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I think it has less to do with Republican/ Democrat and more with conservative/ liberal, and even these definitions are in a high state of flux. A Libertarian wants personal freedom, and believes the defining characteristic of government should be in allowing, supporting, and encouraging personal freedoms and the exercise thereof.
The names have historical/symbolic meaning: 'Democrat' was a moniker used in opposition the 'Federalist' party back in the early 19th century (emphasizing 'the people' against a strong centralized government); 'Republican' arose a bit before the Civil War to emphasize the unity of the republic against the (then) Democratic emphasis on States' Rights.
Sayoc’s voter registration in Florida lists him as a Republican, according to state records. He registered in March 2016. I thought this was a rather curious comment, and a quick internet search revealed that at least in some jurisdictions people are asked for their party affiliation when registering to vote.
The Republican Party holds two registrations for its elephant logo in connection with political activities (Reg. No. 1892445 and Reg. No. 1908397), and the Democratic Party holds a trademark registration for a logo that is an uppercase “D” with a circle around it. (Reg. No. 4139881).
How long has the urban/rural Democrat/Republican correlation been true? If there was a time when it was not true (i.e., a time when DC was mostly Democrat but party affiliation was more homogeneous across urban and rural districts), that would tend to undercut this answer - but I don't have time to look into it! –
Even if I choose to support a Republican candidate, I have no chance at all of changing the outcome of my states final vote. If I were registered Republican or Democrat, I could at least vote in the primaries, and in so doing have a say on which candidates are chosen to compete for the presidency, but as an independent I am not allowed to vote ...
2 Although it is hard to be sure just by looking at their support history, some party supporting always the Democrat or Republican nominee does not imply that they are "second brands" of these parties; it might simply mean that the party position is too much to the left or to right to have another viable endorsement opion.
Note that this doesn't fully explain the complex politics of Colorado. There's a lot going on in the Republican party right now. Trump brought a realignment away from the classical liberal/religious morality/constitutional restraint focused GOP towards a more nationalistic, populist, economically protectionist party.
As another answer alluded to, "solidly Republican/Democrat" is not really a law of nature. Things change, and unless everyone votes, you wouldn't be able to see that change and assess it. If 100,000 voters of "not popular" party ALL not vote because it's futile, then it distorts "real" voter sentiment.
GOP also G.O.P., "U.S. Republican Party," 1884, an abbreviation of Grand Old Party. The Republicans were so called from 1876; the Democratic Party also was referred to occasionally as grand old party, with lower-case letters, in 1870s-80s when the Republicans (formed in 1854) still were considered new and radical.