Colorado Primary: unaffiliated voter submissions mostly Democrat, says Secretary of State

DENVER (AP) — A voter-passed 2016 initiative allowed unaffiliated voters to participate in Tuesday’s primaries. More than a quarter-million did so, and most of them voted Democratic, according to the secretary of state’s office.

Republicans were undaunted.

“Having secured the GOP base, Walker Stapleton can focus on an unaffiliated population that represents the true middle,” said Ryan Lynch, a former executive director of the state Republican Party. “I don’t think Jared Polis’ socialist rhetoric is going to resonate.”

As for Trump’s influence in a state that went for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, Lynch added: “It’s no longer a divisive area among the party faithful. … I don’t think Stapleton’s support of the president disenfranchised much of the GOP in the primary.”