Colorado 2022 Primary Election Report

Colorado’s primary took place on Tuesday, June 28. The following is an outline of the governor, secretary of state and 23 state House and Senate primary races and results. The general election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Two state-level GOP primaries received heavy news coverage⁠—those for governor and secretary of state:

• GOVERNOR: Heidi Ganahl, a member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents and the only Republican to currently hold a statewide elected office, beat out Greg Lopez and will challenge Gov. Jared Polis on the ballot in November. As the Democratic incumbent, Polis is expected to secure the race.

• SECRETARY OF STATE: Pam Anderson won the Republican primary for secretary of state, beating out Tina Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk who has received wide-reaching media coverage for her questioning the validity of elections statewide. Peters has not conceded the race as of Wednesday morning. Anderson will go on to face Democratic incumbent Jena Griswold on the ballot in November.

STATE SENATE(2022 Senate Districts Map)

The Senate has a staggered election schedule for four-year terms. With a two-term limit, about half of the Senate is up for election every two years. There are 17 Senate seats up for election in 2022. Three of those seats had primary elections on Tuesday:

• SD9 – Northern El Paso County: Republicans Paul Lundeen (I) vs. Lynda Zamora Wilson
  Safe Republican seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Paul Lundeen (I)

• SD11 – Central El Paso County: Democrats Tony Exum vs. Yolanda Avila
  Winner will go on to face a competitive race against Republican incumbent Dennis Hisey. This is a deciding race to determine whether Republicans will take over the Senate in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Tony Exum

• SD27 – Arapahoe County: Republicans Tom Kim vs. JulieMarie Shepherd Macklin
  Winner will go on to face a competitive race against Democrat Tom Sullivan. This is a deciding race to determine whether Republicans will take over the Senate in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Tom Kim

STATE HOUSE(2022 House Districts Map)

All 65 Seats of the House of Representatives are up for election every two years, for two-year terms and a four-term limit. Twenty of these seats had primary elections on Tuesday, and five of those primary races included incumbent candidates:

• HD6 – Central/West Denver: Democrats Elisabeth Epps vs. Katie March
  Safe Democratic seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Epps is currently in the lead as of 10 a.m. on June 30 with a margin outside what is required for a recount, but March has not yet conceded.
     
• HD14 – El Paso County: Republicans Rose Pugliese vs. Joe Woyte
  Safe Republican seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Rose Pugliese
• HD17- El Paso County: Democrats Regina English vs. Mischa Smith
  Safe Democratic seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Regina English
• HD18 – El Paso County: Republicans Shana Black vs. Summer Groubert
  Winner will go on to face a competitive race against Democrat incumbent Marc Snyder.
  • OUTCOME: Shana Black
     
• HD21 – El Paso County*: Republicans Mary Bradfield (I) vs. Karl Dent
  ​​​​​​​Safe Republican seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Mary Bradfield (I)
     
• HD25 Jefferson County* – Republicans Colin Larson (I) vs. Dede Wagner
  ​​​​​​​Relatively safe Republican seat. Primary winner will face Democrat Tammy Story, who was unable to run successfully for her State Senate seat again due to redistricting.
  • OUTCOME: Colin Larson (I)
     
• HD26 – Northwestern Colorado: Republicans Glenn Lowe vs. Savannah Wolfson
  Winner will go on to face a competitive race against Democrat Meghan Lukens.
  • OUTCOME: Savannah Wolfson
    ​​​​​​​
• HD34 – Northglenn/Adams County: Democrats Sam Nizam vs. Jenny Wilford
  ​​​​​​​Safe Democratic seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Jenny Wilford
     
• HD42 – Arapahoe County*: Democrats Mandy Lindsay (I) vs. Gail Pough
  Safe Democratic seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Mandy Lindsay (I)
    ​​​​​​​
• HD43 – Northern Douglas County: Republicans Kurt Huffman vs. Robin Webb
  Safe Republican seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Kurt Huffman
    ​​​​​​​
• HD44 – Parker/Northeast Douglas County: Republicans Terry Dodd vs. Anthony Hartsook
  ​​​​​​​Safe Republican seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Anthony Hartsook
     
• HD45 – Castle Rock/Douglas County: Republicans Lisa Frizell vs. Bill Jack
  ​​​​​​​Safe Republican seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Lisa Frizell
     
• HD46 Pueblo County: Democrats Tisha Mauro vs. Jason Munoz
  Relatively safe Democratic seat. Winner will go on to face Republican Jonathan Ambler.
  • OUTCOME: Tisha Mauro
    ​​​​​​​
• HD48 – Brighton/Platteville/Weld County: Republicans Terry DeGroot vs. Gabe Evans
  Safe Republican seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Gabe Evans
     
• HD49 – Larimer/Boulder/Clear Creek County: Republicans John Caldwell vs. Kathryn Lehr
  ​​​​​​​Safe Democratic seat. Primary winner will face Democratic incumbent Judy Amabile, who will likely win the seat in the general election.
  • OUTCOME: Kathryn Lehr
     
• HD51 – Loveland/Larimer County*: Republicans Hugh McKean (I) vs Austin Hein
  Safe Republican seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Hugh McKean (I)
     
• HD55 – Grand Junction/Mesa County: Republicans Rick Taggart vs. Patricia Weber
  ​​​​​​​Safe Republican seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Rick Taggart
     
• HD57 – Pitkin/Garfield/Eagle: Democrats Colin Buerger vs. Elizabeth Velasco
  ​​​​​​​Safe Democratic seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023 and will likely unseat Republican incumbent Perry Will. This district shifted party due to redistricting this year.
  • OUTCOME: Elizabeth Velasco
     
• HD62 – Southern Colorado: Republicans Carol Riggenbach vs. Ryan Williams
  Safe Democratic seat. Primary winner will face Democrat Matthew Martinez, who will likely take the seat in the general election.
  • OUTCOME: Carol Riggenbach
     
• HD63 – Eastern Plains*: Republicans Richard Holtorf (I) vs. Jessie Vance
  ​​​​​​​Safe Republican seat. Primary winner will be in the General Assembly in 2023.
  • OUTCOME: Richard Holtorf (I)

We will continue to watch as the general election races develop in advance of Nov. 8. Because Colorado’s voting happens largely through mail-in and drop-off ballots, expect heavy campaigning in the late summer and early fall before voters receive their ballots in mid-October.

This document is intended to provide you with general information regarding Colorado's 2022 primary election results. The contents of this document are not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about the contents of this document or if you need legal advice as to an issue, please contact the attorneys listed or your regular Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP attorney. This communication may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions. The information in this article is accurate as of the publication date. Because the law in this area is changing rapidly, and insights are not automatically updated, continued accuracy cannot be guaranteed.