Lawyer Manny Rutinel to challenge Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans

Update, 12:50 a.m.:

The Associated Press called the Democratic nomination in Colorado’s competitive 8th Congressional District for state Rep. Manny Rutinel, a former lawyer, hours after polls closed in the state primary. Come November, Rutinel and incumbent Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., will vie for the House seat, which represents the Interstate 25 corridor North of Denver.

In the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Jared Polis, state Attorney General Phil Weiser won the Democratic nomination over U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. As of midnight, the Republican gubernatorial primary race remained too close to call between two state legislators and a pastor.

In the 3rd Congressional District, incumbent GOP Rep. Jeff Hurd and Democrat Army veteran and businessman Dwayne Romero won their parties' respective nominations. The district covers an expanse of southwestern Colorado.

Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist, won the Democratic nomination for Denver’s 1st Congressional District against longtime Rep. Diana DeGette. In the general election, she will run against Christy Peterson, who was uncontested for the GOP nomination.

Original story:

Coloradans take to the polls in closely-watched primaries

Last week, democratic socialists won big in New York City. Today, Coloradans will decide whether the movement holds the same sway in one of their bluest regions—Colorado’s first Congressional District. Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old barista and former lawyer endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, is running against incumbent Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette for her congressional seat. The winner of the Democratic nomination will compete in the November general election with Christy Peterson, a designer, accountant, and construction worker who is unopposed in the Republican primary.

Who else is on the ballot? Another longtime Colorado Democrat, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, is up against Attorney General Phil Weiser in the gubernatorial race. Polls currently seem to indicate a toss-up. Weiser, who filed around 66 lawsuits against the federal government as attorney general, made an impressive comeback since earlier polls gave his opponent a 30-point lead. Three candidates are vying for the Republican nomination: nonprofit leader Victor Marx and two state legislators, Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer and Rep. Scott Bottoms.

In another closely watched race, Democrats and Republicans will fight for control of a U.S. House seat in Colorado's highly competitive 8th Congressional District. Two Democrat candidates with experience in the state legislature, Shannon Bird and Manny Rutinel, will battle for the nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., for the congressional seat.

Dig Deeper: Read my report with Abby Young on the New York primaries that brought big wins for democratic socialists last week.