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:
New Yorkers' concerns have significantly evolved since the midterms
While we're starting to get results in the marquee New York races, let's check in on the issues voters in the state are prioritizing this year. Like voters around the country, New Yorkers are most likely to say that the economy is the most important issue facing the state, according to a May Emerson College/The Hill/PIX 11 survey. Thirty-four percent of New York voters said that the "economy (jobs, inflation, taxes)" was the most important issue, and it topped the list for Democrats, Republicans and independent voters. The exact same share overall (34 percent) also named economy as the top issue in polling just before the 2022 midterms.
Beyond that, though, a lot has changed for the state since 2022. Before the midterms, the second most important issue to New Yorkers was "threats to democracy," named by 14 percent of respondents. That has fallen to just 7 percent in the most recent survey, while the issue of immigration has risen to second place, from 3 percent in 2022 to 16 percent. Housing has also risen in importance; in 2022, 3 percent of New Yorkers named "housing affordability" as the most important issue facing the state, compared to 12 percent now. And abortion has fallen as a key issue; in 2022, 11 percent said "abortion access" was their top issue, while just 3 percent say so today. With the exception of immigration, which has risen in salience across the political spectrum, these changes in priorities are particularly pronounced among Democrats in New York.
—Mary Radcliffe, 538
Polls are closed in New York and Colorado
It's 9 p.m. Eastern, and polls just closed in both New York and Colorado, home to tonight's marquee primary contests. We'll have updates from races in both those states shortly!
—Tia Yang, 538
A Biggs win in South Carolina would be notable for a couple reasons
If Biggs wins her race in South Carolina’s 3rd, that will be notable not only because the Trump endorsee would lose, but because the GOP has been slow to nominate women for safe Republican seats. Earlier in the cycle, in North Carolina’s 13th (a safe red seat), Kelly Daughtry was a contender, where she was set to face off against Brad Knott in a runoff. However, Trump endorsed Knott ahead of the runoff, and she dropped out.
—Meredith Conroy, 538 contributor
Biggs maintains slim advantage in South Carolina's 3rd District
The AP reports that about 82 percent of the expected vote has reported from the GOP primary runoff in South Carolina's 3rd District, and Biggs's lead over Burns now stands at around 4 points, 52 percent to 48 percent. Looking at the results from the South Carolina Election Commission, Burns has not gotten the boost from the Election Day vote that we expected. In fact, Biggs leads among votes cast on election day, 53 percent to 47 percent, and that group of votes looks set to make up close to 80 percent of the final overall vote total. (Biggs leads 51 percent to 49 percent among the smaller number of early and absentee votes.)
—Geoffrey Skelley, 538
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