Most politically conservative area in CO? (Denver, Colorado Springs: houses, tech jobs, buy)

[jeepejeep]

I live in NY and cannot STAND the liberalism in this state. I need to get out of here as soon as I retire. What areas of CO would you say are most conservative? I love to shoot, hunt and just love the outdoors. I'm hoping to find an area that doesn't have TOO much cold and snow in winter ( I know... good luck LOL!). Thanks for any help ou CO folks might be able to give.

[tfox]

Probably the Colorado Springs area with its four large military facilities is the most consistently conservative. The northern side of town is said to be the most uniformly conservative, the west side the least so.

The southern suburbs of Denver, particularly in Douglas County, are very conservative as well. However, the city of Denver and most of its other suburbs are not particularly conservative.

Grand Junction on the western slope is also conservative, but not so pointedly so as the above mentioned. It's the largest town in western Colorado, but is still relatively small.

As for snow, it's not as snowy as you probably think in any of the places that I just mentioned, although every few years we do get a big dumping (like we did last year around the holiday season). Grand Junction, on the western side of the state, gets the least snow.

[jazzlover]

Well, I might as well step into this one, and let the flaming and arguing start. Before that, let me say that I am a moderate conservative with a strong conservationist bent (as my numerous other posts show).

Until the huge influx of outsiders started to flood Colorado about 30 years ago, the state was generally like me--moderately conservative. By that, I mean the politics were generally socially moderate and quite fiscally conservative. There weren't a lot of "flaming liberals" around, not even in the Democratic Party. If you want to see what Colorado politics looked like back then, check out Wyoming today. Wyoming's current political landscape is pretty similar to what Colorado's used to be.

These days, both ends of Colorado's political spectrum once again seem to be getting more radical, and a whole lot of moderates in the middle are essentially being disenfranchised. All of that said, Colorado politics, in general, are much less "liberal" than true liberal hotbeds like New York, Massachussets, etc.

It used to be that most all of rural Colorado was conservative. No more. There are far more liberals who have "transplanted" to Colorado's mountain areas in the last couple of decades--enough that they control the local politics in many places. A lot of these are "rich" liberals who have the money to lavish on campaigns to get their chosen candidates elected.

Similarly, Denver, Adams, and Boulder County were considered fairly "liberal" counties, though Adams has always been a more "blue collar Democrat" kind of place (Pueblo County would also fit this description). Arapahoe and Douglas counties were always fairly conservative, though the "rich liberal" influence is growing there. El Paso County (Colorado Springs) has become kind of the joke in many moderate political circles as the home of the real right-wing lunatics. I personally don't think El Paso is that much different than other areas, but it does have some very visible and vocal arch-conservatives who get a lot of press. I personally find El Paso's conservativism a little hypocritical since no Colorado locale has its nose buried so deep in the federal trough than El Paso County does (yeah, I know, it's military--but that's STILL government and your and my tax money supporting all of that).

If you measure conservative vs. liberal by Republican vs. Democratic, then the following might help:

Stongly Democratic counties:

Denver
Boulder
Adams
Pueblo
Most counties in south central and southwestern Colorado
Pitkin (Aspen)
Most mountain counties with large resort areas

Strongly Republican:

Arapahoe
Douglas
El Paso
Most counties on the Eastern Plains

I have omitted counties from either list that are somewhere in the middle. Also omitted are some fairly strong Republican counties that appear to be going increasingly Democratic as time passes. This includes a lot of counties in western Colorado, as well as Weld and Larimer on the Eastern Slope, among others.

I am not editorializing on liberal vs. conservative here--just calling it the way I see it. By the way, I have been deeply involved in the political process in the Rocky Mountian West for about 30 years now, much of that in Colorado. I have friends at all points of the political spectrum and I personally have spent time in the public sector under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

My one editorial observation: One of the great ironies in Colorado is that many of the most tireless promoters of growth in Colorado (no matter what the consequences) have been the political conservatives--and that the more the state has grown in population from their efforts, the more liberal it has become. Colorado used to be notorious for ticket-splitting and having the Governorship and the Legislature held by different parties. Now the Democrats hold both houses of the Legislature and the Governorship--and probably will for a while.

[jeepejeep]

Thank you for your responses. Interesting info!

[deportallofthem]

Originally Posted by jeepejeep

I live in NY and cannot STAND the liberalism in this state. I need to get out of here as soon as I retire. What areas of CO would you say are most conservative? I love to shoot, hunt and just love the outdoors. I'm hoping to find an area that doesn't have TOO much cold and snow in winter ( I know... good luck LOL!). Thanks for any help ou CO folks might be able to give.

Haha... this post made me chuckle. I'm also a neoconservative.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Well, I might as well step into this one, and let the flaming and arguing start. Before that, let me say that I am a moderate conservative with a strong conservationist bent (as my numerous other posts show).

