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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Colorado will host one of the nation's most competitive House races this fall

The Republican primary in Colorado's 8th District — one of the most competitive House districts in the nation — is causing a bit of intraparty drama (a common theme tonight). Republicans here are hoping to unseat first-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Yadira Caraveo in this highly competitive district that spans the Denver suburbs and rural counties to the north. (Caraveo is the first person to hold the seat, which was created after apportionment in the 2022 cycle.) At first blush, Gabe Evans would seem like a shoo-in for this race. He's an Army vet, former police officer and former state representative who has outraised his competitor, and he's been endorsed by both Trump and the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity. But his competitor, retired doctor and former state Rep. Janak Joshi, got the controversial state party endorsement. As a result, it's unclear which direction the voters in this district may ultimately go, and if the candidate they choose will be strong enough to defeat Caraveo.

Kaleigh Rogers, 538


Biggs out to a small lead in South Carolina's 3rd District GOP runoff

In the Republican runoff in South Carolina's 3rd District, 12 percent of the expected vote has reported, and Biggs leads Burns by about 8 percentage points, 54 percent to 46 percent, according to the Associated Press. Remember, Burns has Trump's endorsement, but the early returns suggest a potentially close race. Still, there's a long way to go.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538


Colorado's controversial GOP chair hopes to triumph in Colorado Springs

In Colorado's 5th District, around Colorado Springs, there's a competitive GOP race to replace retiring GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn. The battle is between conservative radio host Jeff Crank and Dave Williams, the state GOP chair. Along with his talk radio gig, Crank has a background in politics, having previously worked as a regional vice president for Americans for Prosperity, and a staffer for former Rep. Joel Hefley.

Crank is the more traditional conservative pick, whereas Williams, a former state representative, has made a name for himself in the state as a MAGA provocateur and has been endorsed by the political arm of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. In 2022, when he challenged Lamborn in the primary, Williams petitioned (and failed) to add the slogan "Let's Go Brandon" to his name on the ballot, and as leader of the state party, he has taken it on a polarizing and notably hard-right tack. Under his leadership, the party advised county canvass boards not to certify the 2022 election results, and has sent out emails calling LGBTQ+ pride month "evil." It has also started endorsing candidates in primaries, something the party historically remained neutral on.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this has led conservative power brokers to dump millions into the race: The Koch Brothers' PAC has spent over $100,000 supporting Crank, while a super PAC of Republican megadonors has spent $1.2 million opposing Williams. As the only district in the state to have never been represented by a Democrat in Congress, the GOP primary will be a crucial one to watch to see if the ranks of the Freedom Caucus are likely to grow by one.

Kaleigh Rogers, 538


Tracking anti-abortion candidates in today's primaries

As usual, tonight we'll be tracking candidates in Colorado's, New York's and Utah's primaries, along with one runoff in South Carolina, whose campaign websites use the phrase "pro-life," "sanctity of life," "right to life," "protect life," "no abortion," "against abortion" or "unborn" and do not say abortion is an issue of states' rights.

In South Carolina, abortion is banned after six weeks. In the 3rd District runoff there, Biggs describes herself as anti-abortion and has promised to "defend the sanctity of life" if elected. She has also been endorsed by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

Abortion is banned in Utah after 18 weeks. All four Republican Senate candidates and at least one Republican House candidate in each of the state's four congressional districts are on our list, including 4th District Rep. Burgess Owens, who is running unopposed. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox is also anti-abortion, but he is nevertheless facing a challenge from the right by state Rep. Phil Lyman, who argues the governor is too moderate overall. Whoever wins the primary is likely to succeed in November against the Democratic challenger, state Rep. Brian King.

By contrast, New York law protects abortion rights, and voters may have a chance to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution if a proposed Equal Rights Amendment makes it onto the November ballot. Three Republican candidates in New York state are on our list. In the Republican-leaning 23rd and 24th districts, Rep. Nicholas Langworthy is running unopposed, and Mario Fratto, who lost to Rep. Claudia Tenney in 2022, is challenging the incumbent from the right again. But the Republican incumbent in the 22nd district, Rep. Brandon Williams, is more vulnerable, as redistricting left the district slightly bluer. Indeed, while New York Democrats plan to campaign on abortion rights to drive voters to the polls in November, Republicans in the state have been downplaying the issue.

—Monica Potts, 538


Candidates of color to watch tonight

Tonight, we'll be monitoring how candidates of color perform in primaries for Senate, House and governor. Overall, 19 people of color — 12 Democrats and seven Republicans — are running in these contests, all for the House.

Each state has a candidate of color running in at least one race, but New York, which also has the most contests overall, is home to 10 of these candidates, including former Rep. Mondaire Jones, who is running in the 17th Congressional District. He tried to switch districts in 2022 due to redistricting and lost the primary in the 10th District, but this year he is running unopposed and hoping to unseat Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.

In Colorado, Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Neguse is running unopposed in the primary for the state's 2nd Congressional District. In the 3rd District, Stephen Varela, who sits on the state's Board of Education, is the only person of color among six candidates hoping to take on Democrat Adam Frisch for the seat left open by Boebert running in the 4th District this cycle. Asian American Peter Yu, a finance and mortgage consultant, is one of her five challengers in that district. In the 8th Congressional District, are vying to take on the incumbent Democrat, Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a seat Republicans hope to flip in what could be a close race.

Finally, there are currently only four Black Republicans in the House, but Burns could add to that number if he wins his runoff in South Carolina (he is slightly favored against Biggs). Meanwhile, one of those four incumbents, Rep. Burgess Owens, is unopposed in Utah's 4th District.

—Monica Potts, 538