Colorado Voters Select GOP House Candidates in Key Races

The Colorado State Capitol in Denver on Oct. 20, 2019. Patrick McDermott/Getty Images

Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Colo.) victory in Colorado’s Fourth District GOP primary may dominate coverage of the state’s June 25 primaries. Yet other results could have significant ramifications for the House of Representatives, where Republicans could lose the majority even while possibly flipping the Senate and the presidency.

Here’s a quick rundown of the most notable outcomes from Colorado, broken down district by district.

Colorado’s 3rd District

Ms. Boebert was slated to defend her seat on the state’s Western Slope before announcing her intention to change districts late last year.

“Now we have a better opportunity to keep Colorado’s third district red,” Ms. Boebert told The Epoch Times in March while speaking about her move.

Colorado’s Third is thought to lean Republican, according to analyses from the Cook Political Report, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections.

In the district’s June 25 GOP primary, Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd came out ahead in a crowded field.

Mr. Hurd, a father of five who clerked for federal appeals court Judge Timothy Tymkovich, defeated former state Rep. Ron Hanks, businessman Lew Webb, Colorado State Board of Education member Stephen Varela, entrepreneur Curtis McCrackin, and financial adviser Russ Andrews. That’s in line with polling ahead of the election.

Mr. Hurd’s $1 million-plus in fundraising put him ahead of other Republicans, yet it pales in comparison to the amount raised by the unchallenged Democratic candidate, Adam Frisch.

Mr. Frisch, a former New York currency trader, has garnered more than $13.1 million and has $3.7 million on hand, including almost $7.5 million from out-of-state donors. He amassed much of that money before Ms. Boebert, whom Mr. Frisch nearly beat in 2022, dropped out.

As the primary elections drew near, Mr. Frisch ran an ad attacking Mr. Hurd, effectively initiating the general election campaign season.

In 2023, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee listed the district among those it hopes to flip in this cycle.

Colorado’s 5th District

In the heavily Republican Fifth District, located in and around Colorado Springs, the retirement of Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) made for a noteworthy GOP primary.

Jeff Crank, a regional vice-president for the Koch Brothers’ network, Americans for Prosperity won that June 25 race.

He defeated Dave Williams, the head of the Colorado Republican Party.

On the Democratic side, researcher River Gassen and Joe Reagan, a U.S. Army veteran with a background in the nonprofit sector, were neck and neck at 9:30 p.m. Central time with 84 percent of the vote counted. Mr. Reagan led by 1 percent.

Colorado’s 8th District

State Rep. Gabe Evans has beaten former state representative and retired physician Janak Joshi in the Republican primary.

Mr. Evans, a U.S. Army veteran who once worked as a police officer, ran with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

In November, Mr. Evans will face incumbent Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.), a freshman in Congress who was spared primary challengers this cycle.

The district made the National Republican Congressional Committee’s list of seats it hopes to flip in 2024.

Created after the 2020 U.S. Census, the Eighth is widely seen as evenly split. Both Cook and Inside Elections consider it a toss-up, while Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball categorizes it as territory that “Leans Democratic.”

While Ms. Caraveo has so far significantly outraised Mr. Evans, the GOP challenger has benefited from hundreds of thousands in outside spending by Americans for Prosperity Action.

Fairshake PAC, a group funded in part by Silicon Valley venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, has mainly spent money against Democrats this cycle. Yet, it has so far donated more than $75,000 to support Ms. Caraveo.