Colorado has moved markedly left in the midterm elections.
Voters on Tuesday chose the nation's first openly gay governor, ousted a five-term GOP congressman and captured key state offices held by Republicans.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis handily defeated Republican state Treasurer Walker Stapleton in the race to succeed centrist Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Polis acknowledged his landmark election, thanking "LGTBQ pioneers" who fought through a 2006 Colorado voter ban on gay marriage.
In a state where unaffiliated voters outnumber both Democrats and Republicans, Colorado residents clearly opted for Democrats largely as a check on a Republican Party led by President Donald Trump.