Larimer County voters largely mirrored statewide Democratic trends in Colorado’s primary election, giving Attorney General Phil Weiser a comfortable victory in the Democratic gubernatorial primary while Republican voters in the county favored former state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer in a Republican governor’s race over Victor Marx that remained too close to call statewide on Wednesday evening.
Republicans also nominated Kelley Anne Dennison to challenge U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse this fall in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District.
Dennison, 27, is an Estes Park High School graduate, small business owner, and licensed massage therapist.
Unofficial results were released late Tuesday night by the Larimer County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
Statewide, Weiser defeated U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet for the Democratic nomination for governor with 412,928 votes, or 55.7%, to Bennet’s 328,163 votes, or 44.3%.
Larimer County Democrats delivered nearly identical support to Weiser. He received 27,058 votes, or 55.8%, compared with Bennet’s 21,427 votes, or 44.2%, out of 48,485 ballots cast in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
The Republican governor’s race told a different story in Larimer County.
Larimer County GOP voters favored Kirkmeyer, the former Weld County commissioner and state senator, giving her 12,259 votes, or 46.8%. Victor Marx finished second locally with 8,945 votes (34.1%), while Scott Bottoms received 5,007 votes (19.1%). A total of 26,216 Republican ballots were cast in the county’s Republican gubernatorial primary.
As of Wednesday evening, however, the statewide Republican gubernatorial primary remained too close to call.
With an estimated 92% of ballots counted, Marx held a narrow lead with 202,029 votes (39.9%), followed by Kirkmeyer with 199,767 votes (39.4%). Bottoms had 104,925 votes (20.7%).
The margin between Marx and Kirkmeyer was fewer than 2,300 votes statewide, underscoring the contrast between Larimer County Republicans’ strong support for Kirkmeyer and the razor-thin statewide contest.
Dennison advances to face Neguse
One of northern Colorado’s most closely watched races was the Republican primary in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District.
Kelley Anne Dennison defeated Christina Blunt Ducommun, receiving 6,674 votes, or 56.7%, to Blunt Ducommun’s 5,094 votes, or 43.3%, in Larimer County.
Dennison now advances to the Nov. 3 general election, where she will face an uphill battle to challenge incumbent Democratic Congressman Joe Neguse.
Neguse, who was first elected to represent Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District in 2018, was unopposed in the Democratic primary and received 29,605 votes from Larimer County voters.
The district, which includes Larimer and Boulder counties along with several mountain communities, has consistently favored Democrats in recent election cycles, making Neguse the favorite heading into the fall campaign.
Attorney General nominees set
Larimer County Democrats divided their support among four candidates seeking the party’s nomination for attorney general.
Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who moved to Estes Park when she was 10 and graduated from Estes Park High School in 2002, led the field with 23,029 votes, or 48.5%. Michael Dougherty came in a distant second with 8,383 votes, David Seligman earned 8,334 votes, and Hetal Doshi received 7,700 votes.
On the Republican side, El Paso County District Attorney Michael J. Allen defeated David Willson in Larimer County by a margin of 13,867 votes to 10,169.
Incumbents advance to November
Several northern Colorado legislative incumbents advanced without opposition.
Democratic Rep. Lesley Smith, who represents Estes Park in House District 49, received 3,694 votes in an uncontested primary. She will face Republican Michael Sheperek, who also ran unopposed and received 2,998 votes, in the Nov. 3 general election.
Democratic Sen. Janice Marchman, the incumbent representing Estes Park in Senate District 15, also advanced without opposition, receiving 14,241 votes. She will face Republican Rob Woodward, who was likewise unopposed and received 12,132 votes, in what is expected to be one of northern Colorado’s closely watched legislative races this fall.
Marchman beat Woodward in 2022 to win the seat that he won in November 2018.
The Larimer County results remain unofficial until they are certified by the county canvass board. Statewide races also remain unofficial while counties continue to count and process ballots. Final results for the 2026 Primary Election will be posted no later than Wednesday, July 22.
Evidently, Republicans have permanently surrendered the 2nd District. A sad state of affairs for Colorado. The state inches its way towards Socialism with each local and state election cycle.