Republicans hold lead in Colorado early voting entering Election Day [View all]

Republicans took the lead in early voting in Colorado at the end of the day Friday and held the advantage through the weekend despite robust Democratic get-out-the-vote efforts.

The latest early voting numbers released Monday morning show registered Republicans cast 652,380 ballots compared to 645,020 registered Democrats — a 7,360 vote GOP advantage. The breakdown looks like this: 35.2 percent Republican, 34.8 percent Democrat and 28.5 percent unaffiliated.

It’s worth noting that not all Republicans are voting for GOP nominee Donald Trump — just as not all Democrats are supporting party nominee Hillary Clinton. But the early voting is a potential sign of party organization and voter enthusiasm.

Democrats held the early vote advantage through Thursday, breaking with the trends from 2014 that saw Republicans dominate returns in the first mail-ballot statewide election. Now with the parties essentially tied, the direction of the race once again hinges on unaffiliated voters — the largest bloc in Colorado — who swing elections.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/2016/11/07/purple-state-memo-republicans-hold-lead-in-early-voting-entering-election-day/

[font color=330099]Don't be alarmed because absentee ballots in Colorado historically trend to Republicans. There are over 527,000 absentee ballots that were not returned as of Friday of last week.[/font]