The New Democratic Face of the West

The 2008 election has transformed a big part of the mountain West into a Democratic redoubt. Not only did President-elect Barack Obama carry both Colorado and New Mexico, Democrats picked up two Senate seats and four congressional seats in the two states.

In New Mexico, the party hit a “grand slam” — winning all three of the state’s congressional districts and an open Senate seat, according to New Mexico Independent.

Rep. Tom Udall easily moved into [Republican Pete] Domenici’s Senate seat, defeating Rep. Steve Pearce of Hobbs. Similarly, Ben Ray Lujan had little problem sweeping a three-way race to replace Udall in the 3rd Congressional District.

The surprises of the night were Martin Heinrich blasting past popular Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White in CD1 and Harry Teague topping Ed Tinsley in southern New Mexico’s CD2. Both Democrats had slim leads in the polls leading up to Election Day, but substantial numbers of undecided voters apparently swung their way.

In a stunning upset in Colorado, a longshot liberal businesswoman, Betsy Markey, ousted Marilyn Musgrave, an outspoken incumbent conservative best known for her opposition to gay marriage. Markey is the first Democrat in 36 years to win the vast 4th congressional district that stretches from the Great Plains to the Rocky Mountains. Opponents of legal abortion in the state suffered a setback when a proposed constitutional amendment to confer the legal status of personhood on the embryonic egg cells in pregnant woman was overwhelmingly rejected by voters.

Where conservative Republicans once prevailed, moderate liberals now hold sway.