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Colorado State Senate District 3
Colorado State Senate District 3 is represented by Nick Hinrichsen (D).
As of the 2020 Census, Colorado state senators represented an average of 165,205 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 144,141 residents.
About the office
Members of the Colorado State Senate serve four-year terms with term limits.[1] Colorado legislators assume office on the first day of the legislative session after their election. The legislative session must begin no later than 10:00 AM on the second Wednesday of January.[2] The state constitution requires the newly elected governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, and secretary of state to take office on the second Tuesday of January.[3] In the year after those offices are elected, the legislative session must begin before the second Tuesday of January to declare the winners of those races.[4][5]
Qualifications
Article 5, Section 4 of the Colorado Constitution states:[6]
| “ | No person shall be a representative or senator who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, who shall not be a citizen of the United States, and who shall not for at least twelve months next preceding his election, have resided within the territory included in the limits of the district in which he shall be chosen.[7] | ” |
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[8] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $43,977/year for legislators whose terms began in 2023. $41,449/year for legislators whose terms began in 2021. | For legislators residing within 50 miles of the capitol: $45/day. For legislators living more than 50 miles from the capitol: $237/day. |
Term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
The Colorado General Assembly is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. Voters enacted the Colorado Term Limits Act in 1990. That initiative said that Colorado senators are subject to term limits of no more than two four-year terms.[9]
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Colorado General Assembly , a vacancy committee selects a replacement. The committee consists of members of the same political party that previously held the seat, including any county commissioners from that party who live in the district.
Depending on when the vacancy occurs, the replacement must stand for election either in the next general election or in a special election. These vacancy elections are limited to voters registered with the same political party as the previous officeholder and to unaffiliated voters.
- If the vacancy occurs in an even-numbered year, before July 31: The appointee is selected by the committee and runs in the regularly scheduled general election that year.
- If the vacancy occurs in an even-numbered year, after July 31: The appointee is selected by the committee and must run in a special vacancy election held in November of the following odd-numbered year.
- If the vacancy occurs in an odd-numbered year, before July 31: The appointee is selected by the committee and runs in a special vacancy election that same November.
- If the vacancy occurs in an odd-numbered year, after July 31: The appointee is selected by the committee and runs in the next general election, which occurs in the following even-numbered year.
If the previous member was unaffiliated with a political party, then the vacancy is filled by the vacancy committee designated on their original nomination petition. If the member has no vacancy committee, the governor appoints a replacement.
See sources: HB25-1315 Vacancies in the General Assembly
2016 pivot county
This district was one of 710 state legislative districts that, based on boundaries adopted after the 2010 census, intersected with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.
The 206 Pivot Counties were located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. At that time, the partisan makeup of state legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties was slightly more Republican than the overall partisan makeup of state legislatures throughout the country.[10]
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
On November 15, 2021, the Colorado Supreme Court approved the state legislative redistricting plans approved by the state's Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission on October 11 and 12, 2021.[11] These maps took effect for Colorado’s 2022 state legislative elections.
