Republican incumbents win Colorado congressional primaries

By Liam Hibbert
The Center Square

Republican incumbents won their primaries Tuesday for Colorado’s 3rd, 5th and 8th congressional districts.

Democratic candidates in the three congressional races had the most at stake in the primaries, with the Republican incumbents in the 5th and 8th districts running unopposed in their party’s primary. A late-registered candidate looked unlikely to cause much concern for the 3rd District representative’s chances to reach the general election as of Tuesday evening.

In Colorado’s 3rd District, two Democratic candidates sought to gain momentum among voters in the rural district across recent months.

Army veteran and former Aspen City Councilmember Dwayne Romero was projected to have won the Democratic primary as of Tuesday evening with 55% of votes to businessman Alex Kelloff’s 45%.

Republican incumbent Rep. Jeff Hurd (67.5%) was projected to beat former state Rep. Ron Hanks (32.5%) easily to the party nomination Tuesday evening. That’s according to results from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District is the state’s largest geographically. While President Donald Trump changed endorsements multiple times during the race, incumbent Hurd appeared to be headed to the November general election with little issue.

In the state’s 5th Congressional District, Republican incumbent Jeff Crank ran unopposed in the primary.

For the Democratic primary for the 5th District, Jessica Killin, formerly the chief of staff for multiple Congress members and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, was projected to win the party ticket. Killin had gained 63% of votes as of Tuesday evening, while Army veteran Joe Reagan trailed with 37.1%.

The two Democratic candidates had supported largely similar policies, but Killin had gained major endorsements from state Democratic leaders and the overwhelming amount of campaign donations during the primary.

The state’s 8th Congressional District in the area north of Denver featured two Democratic candidates fighting for the chance to face Republican incumbent Rep. Gabe Evans in the November general election. Evans ran unopposed in his party’s primary.

As of Tuesday evening, state Rep. Manny Rutinel, D-Adams, was projected to win the Democratic ticket with 60.9% of votes over state Rep. Shannon Bird, D-Adams and Jefferson counties, who received 34.3% of votes. Evan Munsing was a distant third with under 5% of the ballots.

Colorado’s 8th Congressional District could be one of the country’s closest elections in November. The past two elections were decided by margins of less than 1% in the new and diverse district.

The Republican incumbents and the Democratic primary winners will square off in the general election, set for Nov. 3.