The Associated Press
DENVER – The latest on Colorado’s midterm primary:
State Rep. Dave Young has won the Democratic primary for treasurer.
The lawmaker from Greeley handily defeated Bernard Douthit, a businessman and political newcomer from Denver.
Young will face the winner of a tightly contested Republican primary in November. Incumbent state Treasurer Walker Stapleton is term-limited and running for governor.
Colorado Democratic nominee Rep. Jared Polis is promising a “bold” campaign for governor.
Polis won the nomination Tuesday night in a four-way contest. “I’m running for governor to protect our Colorado way of life from the special interests who try to stack the deck in their favor,” he told supporters at a hotel in Broomfield.
Polis was a successful businessman before entering politics. He spent $12 million on his primary campaign. That allowed him to reject donations from political campaign committees. He’s expected to tap his fortune more in the general election. He faces state treasurer Walker Stapleton, a Republican.
In a victory speech shortly after winning the Republican primary for governor, Colorado state Treasurer Walker Stapleton thanked his supporters and quickly pivoted to the general election, taking shots at his Democratic opponent.
“Make no mistake, as governor, Jared Polis will raise every tax and fee he can to take more money from hardworking Coloradans,” Stapleton said, according to remarks provided by his campaign.
Stapleton has spent much of the last few months attacking Polis, a U.S. congressman from Boulder, characterizing him as too liberal for Colorado.
“My fellow Coloradans, the stakes could not be higher for my children and for yours,” Stapleton said, touting what he said were his own fiscal conservative credentials.
U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn has won the Republican primary to represent Colorado’s 5th Congressional District.
Lamborn came back from a political near-death experience. The Colorado Supreme Court in April ruled he couldn’t be on the primary ballot due to a technical error in his campaign’s collection of supporters’ signatures.
But Lamborn was able to overturn the ruling in federal court and defeat a strong challenge from other Republicans in his Colorado Springs district.
The six-term congressman beat Darryl Glenn, who was the party’s 2016 U.S. Senate nominee, state senator Owen Hill and two other Republicans. He is the favorite for re-election in November given the district’s overwhelmingly Republican tilt.
Democrats have picked attorney and military veteran Jason Crow to face GOP U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman in November.
Crow defeated Levi Tilleman, a former Obama administration environmental adviser, in Tuesday’s primary.
Crow is a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has also advised former President Barack Obama on veterans’ issues. He works as an attorney in Denver.
Crow faces Coffman, a veteran who has represented Colorado’s 6th Congressional District since 2009, and a perennial target of Democrats.
The diverse district covers Denver’s southern and eastern suburbs.
Turnout is up significantly in Colorado’s primary, thanks in large part to a new state law allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in the two parties’ nominating contests for the first time.
According to preliminary figures from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, more than 32 percent of the state’s 3.2 million active voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election, up from 21 percent in 2016.
Unaffiliated voters, who make up roughly a third of the state’s electorate, represent the bulk of the increase. They cast more than 250,000 votes, or about 8 percentage points of the turnout.
Preliminary voter turnout among members of the two major parties was up about 3 percentage points.
Enthusiasm is one possible factor. Turnout has been high in primary elections across the country, among Democrats in particular. This year’s ballot also had interesting races. Colorado did not have a presidential primary in 2016. This year, both parties have contested gubernatorial primaries atop the ticket.
U.S. Rep. Jared Polis has won the Democratic primary in the race to replace Colorado Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Polis secured the nomination Tuesday against former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy, former state Sen. Mike Johnston and Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne.
Polis is a five-term congressman, former state board of education member and self-made millionaire and philanthropist.
He supports publicly-funded preschool and kindergarten, forgiveness of college debt, single-payer health care and promoting renewable energy.
State law prohibits Hickenlooper from serving a third consecutive term.
Tuesday’s primary was the first in which unaffiliated voters, the state’s largest voting bloc, could participate in one or the other of the major party primaries.
Colorado hasn’t elected a Republican governor since Bill Owens, who served from 1999-2007.
Democratic Nominee for Governor, Jared Polis, greeting supporters following his speech pic.twitter.com/UDolk0URNY
— Colleen Sikora KRDO (@ColleenSikora) June 27, 2018
State Treasurer Walker Stapleton has won the Republican primary for Colorado governor.
Stapleton secured the nomination Tuesday against businessmen Victor Mitchell, Doug Robinson and Greg Lopez.
Stapleton led a field that collectively vowed to defend any attempt to tamper with Colorado’s constitutional Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, which leaves it to voters to approve tax hikes. He also aligned himself with President Donald Trump on immigration, health care and the federal tax plan.
State law prohibits Gov. John Hickenlooper from serving a third consecutive term.
Colorado hasn’t elected a Republican governor since Bill Owens, who served from 1999-2007.
Tuesday’s primary was the first in which unaffiliated voters, the state’s largest voting bloc, could participate in one or the other of the major party primaries.
“Jared Polis supports a government takeover of your healthcare” - @WalkerStapleton. Just the beginning - get ready for both sides to go after each other #copolitics #kdvr #kwgn #cogov
— Joe St. George (@JoeStGeorge) June 27, 2018
Polls have closed in Colorado’s midterm primaries, and elections officials report a strong preliminary turnout.
Voters had until 7 p.m. to deliver their primary ballots to elections offices and ballot drop-off centers.
Tuesday’s primary was the first in which Colorado’s unaffiliated voters could participate in either the Democratic of the Republican party primary.
Secretary of State Wayne Williams’ office says more than 983,000 Coloradans voted. That’s roughly 30 percent of active voters — and it’s a preliminary count.
Democrats cast 385,470 ballots, Republicans 362,590 ballots, and unaffiliated voters 235,643 ballots.
In 2016, 21 percent of active voters participated in the primary.
