave had to rely on strong performances in more conservative Greeley to hold onto her seat. In 2008, Musgrave lost reelection to Betsy Markey, who became the first Democrat to represent the district since the early 1970s. Markey was defeated in 2010 by Republican Cory Gardner, and the district was made more Republican in redistricting due to the removal of Fort Collins; no Democratic nominee has won more than 40% of the vote since she left office.
George W. Bush received 58% of the vote in this district in 2004. John McCain narrowly carried the district in 2008 with 50% of the vote.
| County | Seat | Population | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adams | Brighton | 533,365 | |
| 5 | Arapahoe | Littleton | 656,061 | |
| 9 | Baca | Springfield | 3,344 | |
| 11 | Bent | Las Animas | 5,681 | |
| 17 | Cheyenne | Cheyenne Wells | 1,727 | |
| 25 | Crowley | Ordway | 5,636 | |
| 35 | Douglas | Castle Rock | 383,906 | |
| 39 | Elbert | Kiowa | 28,806 | |
| 41 | El Paso | Colorado Springs | 744,215 | |
| 61 | Kiowa | Eads | 1,384 | |
| 63 | Kit Carson | Burlington | 6,994 | |
| 69 | Larimer | Fort Collins | 370,771 | |
| 73 | Lincoln | Hugo | 5,480 | |
| 75 | Logan | Sterling | 20,619 | |
| 87 | Morgan | Fort Morgan | 29,524 | |
| 95 | Phillips | Holyoke | 4,476 | |
| 99 | Prowers | Lamar | 11,751 | |
| 115 | Sedgwick | Julesburg | 2,299 | |
| 121 | Washington | Akron | 4,855 | |
| 123 | Weld | Greeley | 359,442 | |
| 125 | Yuma | Wray | 9,862 |
Election results from presidential races[5]
| Election results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Results |
| 2000 | President | Bush 57–37% |
| 2004 | President | Bush 58–41% |
| 2008 | President | McCain 50–49% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 59–40% |
| 2016 | President | Trump 57–34% |
| Senate | Glenn 57–38% | |
| 2018 | Governor | Stapleton 57.7–38.1% |
| 2020 | President | Trump 57–41% |
| Senate | Gardner 59–39% | |
| 2022 | Governor | Ganahl 55–43% |
| Senate | O'Dea 57–40% | |
| Member | Party | Term duration | Cong ress(es) | Electoral history | District location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created March 4, 1915 | ||||||||
| align=left | Edward T. Taylor | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1915 – September 3, 1941 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | September 3, 1941 – December 9, 1941 | ||||||
| align=left | Robert F. Rockwell | Republican | nowrap | December 9, 1941 – January 3, 1949 | Elected to finish Taylor's term. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Wayne N. Aspinall | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1973 | Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | James Paul Johnson | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1981 | Elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Hank Brown | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1991 | Elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. | |||
| align=left | Wayne Allard | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1997 | Elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. | |||
| align=left | Bob Schaffer | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003 | Elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Marilyn Musgrave | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2009 | Elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Lost re-election. | 2003–2013 | ||
| align=left | Betsy Markey | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011 | Elected in 2008. Lost re-election. | |||
Cory Gardner | Republican | January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2015 | Elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. | |||||
| 2013–2023 | ||||||||
Ken Buck | Republican | January 3, 2015 – March 22, 2024 | Elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Resigned. | |||||
| 2023–present | ||||||||
| Vacant | March 22, 2024 – July 8, 2024 | |||||||
| align=left | Greg Lopez | Republican | nowrap | July 8, 2024 – present | Elected to finish Buck's term. Retiring at end of term. | |||
| align=center | 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1941 (special) 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 (special) |