New York, Colorado and Utah primaries 2024: Bowman loses, Boebert wins
Three Trump-endorsed candidates also lost in Republican primaries.
June 25 was one of the most jam-packed primary election days of the year: Democrats and Republicans in Colorado, New York, Utah and parts of South Carolina picked their party's nominees for this fall's elections.
Two incumbent representatives — Jamaal Bowman and Lauren Boebert — who have made enemies inside and outside their own parties faced serious challengers in their primaries, but they met with different fates. Bowman lost to a more moderate Democrat, George Latimer, in what was the most expensive congressional primary in history. However, Boebert easily prevailed in her Republican primary despite running in an entirely new district.
It was also a bad night for former President Donald Trump. Going into these primaries, only one candidate he had endorsed for Senate, House or governor had lost; tonight alone, three did, including his preferred candidate to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney in Utah.
In addition, the fields are now set in some key congressional matchups this fall. In Colorado, Republicans avoided nominating far-right candidates who could have put normally safe red districts in play. Meanwhile, Democrats picked their fighters in two competitive New York House districts that could help them reclaim the House majority.
538 reporters and contributors broke down the election results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.
Latest headlines:
That’s a wrap!
And with that, we’re calling a lid on one of the busiest primary nights of the year! Here’s a recap of what went down.
First, in the two highest-profile races of the night, controversial incumbents went 1-for-2:
- In New York’s 16th District, the AP has projected that Westchester County Executive George Latimer will defeat progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary. This race was defined largely by internal Democratic divisions over the Israel-Hamas conflict and the influence of pro-Israel groups, although controversies about Bowman's past behavior certainly made him more vulnerable.
- In Colorado’s 4th District, the AP has projected that Rep. Lauren Boebert will win the GOP nomination. Boebert caused a lot of grumbling after switching districts from the 3rd, on the other side of the state, but she ultimately won easily thanks to her big fundraising advantage, Trump’s endorsement and ton of name recognition.
It was a bad night for Trump-endorsed candidates in competitive races, three of whom lost:
- The AP has projected that Air National Guard Lt. Col. Sheri Biggs will narrowly defeat Trump-endorsed pastor Mark Burns in the Republican runoff in South Carolina’s 3rd District..
- According to the AP, Jeff Crank, a conservative talk radio host, won the Republican primary in Colorado’s 5th District, defeating state party chair and Trump endorsee Dave Williams.
-In the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Utah, Rep. John Curtis defeated Trump-endorsed Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs. Curtis will follow in the moderate footsteps of Sen. Mitt Romney, who is retiring from this seat.
Both parties also chose their nominees for some competitive House races this fall — and in general, they chose the more electable options.
- The AP has projected attorney Jeff Hurd will win the Republican primary in Colorado's 3rd District. Republicans avoided nominating former state Rep. Ron Hanks, who was so conservative he risked losing this light-red seat to Democrat Adam Frisch.
- The AP has projected that state Rep. Gabe Evans has won the Republican primary for Colorado's 8th District over state-party-endorsed Janak Joshi. Evans will face off in November against Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo, who won this district by just over 1,600 votes in 2022.
- In New York’s 1st District, former CNN anchor John Avlon won the Democratic primary against 2020 nominee Nancy Goroff. He’ll face Republican Rep. Nick LaLota this fall.
- In New York’s 22nd District, the AP has projected that state Sen. John Mannion will win the Democratic primary against DeWitt Town Councilor Sarah Klee Hood. Mannion will face Republican Rep. Brandon Williams in this blue-leaning district in the general.
However, conservative Republicans did score a win in one solid-red open seat:
- In Utah’s 3rd District, the AP has projected that state Sen. Mike Kennedy, who was endorsed by Sen. Mike Lee, will win the GOP nomination to succeed Curtis. Kennedy outpaced four other contenders, including trampoline tycoon Case Lawrence, who self-funded his bid but came in second place.
Finally, a number of other incumbents also beat back notable challengers tonight:
- The AP has projected that incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox will defeat state Rep. Phil Lyman in the Republican primary for Utah governor. However, Lyman, who was running to Cox’s right, still took more than 40 percent of the vote.
- Moderate Rep. Blake Moore also won renomination in Utah’s 1st District, according to the AP, easily dispatching a more conservative challenger.
- The AP has projected that Rep. Claudia Tenney will win the Republican primary in New York's 24th District over businessman Mario Fratto, who came within 14 points of unseating her in 2022.
—G. Elliott Morris, Monica Potts, Nathaniel Rakich, Kaleigh Rogers and Geoffrey Skelley, 538; Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor; and Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections
There’s only one unprojected race that we’re still tracking: the Republican primary in Utah’s 2nd District. The AP estimates that 83 percent of the final vote has been counted there, and Maloy is clinging to a 52 percent to 48 percent lead over Jenkins. However, it’s getting late, so unfortunately I don’t think we’ll be sticking around for the bitter end for this one. (It’s very possible we won’t even get a projection tonight.)
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
Tonight I tracked several primaries in which women had a chance to win. On the Republican side, in the runoff in South Carolina’s 3rd, Biggs’s projected victory over the Trump-endorsed candidate should add a woman to the GOP conference in November given that district’s rightward lean. In Colorado’s 4th, another safe red district, it was likely a woman would win — we just weren’t sure who — and Boebert ended up the winner there. However, we’re still waiting to see whether Maloy will ward off her challenger to prevail in Utah’s 2nd.
Among Democrats, nonincumbent women didn’t have a remarkable night. In New York’s 1st District, Goroff is projected to lose despite her support from the Democratic-aligned powerhouse EMILYs List. Also in New York, the AP has projected that Sarah Klee Hood will lose the primary in the 22nd. The only nonincumbent Democratic woman who prevailed tonight in a district winnable in November is probably Laura Gillen in New York’s 4th District.
—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor
Boebert easily won the Republican primary in Colorado’s solidly red 4th District, making it almost certain she’ll successfully switch over from the more competitive 3rd District and remain in Congress after the 2024 election. However, it’s easy to wonder if she might’ve had more trouble against one notable opponent. With 89 percent of the expected vote reporting, per the AP, Boebert has 43 percent against five other candidates, four of whom have at least 10 percent. Had one of those candidates, especially one of the better-funded or well-known contenders with long-standing local ties (such as Sonnenberg) gotten a one-on-one crack at Boebert, perhaps she would have had more trouble. We’ll never know, of course, and outside of states with runoffs or ranked-choice voting, a plurality win is all a candidate needs.
—Geoffrey Skelley, 538
