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.


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Democrats to decide nominee in New York's 22nd District, one of their top House targets

In the central New York-based 22nd District, Republican Rep. Brandon Williams ranks among Democrats' top targets in the House because Biden would have carried this seat by 11 percentage points in 2020, according to Daily Kos Elections. The two-way race for the Democratic nomination features DeWitt Town Councilor Sarah Klee Hood and state Sen. John Mannion in what looks to be a competitive tilt. Klee Hood narrowly lost the 2022 Democratic primary here, and she's led in fundraising with $1.4 million to Mannion's $869,000. However, Mannion represents nearly 30 percent of this seat in the state Senate, and the former high school teacher has also received $302,000 in outside spending support from teachers unions.

The only survey we've seen of this race was a late March poll by GBAO for Mannion's campaign that found him ahead 42 percent to 20 percent, but that was three months ago. Klee Hood, an Air Force veteran, has emphasized her unwavering support for abortion rights, a potential opening due to criticism Mannion has received for past comments in which he stated support for existing restrictions on abortion access. In his ads, Mannion has promised to defend abortion rights and has highlighted his long career in education.

But last week, a group of former aides to Mannion accused him of creating a hostile work environment by screaming and cursing at them, while also accusing Mannion's wife of discomforting behavior and making transphobic remarks. Mannion pushed back at the allegations, arguing that he'd never had a workplace complaint filed against him and questioning the late-breaking claims as a "false political attack."

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538


Biggs hold precarious runoff lead in South Carolina's 3rd District

With 39 percent of the expected vote reporting, Biggs holds about a 4-point edge over Burns, 52.4 percent to 47.6 percent — a lead Burns could surmount as more election day votes are counted. In the June 11 primary, a little more than 3 in 4 total votes in this district were cast on election day, and Burns won 34.5 percent of them to Biggs's 27.7 percent. By comparison, Biggs did better among early and absentee votes, beating Burns 32.3 percent to 28.9 percent. But at this point, it appears most of the early and absentee votes are accounted for, based on information from the South Carolina Election Commission, so if Burns can repeat his election day advantage from the primary, he might just catch Biggs.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538


Women we're watching tonight

According to our analysis of primaries this cycle through May 21, 41 percent of Democrats' nominees for House, Senate and governor are women, compared with just 16 percent of Republicans' nominees. It wasn't until June 11 that Republicans nominated a nonincumbent woman in a seat they're strongly favored to win in November: Julie Fedorchak in North Dakota's at-large district. But today's races present a couple more opportunities for Republican women to make gains.

One race I'll be watching is the runoff between Biggs and Burns in South Carolina's 3rd. Biggs has been endorsed by VIEW PAC, one of the organizations trying to elect more Republican women, but Trump endorsed Burns. This will be a safe Republican race in November, so a Biggs win would likely add a woman to the Republican conference.

In Utah, incumbent Rep. Celeste Maloy faces a serious challenger, even though she has an endorsement from Trump. Her challenger has been endorsed by Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Tommy Tuberville and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramawamy and is painting Maloy as too "D.C."

In Colorado, there are only two Republican women running today, and they are facing off against each other in the 4th Congressional District. Flora has been endorsed by VIEW PAC, but Boebert has the support of Maggie's List, which is another of the GOP groups dedicated to electing more women. This is the second time we've seen two GOP women's groups endorse against each other in primaries thus far. Last week, in South Carolina's 1st, Rep. Nancy Mace was endorsed by VIEW PAC, while Winning for Women supported her challenger, Catherine Templeton. Mace prevailed*.

While Mace and Boebert both had backing from Trump, Boebert is a member of the Freedom Caucus, while Mace is not, which could explain why VIEW PAC backed Mace but not Boebert. In 2022, VIEW PAC endorsed a challenge to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in her primary, another female member of the Freedom Caucus.

In Democratic primaries today, EMILYs List, the prominent political action committee formed to elect pro-choice Democratic women, has endorsed just two nonincumbents, both in New York: Goroff in the 1st and Laura Gillen in the 4th. Gillen, a lawyer and former Hempstead Town Supervisor, is unopposed in the primary, and she stands a decent chance of defeating incumbent Republican Rep. Anthony D'Esposito in November.

I'll keep you updated on these candidates and more throughout the night.

Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor


An increasingly bitter Democratic primary in New York's light red 1st District

On Long Island, Democrats hope to seriously contest the 1st District, a seat Trump would've won by 2 points in 2020, which is currently held by first-term Republican Rep. Nick LaLota. Former CNN political commentator John Avlon and organic chemist Nancy Goroff are battling for the Democratic nomination. Goroff has outraised Avlon $2.3 million to $1.8 million, but her advantage stems from $1.2 million in self-funding.

Avlon has received many endorsements from party leaders, who seem to view him as the more electable pick. In the same vein, the WelcomePAC has spent nearly $1.7 million on ads that claim Goroff — who lost here as the Democratic nominee in 2020 — is a choice the party "can't afford." But Goroff's campaign has promoted her backing from pro-abortion rights groups EMILYs List and Planned Parenthood while hitting Avlon for his past ties to the GOP, including his work as an aide to Republican Rudy Giuliani during Giuliani's tenure as New York City's mayor.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538