Colorado 2022 primary election results

Colorado voters head to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots in primaries for the Senate, House of Representatives, governor, secretary of state and several down-ballot seats. Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Colorado has an open primary system. Unaffiliated voters are given the option to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary but not both.

State Significance

In Colorado, Republican candidates are facing off for a chance to challenge incumbent Democrats in three statewide races. The results of these primaries will lay the groundwork for the general elections in November.

Moderates are running against election deniers in both the GOP Senate and gubernatorial primary. The moderate in the Senate primary is businessman Joe O’Dea, whose platform mostly focuses on what he calls economic reform. Running against him is Ron Hanks, a vocal supporter of the "big lie" that the 2020 presidential race was stolen. Heidi Ganahl, an establishment candidate, is up against Greg Lopez in the governor’s race.

False claims about the 2020 election feature prominently in the Republican secretary of state primary as well, where Tina Peters, a Mesa County clerk indicted on multiple charges related to election tampering, is a candidate. (Peters has said she is innocent.)

Meanwhile, a four-way GOP primary is taking place in Colorado’s 8th District, a highly competitive seat created through redistricting. Whoever wins in this primary will run against Democratic incumbent Rep. Yadira Caraveo in a race that could determine who controls the House in 2022.

Democratic involvement in Colorado’s GOP primaries has been making headlines in recent months: Democratic groups have run ads boosting known election deniers such as Hanks, Lopez and Lori Laine, betting -- in an unproven theory -- that these candidates would be less appealing to the general electorate.