Over 40% voter turnout in Southwest Colorado for presidential primaries

By Reuben M. Schafir Herald Staff Writer

Wednesday, Mar 6, 2024 10:07 AM Updated Thursday, Mar. 7, 2024 1:43 PM

from The Journal

Photo from outside voting center in Montezuma County Annex building LKY

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won their respective parties’ nominations with ease Tuesday evening in Colorado’s 2024 presidential primary.

In La Plata County, the race brought out 43% of the county’s active voters. Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee said she was “very, very happy” with that turnout, which was unlikely to set any records given that Biden’s and Trump’s victories were all but certain.

Over 45% of active voters turned out in Montezuma County.

Biden won the state with 83.6% of the vote, capturing 446,395 votes. Statewide, 8% of Democratic voters chose “noncommitted delegate” over the president.

Trump won the state’s Republican primary over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley with 63.3% of the vote in Colorado. Haley, who captured 33.5% of the electorate, suspended her campaign Wednesday morning.

La Plata County has 41,363 active voters, of which a little over half are unaffiliated with a political party. About a quarter are registered Democrats, and just under a quarter are Republicans.

Within the county, Biden’s performance matched his success statewide. He captured 6,053 votes, or 84.2% of votes counted in the Democratic race. He lost 8.4% of the vote – about the same percentage as the statewide average – to “noncommitted delegate,” which was used by Democratic voters across the country to registered their discontent with Biden’s support for Israel and its invasion of Gaza.

Trump performed slightly worse in La Plata County compared to the statewide race. He secured 6,165 votes, or 58.9% of ballots counted in the Republican primary, while Haley grabbed 38% of the vote.

A breakdown of which race unaffiliated voters participated in will not be available for several weeks, Lee said.

In Montezuma County, Biden garnered 84.8% of the vote. Trump far outperformed his statewide win, securing 75.3% of the vote in Montezuma County; Haley received 21.8% of Montezuma County Republican ballots.

Primary elections for state and local office, including county commissioner and district attorney races, will be held June 25 and ballots will be sent out the week of June 3.