Colorado: The Purple State Every 2016 Candidate Wants

If states like Oklahoma and Massachusetts are political pond water—calmly and reliably Republican or Democratic from year-to-year—then the state of Colorado swirls with the political rapids of the legendary river that bears its name.

From 1964 to 1992, Colorado was won by Republicans in every presidential race. The Centennial State went blue twice for Bill Clinton, and President Barack Obama carried the state in 2008 and 2012. 

Statewide offices are unpredictable in this decade, and 2016 looks to place Colorado in every candidate’s electoral strategy.

Megan Verlee, a political reporter with Colorado Public Radio, joins us to weigh in.