The Sunriser | Lauren Boebert wins Republican primary

Good morning, Colorado.

The Colorado primary election was last night, and our team has a slew of stories for you covering what happened, what didn’t happen and how it did or didn’t happen.

Today is also the final day of our Democracy Days donation drive. More than 360 Colorado Sun readers have donated to support our nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom so far, bringing us super close to meeting our goal of $30,000. We’re just a few hundred dollars away!

Thank you, Sun readers. Your support helps us keep Coloradans informed with trustworthy, in-depth news. If our coverage has helped you to stay informed, will you consider making a donation today to help us cross the finish line?

Thanks for supporting local journalism and making our work at The Sun possible. Now, on to today’s news.

Lauren Whynott

Director of Membership, Marketing & Audience Engagement

ELECTION 2024

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert decisively won the six-way Republican primary in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. The win makes her reelection to Congress — albeit in a different district — highly likely. The large primary field split the anti-Boebert vote, and none among the group could match Boebert’s fundraising ability and name recognition among voters.

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Here’s more from our politics team Jesse Paul, Sandra Fish and Brian Eason, with help from reporters Erica Breunlin and Jennifer Brown:

• Elisabeth Epps, Tim Hernández are unseated as Democratic legislative primary results are a mixed bag for progressives. The Democratic primaries will determine the political trajectory of the state Capitol for years to come.
• Colorado board of education could shift against charter schools following Democratic primaries. Pro-charter school candidate Marisol Rodriguez concedes 2nd Congressional District seat to Kathy Gebhardt. The Democratic primary winner is likely to win in the general election.
• Republican Greg Lopez wins special election to serve out Ken Buck’s term in Congress. The last time Lopez, an Air Force veteran and former Democrat, held elected office was in the 1990s, when he served as mayor of Parker. 
• Gabe Evans wins Republican primary in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, will take on Democrat Yadira Caraveo. Evans, a state representative, beat former state Rep. Janak Joshi in the district that spans the northeastern Denver suburbs along U.S. 85 into Greeley.
• Jeff Crank beats Dave Williams in Republican primary in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District. This CD5 primary became a battle for the soul of the GOP, symbolizing the divisions between the traditional wing of the party and the firebrand wing allied with former President Donald Trump.
• Jeff Hurd wins Republican primary in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, will take on Democrat Adam Frisch in November. Hurd’s victory in the Republican-leaning 3rd District, which spans the Western Slope and stretches into Pueblo and southeastern Colorado, came amid $2 million in super PAC spending that benefited and opposed him. 

TRANSPORTATION

State and federal officials have known for decades about problems with bridges constructed with a faulty welding technique. So why were the issues with the U.S. 50 bridge over Blue Mesa Reservoir not found earlier? Nancy Lofholm digs into it.

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ENERGY

One mainstream presidential candidate is a constant critic of wind power, the other spends billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies to promote it. Who’s right? We can’t cover it all in one article, but Michael Booth can look at the role wind power plays in Colorado.

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MORE NEWS

THE COLORADO REPORT

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COLUMNS

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

BOOKS

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from bookstores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Park Hill Community Bookstore in Denver recommends:

• “Manchild in the Promised Land” by Claude Brown, a ’60s portrait of a streetwise Harlem man
• “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama” by Nathan Thrall, an anatomy of a Jerusalem tragedy
• “Purple Hibiscus” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a family drama set in war-torn Nigeria

Read what the bookstore staff had to say about each. Pick up a copy and support your local bookstores at the same time.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Reminder: It’s the last day of our Democracy Days donation drive. Please help us hit our goal!

— Lauren & the whole staff of The Sun

Corrections & Clarifications

Notice something wrong? The Colorado Sun has an ethical responsibility to fix all factual errors. Request a correction by emailing corrections@coloradosun.com.