The Colorado Sun's Thy Vo wrote that the House and Senate maps "appear to favor Democrats' maintaining their majority in the General Assembly."[11] Colorado Politics' Evan Wyloge wrote that the new maps created nine House districts where previous election results fell within a five percentage point margin and eight such Senate districts. At the time of approval, Democrats held a 42-23 majority in the House and a 20-15 majority in the Senate.[12]
How does redistricting in Colorado work? On November 6, 2018, Colorado voters approved two constitutional amendments, Amendment Y and Amendment Z, establishing separate non-politician commissions for congressional and state legislative redistricting. Each commission consists of four members belonging to the state's largest political party, four members belonging to the state's second-largest party, and four members belonging to no party. Commission members are appointed by a panel of three judges selected by the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. The amendment requires at least eight of the commission's 12 members, including at least two members not belonging to any political party, to approve a map.[13]
The Colorado Constitution requires that state legislative district boundaries "be contiguous, and that they be as compact as possible based on their total perimeter." In addition, "to the extent possible, districts must also preserve the integrity of counties, cities, towns and–where doing so does not conflict with other goals–communities of interest." There are no similar requirements for congressional districts.[14][15]
Colorado State Senate District 3
until January 8, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Colorado State Senate District 3
starting January 9, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2022
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 3
Incumbent Nick Hinrichsen defeated Stephen Varela and Alex Mugatu in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 3 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Nick Hinrichsen (D) | 51.2 | 33,795 | |
| Stephen Varela (R) | 48.6 | 32,090 | ||
| Alex Mugatu (R) (Write-in) | 0.1 | 90 | ||
| Total votes: 65,975 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 3
Incumbent Nick Hinrichsen advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 3 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Nick Hinrichsen | 100.0 | 16,196 | |
| Total votes: 16,196 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 3
Stephen Varela advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 3 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Stephen Varela | 100.0 | 14,121 | |
| Total votes: 14,121 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 3
Incumbent Leroy Garcia Jr. defeated John Pickerill in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 3 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Leroy Garcia Jr. (D) | 73.6 | 39,768 | |
| John Pickerill (L) | 26.4 | 14,253 | ||
| Total votes: 54,021 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 3
Incumbent Leroy Garcia Jr. advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 3 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Leroy Garcia Jr. | 100.0 | 15,423 | |
| Total votes: 15,423 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Colorado State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 31, 2014. Leroy M. Garcia, Jr. was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent George Rivera was unopposed in the Republican primary. Garcia defeated Rivera in the general election.[16][17][18]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Leroy M. Garcia, Jr. |
54.9% | 27,813 | |
| Republican | George Rivera | 45.1% | 22,814 | |
| Total Votes | 50,627 | |||
2013
George Rivera won election for Colorado State Senate District 3 in the recall election against incumbent Sen. Angela Giron. The election took place on September 10, 2013.[19][20][21]
| Shall Angelo Giron be recalled from the office of State Senate, District 3? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 19,355 | 56.01% | ||
| Retain | 15,201 | 43.99% | ||
| Candidates nominated to succeed Angela Giron should she be recalled: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| George Rivera (R) | 19,301 | 88.16% | ||
| 2,592 | 11.84% | |||
Campaign contributions
From 2000 to 2022, candidates for Colorado State Senate District 3 raised a total of $1,294,511. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $80,907 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Colorado State Senate District 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2022 | $322,789 | 3 | $107,596 |
| 2018 | $2,690 | 1 | $2,690 |
| 2014 | $178,001 | 2 | $89,001 |
| 2012 | $5,550 | 1 | $5,550 |
| 2010 | $133,725 | 3 | $44,575 |
| 2008 | $8,555 | 1 | $8,555 |
| 2006 | $51,853 | 1 | $51,853 |
| 2004 | $17,920 | 1 | $17,920 |
| 2002 | $569,683 | 2 | $284,842 |
| 2000 | $3,745 | 1 | $3,745 |
| Total | $1,294,511 | 16 | $80,907 |
See also
- Colorado State Legislature
- Colorado State Senate
- Colorado House of Representatives
- Colorado state legislative districts
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ colorado.gov, "Term limits," accessed December 16, 2013
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Colorado Constitution - Article 5, Section 7," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Colorado Constitution - Article 4, Section 1," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Colorado Constitution - Article 4, Section 3," accessed February 9, 2021
- ↑ Colorado LegiSource, "Surprise! The 2019 Legislative Session Convening a Week Earlier," September 20, 2018
- ↑ Colorado Legal Resources, "Article V - Legislative Department - Section 4," accessed May 21, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ LexisNexis, "Colorado Legal Resources," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Colorado Sun, "Colorado legislative maps get final approval from state Supreme Court," Nov. 15, 2021
- ↑ Colorado Politics, "Supreme Court approves Colorado legislative redistricting maps," Nov. 15, 2021
- ↑ Colorado General Assembly, "SCR18-004: Congressional Redistricting," accessed May 14, 2018
- ↑ All About Redistricting, "Colorado," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ Redistricting in Colorado, "Constitutional Provisions," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed May 1, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 25, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ The Associated Press, "GOP candidate in Pueblo recall race submits signatures," July 26, 2013
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Sen. Angela Giron will be the only Democrat on the Sept. 10 recall ballot," July 29, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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