Colorado's 3rd district is 64.75% urban, consisting of the western portion of the state and including the cities of Pueblo and Grand Junction. The district is almost entirely white (88.76%) with some hispanic residents (24.32%).

The Democratic candidate is Diane Mitsch Bush, who was previously a member of the Colorado House of Representatives for five years before resigning to focus on her campaign. The Republican candidate and incumbent is Scott Tipton, who has served the district in the House of Representatives since 2011. Like Bush, Tipton spent some time in the Colorado House of Representatives, serving a single term before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Tipton has won each of the last three elections by at least 10 percentage points, and the district has voted in favor of the Republican presidential candidate in each of the last five elections. Specifically, Tipton won in 2016 by 14 points and in 2014 by 22 points, and the district voted in favor of Donald Trump over Clinton by 12 points.