Until the huge influx of outsiders started to flood Colorado about 30 years ago, the state was generally like me--moderately conservative. By that, I mean the politics were generally socially moderate and quite fiscally conservative. There weren't a lot of "flaming liberals" around, not even in the Democratic Party. If you want to see what Colorado politics looked like back then, check out Wyoming today. Wyoming's current political landscape is pretty similar to what Colorado's used to be.

These days, both ends of Colorado's political spectrum once again seem to be getting more radical, and a whole lot of moderates in the middle are essentially being disenfranchised. All of that said, Colorado politics, in general, are much less "liberal" than true liberal hotbeds like New York, Massachussets, etc.

It used to be that most all of rural Colorado was conservative. No more. There are far more liberals who have "transplanted" to Colorado's mountain areas in the last couple of decades--enough that they control the local politics in many places. A lot of these are "rich" liberals who have the money to lavish on campaigns to get their chosen candidates elected.

Similarly, Denver, Adams, and Boulder County were considered fairly "liberal" counties, though Adams has always been a more "blue collar Democrat" kind of place (Pueblo County would also fit this description). Arapahoe and Douglas counties were always fairly conservative, though the "rich liberal" influence is growing there. El Paso County (Colorado Springs) has become kind of the joke in many moderate political circles as the home of the real right-wing lunatics. I personally don't think El Paso is that much different than other areas, but it does have some very visible and vocal arch-conservatives who get a lot of press. I personally find El Paso's conservativism a little hypocritical since no Colorado locale has its nose buried so deep in the federal trough than El Paso County does (yeah, I know, it's military--but that's STILL government and your and my tax money supporting all of that).

If you measure conservative vs. liberal by Republican vs. Democratic, then the following might help:

Stongly Democratic counties:

Denver
Boulder
Adams
Pueblo
Most counties in south central and southwestern Colorado
Pitkin (Aspen)
Most mountain counties with large resort areas

Strongly Republican:

Arapahoe
Douglas
El Paso
Most counties on the Eastern Plains

I have omitted counties from either list that are somewhere in the middle. Also omitted are some fairly strong Republican counties that appear to be going increasingly Democratic as time passes. This includes a lot of counties in western Colorado, as well as Weld and Larimer on the Eastern Slope, among others.

I am not editorializing on liberal vs. conservative here--just calling it the way I see it. By the way, I have been deeply involved in the political process in the Rocky Mountian West for about 30 years now, much of that in Colorado. I have friends at all points of the political spectrum and I personally have spent time in the public sector under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

My one editorial observation: One of the great ironies in Colorado is that many of the most tireless promoters of growth in Colorado (no matter what the consequences) have been the political conservatives--and that the more the state has grown in population from their efforts, the more liberal it has become. Colorado used to be notorious for ticket-splitting and having the Governorship and the Legislature held by different parties. Now the Democrats hold both houses of the Legislature and the Governorship--and probably will for a while.

have to agree with your assesmentl. Strongly Democratic for boulder is a little bit of an understatement though

[CTC]

If you can stand some cold, and a bit of snow. Try Craig or Meeker.
Plenty of fishing/hunting. Heck I bet 90% of people hunt there..lose the NY accent, buy some Carharts and you will fit right in

This is a conservative part of the state

BTW I do a lot of work in Rio Blanco County with many good Carhart wearing people-and have nothing but respect for the folks I am in contact with. (and wear Carharts myself )

[germangirl06]

Come to Colorado Springs or surrounding area - you'll fit right in!
We can't wait to get the heck out of here...

[MorningGlory]

Originally Posted by jeepejeep

I live in NY and cannot STAND the liberalism in this state. I need to get out of here as soon as I retire. What areas of CO would you say are most conservative? I love to shoot, hunt and just love the outdoors. I'm hoping to find an area that doesn't have TOO much cold and snow in winter ( I know... good luck LOL!). Thanks for any help ou CO folks might be able to give.

Jeep;
I am in the opposite position you are.
I am dying to get out of the right-wing place where I live, which is Teller County, west of Colorado Springs. Teller County is even more conservative than the springs. Carhart's is the thing to wear, and if liberals bother you I can assure you they are few and far between here (Soon to be a couple fewer once we are out of here!)

It is a banana belt with some big snow storms but mostly mild winters, and the springs has a lot of nearby high tech jobs. Lots of guys hunt (my dog has shown up with a sawn-off elk leg twice at our doorstep-ick!).

I will point out that liberalism in Colorado is not what it is in SF or NY. For most, including myself, its about social issues and the environment, the environment being a huge deal here. And a lot of liberals in Co are not for gun control either.

[jeepejeep]

Thank you Germangirl06 and Morning Glory. Ahhhhh differences! It's what makes this country great. We differ in our outlooks, yet we help each other out. Nice I think