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:
Checking in on anti-abortion candidates
With the latest results in Colorado and Utah, lets check in on the anti-abortion Republicans we're tracking. Boebert and Crank are projected to win in their primaries in Colorado. And in Utah, Curtis is projected to win the GOP nomination for the Senate, incumbent Rep. Moore is projected to win his primary in the 1st District,and incumbent Gov. Cox is projected to fend off his challenger in the gubernatorial primary. We're still waiting on results in the state's 2nd and 3rd districts.
—Monica Potts, 538
Moore wins easily in Utah's 1st
I said I'd keep an eye on the Republican primary in Utah's 1st District, and I've done so, but there's nothing to see: The AP has already projected that Moore win will renomination, despite his loss among party activists at the GOP convention earlier this year. He's currently leading Miller, his more MAGA challenger, 73 percent to 27 percent, with 58 percent of the expected vote reporting.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
Curtis projected to win for Utah Senate
The AP has projected that Curtis will win the Republican nomination for Senate in Utah. With 64 percent of the expected vote counted, he currently leads Staggs 52 percent to 28 percent. Because of how red Utah is, Curtis will almost certainly win this seat in the fall, succeeding Romney in the Senate. With his quirky sock collection and pragmatic voting record, the mild-mannered Curtis will keep this seat in moderate hands.
—Nathaniel Rakich, 538
How the Salt Lake tables have turned in UT-02
Nathaniel, I’m old enough to remember when Maloy won the special election GOP primary for the 2nd District over Becky Edwards off of her strength in Washington County (where Maloy is from). Edwards nearly won that race because of how well she did in Salt Lake County. Now Maloy may need Salt Lake to bail her out while her opponent runs up the score in Washington!
—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections
Lauren Boebert is risking it all in a new district
After coming within 600 votes of losing her seat in the 2022 midterm election and enduring an awful year in her personal life, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert has ditched her district to attempt to win over Republican voters on the other side of the state, in the 4th District. This seat, which was previously held by Republican Rep. Ken Buck — who resigned earlier this year after announcing his retirement last year — is more reliably red, having gone for Trump by a margin of 19 percentage points in 2020 (compared to an 8-point margin in the 3rd). So if Boebert can secure the GOP nomination, she'll all but guarantee herself a spot in the next Congress.
Standing in her way are some primary candidates with more local cachet, such as former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg and Deborah Flora, a former Miss Colorado and local talk radio host. However, Boebert has a major fundraising advantage (she's raised $3.7 million, compared to the next-highest raiser, Flora, who's raised less than half a million), as well as Trump's endorsement, and the sole poll we have for this race shows her up 35 percentage points. So she's definitely got a solid shot at the primary in her new district.
In addition to the race to fill this seat in the 119th Congress, there is a separate special election to see out Buck's term. Republicans are favored to win that race.
—Kaleigh Rogers, 538