Live Results: Colorado AG Phil Weiser will defeat Sen. Michael Bennet in Democratic gubernatorial nomination, CNN projects

By Eric Bradner, David Wright, CNN

(CNN) — Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser will win the Democratic nomination for Colorado governor, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, defeating Sen. Michael Bennet in a competitive race.

It’s one of several races where Democratic rifts over ideology, generation change and how best to take on President Donald Trump are on display Tuesday in Colorado, as voters settle primaries for governor and a key House race, weigh ousting two mainstays of the state’s Democratic landscape and more.

Two-term Gov. Jared Polis is term-limited, and his decision to reduce the prison sentence of convicted election denier Tina Peters at Trump’s urging has angered many Democrats in the state.

The race to replace him has been shaped largely by voters’ views on how their state’s chief executive should take on the president.

Down-ballot, veteran Democrats are facing challenges from the left as progressive candidates look to build on last week’s victories in New York.

Check back for the live results for key races in Colorado.

Governor’s race revolves around Trump

Weiser defeated Bennet in a competitive race that pitted two well-known statewide officials against each other. Largely in agreement on policy issues, the contest turned into a referendum on resistance to the Trump administration.

Bennet knocked Weiser for “signing on to other people’s lawsuits,” arguing at a candidate forum in January that the attorney general “spends a lot of time talking about fight, fight, fight, Trump, lawsuit, lawsuit, lawsuit,” but lacked “a vision for what the future is going to look like.” At a debate in May, Weiser accused Bennet of succumbing to “pressure to go along” in Congress and pointed to his votes to confirm several of Trump’s Cabinet nominees.

Their matchup broke state fundraising and spending records. Bennet received a major boost from a super PAC that spent $8 million supporting him, funded in part by more than $4 million from the billionaire former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg; Weiser also saw nearly $1 million in outside support.

Weiser advances to the general election aiming to succeed Polis. Republicans are choosing their nominee from a group that includes ministry leader Victor Marx, state Rep. Scott Bottoms and state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer.

Hickenlooper fends off challenge from the left

Sen. John Hickenlooper will win the Democratic primary for US Senate in Colorado, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.

He defeated state Sen. Julie Gonzales, a 43-year-old progressive challenger, in a contest that served as proxy for the broader debate over the Democratic Party’s future.

The former Denver mayor and two-term governor leveraged decades of experience in Colorado politics to blunt the momentum of the anti-establishment left wing, touting his coalition-building approach while affirming his opposition to the Trump administration.

Gonzales, meanwhile, aligned herself with calls for generational change within the party, arguing that the 74-year-old incumbent’s “go-along-to-get-along, poll-tested incrementalist politics have not made Coloradans’ lives better,” while criticizing Hickenlooper for skipping debates and candidate forums.

And while Gonzales was endorsed by the national progressive group Indivisible and the state AFL-CIO, Hickenlooper’s financial advantage – outraising Gonzales several times over – and longstanding reputation was enough to overcome the spirited challenge.

Hickenlooper now advances to the general election as the favorite to retain his seat in solidly Democratic Colorado.

Democrats choose nominee in battleground House district

State Rep. Manny Rutinel will win the Democratic primary in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.

Rutinel, a 31-year-old attorney who centered his campaign on his Latino heritage and working-class upbringing, defeated former state Rep. Shannon Bird in the race.

Campaigning in a district that is roughly 40% Latino, Rutinel emphasized his roots as the son of an immigrant single mother from the Dominican Republic, and the contest was marked by clashes over immigration policy and legislative records.

Rutinel condemned Bird for a vote against a bill that would have limited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, though Bird countered she was seeking to improve a bill restricting the practice.

During debates, however, both candidates broadly aligned on criticizing Republican freshman Rep. Gabe Evans and the Trump administration.

Rutinel now advances to the general election to challenge Evans, who won the northern Colorado seat by less than a percentage point in 2024, in one of several toss-up districts that could determine control of the US House.

Progressives target another House veteran

The week after progressive challengers ousted two Democratic House members in safe seats in New York’s primary last week, they’ll seek another win Tuesday in Colorado.

Fifteen-term Rep. Diana DeGette is facing off with Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist and lawyer endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, in a 1st District primary that Democratic strategists in the state say is likely to be the toughest race DeGette has faced in years. A third candidate, University of Colorado Regent Wanda James, is also in the race for the Denver seat.

The contest features familiar fault lines. Kiros is a strident critic of the United States’ relationship with Israel. She has also criticized DeGette for accepting corporate political action committee money.

However, Kiros has faced scrutiny for refusing to describe the firebombing of a Boulder group calling for the release of Israeli hostages as antisemitic. Investigators said the perpetrator told police he was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people.”

“I don’t know what was in the heart of the perpetrator,” she told 9News. “All I know is that he went and attacked innocent people because of what they might have believed.”

Kiros hopes to continue to build on the momentum of recent progressive victories. She’s got the backing of Justice Democrats, a group that supports candidates who oppose corporate PAC money, and told CNN she’s spoken with Darializa Avila Chevalier, the democratic socialist who defeated the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in New York last week despite scrutiny over controversial posts.

Avila Chevalier, a fellow Justice Democrat, encouraged Denver residents to back Kiros in the final stretch of the race.

Meanwhile, DeGette is touting her support for progressive positions, including abortion rights, Medicare for All and defunding and dismantling US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Now is not the time to gamble and send somebody with no experience to Washington,” the 68-year-old congresswoman said in a recent debate.

The race is another marker in the ideological battle over the future of the Democratic Party — with more key primaries ahead this year, including a Senate contest in Michigan, and the 2028 presidential race looming increasingly large.

CNN’s Arit John contributed to this report.

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