Democrats saw another progressive oust a long-term incumbent in Colorado, adding to their collection of wins in primary challenges across the country.
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The far-left uprising seen in New York trickled into the state on Tuesday as democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeated Rep. Diana DeGette in what has become the major storyline for the party this election season. On the Republican side, President Donald Trump’s endorsements continued to prove effective, even in a fiercely blue state.
Here are some key results from each state.
Governor
The race to replace term-limited Gov. Jared Polis was not as tight as expected. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser defeated three-term Sen. Michael Bennet 55.8% to 44.2% – a clear 11.6 percentage-point victory. The Associated Press estimated 89% of the vote has been counted.
Both candidates have been fixtures in Colorado politics for years, but Weiser was able to mount an underdog campaign most notably targeting the Trump administration and arguing he would be the best candidate to stand up to the president. Bennet was one of four sitting senators across the country running for governor this year, and Weiser successfully undercut him by attacking his votes to confirm several of Trump’s nominees while serving in the Senate.
A year ago, Bennet held a decisive 30 percentage-point lead that quickly diminished as Weiser gained traction among Democrats who expressed frustration at complacency in their own party.
Colorado’s Republican gubernatorial primary was too close to call on Wednesday. State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer took 39.9% of the vote, enough for a small lead over pastor and Marine Corps veteran Victor Marx, with 39.6%. State Rep. Scott Bottoms took third place with 20.4%. The AP estimated 88% of the vote has been counted.
House
The story of the night was in the Democratic primary, where voters embraced the younger generation by choosing a 29-year-old lawyer and doctoral student over a 15-term incumbent.
Kiros won 51.3% of the vote, besting longtime Democratic lawmaker DeGette, who took 41.7% in Colorado’s 1st District.
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Kiros, the latest democratic socialist to oust an establishment Democrat, was born months after DeGette was first elected to the House. She will face Christy Peterson, the Republican nominee, in November.
Trump’s endorsement continues to sway GOP voters, this time in the state’s 3rd District. After withdrawing his backing of Republican candidate Jeff Hurd in February because of Hurd’s lack of support for the president’s tariffs, he again expressed his support for the candidate before the election. Hurd earned 66.5% of the vote and will face Army combat veteran Dwayne Romero, who took the Democratic nomination with 55% of the vote, in the general election.
State Rep. Manny Rutinel defeated his opponents in Colorado’s 8th District, earning a majority, or 61.5%, of the vote in the Democratic primary. He will face Republican incumbent Rep. Gabe Evans in November, who was unopposed in the primary as he seeks a second term.
In Colorado’s 5th District, USAA executive Jessica Killin defeated former U.S. Army officer Joe Reagan with 62.6% of the vote in the Democratic primary. Killin will look to flip a historically red seat come November when she faces the unopposed Republican nominee Jeff Crank.
Senate
Sen. John Hickenlooper fended off a challenge by a younger, more progressive candidate to secure the Democratic nomination in his bid for a second term in office.
Despite seeing his lead drop to 7 points in a June 8 Colorado Community Research poll, Hickenlooper won the Democratic primary with 55.1% of the vote, defeating state Sen. Julie Gonzales, who took 45%.
Hickenlooper will face state Sen. Mark Baisley, who took the GOP nomination.
