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:
A race call in New York's 1st
The AP projects that former CNN anchor John Avlon will win the Democratic nomination in New York's 1st District. He's leading 2020 nominee and chemistry professor Nancy Goroff, 70 to 30 percent, with 80 percent of the expected vote reporting. Avlon faces an uphill battle against GOP Rep. Nick LaLota this fall, as Long Island has gotten to be very fraught territory for Democrats.
—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections
Biggs and Boebert are the first winners in our anti-abortion tracker
With Biggs projected to win her South Carolina runoff, she's the first winning candidate (in a contested race) in our anti-abortion tracker. In an interview with The State newspaper, she said, "I am firmly against abortion except in the rarest and most extreme circumstances when the life of the mother is in immediate and severe danger and all other medical options have been exhausted." She said she otherwise does not support abortion at any stage of pregnancy. South Carolina does not allow abortion after six weeks, but such strict views are unpopular even in the state. A Winthrop University poll from May found that nearly half, 48 percent, of adults in the state opposed the ban, while 31 percent supported it.
Boebert has also won her primary contest in Colorado's 4th District, a deep red district where both her challengers were also on this list.
—Monica Potts, 538
Latimer projected to defeat Bowman in New York's 16th District
The AP has projected that Westchester County Executive George Latimer will defeat Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary for New York's 16th District. With 60 percent of the expected vote reporting, Latimer leads about 55 percent to 45 percent. While Bowman has performed extremely well in the small part of the district located in the Bronx, most of the seat is in Westchester, which Latimer is carrying handily. 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. Most notably, though, United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the pro-Israel group AIPAC, spent $14.8 million to take down Bowman, who like many in the progressive "Squad" has been sharply critical of Israel's military operations in Gaza (although he also condemned Hamas, too).
Bowman becomes the first Democratic incumbent to lose renomination this cycle and probably the third to lose a primary overall. Republican Rep. Jerry Carl of Alabama lost renomination in an incumbent-versus-incumbent race brought about by redistricting in March, while Republican Rep. Bob Good appears likely to lose his primary in Virginia, although the June 18 primary result was close and Good intends to pay for a recount.
—Geoffrey Skelley, 538
That's right, Nathaniel
There's a reason why we average! The Ohio race was super sleepy. This Colorado race was taking place at the same time as a high-profile Republican primary election in the same district. Best not to read anything too much into any individual result.
—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections
Last Republican woman in South Carolina state Senate loses renomination
In other Palmetto State news, state Sen. Katrina Healy has conceded defeat in the runoff for South Carolina's 23rd Senate District. Healy belonged to a group of three women state senators from the GOP who broke with their party to oppose a near-total abortion ban in the state last year. But this made them targets in their party primaries: Two lost renomination in the June 11 primary, while Healy is now headed for defeat in a runoff after no candidate won a majority two weeks ago.
—Geoffrey Skelley, 538