Colorado's independent voters are wild card in GOP race
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Colorado voters who are not affiliated with a political party are the wild card in Tuesday's 2024 presidential primary election.
State of play: About 45% of them have participated in the Republican primary, more than double the number who voted in the Democratic primary, an Axios analysis of new state data through Sunday shows.
- Unaffiliated voters in Colorado can cast a ballot in either party primary, but not both.
Why it matters: Unaffiliated voters typically lean moderate and Democratic, so the numbers suggest that independent voters could skew the Republican primary results against President Trump.
By the numbers: One-third of the total votes cast so far in the Republican primary — about 161,300 — came from unaffiliated voters.
The other side: Democratic primary turnout remains subpar, suggesting the hastily organized "noncommitted" protest vote against President Biden is not yet gaining traction.