campaigns 2006 Perlmutter won the Democratic nomination for the 7th district by defeating former State Representative Peggy Lamm and college professor Herb Rubenstein, with 53% of the vote in the primary. State education chairman Rick O'Donnell was unopposed for the Republican nomination. Dave Chandler, a Green, was also a candidate. The seat was held by Republican Bob Beauprez, who was reelected to a second term in 2004 with 55% of the vote, after winning his first term by only 121 votes. He left the seat at the end of the 2004–2006 term, having failed in his bid to become Governor of Colorado. In late September, O'Donnell was put on the defensive when ads appeared noting that he had previously supported abolishing Social Security. A Survey USA poll soon after that showed Perlmutter with a 54 to 37 percent lead, although GOP consultants guessed that the support was "soft". An October 4 poll released by Zogby showed Perlmutter ahead of O'Donnell by 45-34 percent. Cook Political Report rating: Republican Toss Up. CQPolitics rating: No Clear Favorite. In the end, Perlmutter (54%) soundly defeated O'Donnell (42%) for the congressional seat, helping Democrats to regain the majority in the U.S. House. 2008 Perlmutter won against Republican nominee John W. Lerew. 2010 Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Ryan Frazier and Libertarian nominee Buck Bailey on November 2, 2010. The 7th Congressional district had been cited as a GOP target in 2010. 2012 Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Joe Coors Jr. on November 6, 2012. Perlmutter's victory came despite new congressional boundaries that made his district 4 percent less Democratic. Perlmutter was ahead by 9 percentage points in Jefferson County, where 60 percent of the voters live. Perlmutter led Coors by 17 percentage points in Adams County, where 40 percent of the constituents in the newly drawn 7th district live. 2014 Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee Don Ytterberg in the 2014 general election. He won with 55.1% of the vote. 2016 Perlmutter defeated Republican nominee George Athanasopoulos and Libertarian nominee Martin L. Buchanan in the 2016 general election. He won with 55.18% of the vote. 2018 On April 9, 2017, Perlmutter announced his candidacy for Governor of Colorado in the 2018 election. On July 10, 2017, Perlmutter announced that he was dropping out of the gubernatorial race and would not seek reelection to his congressional seat. However, on August 21, 2017, he announced he had reversed his decision