Historically, the district has been Republican-leaning, though Marilyn Musgrave won relatively narrow victories in 2004 and 2006 due to her Democratic opponents' strength in Fort Collins. Musgrave had to rely on strong performances in more conservative Greeley to hold onto her seat. In 2008, Musgrave lost reelection to Betsy Markey, who became the first Democrat to represent the district since the early 1970s. Markey was defeated in 2010 by Republican Cory Gardner, and the district was made more Republican in redistricting due to the removal of Fort Collins; no Democratic nominee has won more than 40% of the vote since she left office.