Romney did not appeal enough to the electorate as a whole. His base was white suburbanites. He did terrible with AA, Hispanics and not great with WWC voters.
Republicans would kill for Romney's numbers in the suburbs now. It's astonishing to think how much Colorado has shifted in under a decade, both with regards to the suburban vote and to the rural/working-class vote in the southern regions of the state. Romney lost Arapahoe County 54-44%, while Trump lost it 61-36%. Romney lost in Jefferson County 51-46% (Trump lost it 58-39%), in Broomfield County 52-46% (Trump lost 62-35%), and in Larimer County 52-46% (Trump lost 56-41%). Denver County was 73-24% Obama and 80-18% Biden, and Boulder County was 70-28% Obama and 77-21% Biden. Douglas County went from 62-36% Romney to 52-45% Trump and El Paso County went from 59-39% Romney to 54-43% Trump. These shifts in the Front Range Urban Corridor have moved Colorado from being a swing state to becoming Safe D.
However, Obama did better than Biden in Southern and Eastern Colorado. He won Pueblo County 56-42%, while Biden carried it much more narrowly, 50-48%. Obama won Huerfano County 53-44% (Biden lost it 50-47%), Alamosa County 57-40% (Biden lost it 49-48%), Las Animas County 50-48% (Biden lost it 54-44%), and Conejos County 54-45% (Biden lost it 53-45%). Costilla County went from 73-24% Obama to 63-35% Biden. Trump broke 80% in four rural counties where Romney fell short of that mark, and 70% in five other rural counties. He surpassed 60% in another two counties.
One can also see other shifts in the Democratic coalition. Obama won Gunnison County 58-39%; Biden carried it 64-34%. Gunnison is home to Western Colorado University. Saguache County, a more blue-collar, Hispanic area, went from 64-33% Obama to 56-42% Biden; again, evidence of the nonwhite swing towards Republicans. Eagle County and Pitkin County (ski resorts), went from 56-42% Obama and 68-30% Obama to 64-34% Biden and 75-23% Biden. San Miguel County was 70-27% Obama and 76-22% Biden. Biden also improved over Obama in Chaffee, Garfield, and Grand Counties, flipping Garfield County.
