Post election analysis
A message from the Colorado Center Party regarding the 2024 election results.
Local/State
First and foremost, we deeply appreciate all the support we received from our members and the communities we seek to serve. It has been great to see the increased awareness regarding the party and the interest in our mission. Along with the votes we received on election day, we had great conversations with voters as we walked their neighborhoods where our message of bringing forward a new political party really resonated.
In races where the center party candidate was the only alternative to an establishment or progressive democrat (State House District 52 and Adams County Commissioner), our candidates outperformed Republicans from previous races. Also, in a race we watched closely (Larimer County DA), Dawn Downs, an unaffiliated and well qualified candidate garnered 49.4% of the votes cast.
While we certainly feel disappointment in not winning these races, we knew it was never going to be easy. An objective analysis of these results yields many positives, and we have learned much from the process that we can use to improve for next time. Personal contact with voters told us we absolutely have fertile ground for expanding our base of support when our message is heard.
National races
Our analysis of the 2024 election season would not be complete without a look at trends that developed nationally. We heard from many voters that the disenchantment with the establishment parties runs deep. This speaks to the increasing frustration with the two-party system and their recent directions; the dysfunction of the federal government; and the lack of moderate, balanced leaders and policies, not to mention the rapidly increasing size and cost of the federal government and the negative effect it has had on the typical family’s economic situation, inflation, and lack of job creation.
While the Democratic party attempts to analyze what went wrong for them (to the extent they are willing to consider a critical analysis), and the Republican party tries to consolidate their new power, our point of view is that most people are casting their votes for the “lesser of two evils”, and against the governmental establishment, and not for a positive message of intellectually honest leadership. The Center Party resonates with a majority of voters who find the two “establishment” parties frustratingly extreme in their ideologies and dysfunctional. Actual voters (as opposed to party leadership) are increasingly looking for balance and competence in government – they want government to work well for the vast majority of people and would prefer to avoid getting caught up in the political power battles, drama and endless cycles of tax and spend.
We intend to spend as little time as possible watching the hyperbolic cable news that is focused on the drama in Washington DC. We remain focused on local races, local issues, and policy impacts on local communities. We thank all the volunteers who have helped get us to this point, and we welcome the new party members that have joined us in this effort; and we look forward toward these fresh faces getting involved in helping to change the political paradigm to carry the Center Party message to even more voters and for those interested, new candidates in future races.