Former Governor John Hickenlooper will challenge incumbent Republican Senator Cory Gardner in November. After a record voter turnout for Tuesday’s primary election, Hickenlooper scored a commanding win against former house speaker Andrew Romanoff about 20 minutes after the polls closed.
Hickenlooper received several high-profile endorsements leading up to the election. But he also had some missteps, including being fined by a state ethics committee for violating the state’s gift ban during his second term as governor and past comments and pictures arising that some deemed as racist.
Senator Cory Gardner is seen as the most vulnerable Republican in the Senate as Colorado has shifted to politically to the left in recent years.
On the western slope, five-term Republican congressman Scott Tipton was defeated by his primary challenger Lauren Boebert in the third congressional district. Boebert is a gun rights activist from Rifle who owns Shooters, a restaurant where the wait staff carry firearms.
In his concession, Tipton said, "3rd District Republicans have decided who they want to run against the Democrats this November. I want to congratulate Lauren Boebert and wish her and her supporters well."
Democrats selected former state representative Diane Mitsch Bush from Steamboat Springs over James Iacino as their candidate to take on Boebert in the fall.