The district is currently represented by RepublicanKen Buck. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+12, it is one of the most Republican districts in Colorado,[4] especially since the 2012 redistricting removed Fort Collins from the district. No Democrat has seriously contested the district since 2010.
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.
Characteristics
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 cities in the district are Greeley, Longmont, 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.
While the 4th takes in some suburbs of the Democratic-leaning Denver metropolitan area, unlike in the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th districts based in the Metro area with a Democratic advantage, the suburban Denver portions of the 4th, such as Parker and Castle Rock, are strongly Republican to this day. Longmont is the only major city in the district to lean Democratic (although not as much as the rest of Boulder County), and there is some Democratic strength in Greeley itself near the University of Northern Colorado. On the other hand, the district takes in some of the most Republican counties in Colorado, such as Washington, Kit Carson, and Rio Blanco, 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.
^Bureau, Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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