Rep. Jeff Hurd crushes Ron Hanks in Colorado 3rd District GOP primary

Rep. Jeff Hurd crushed former state Rep. Ron Hanks in the Republican primary for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, winning by a 36-point margin.

The Associated AP called the race shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Preliminary state results show Hurd taking 68% of the vote. Hanks, a former state representative, managed just 31.5%.

This wasn’t a close fight. Hurd, a first-term congressman from Grand Junction, secured his seat with authority. He now faces the winner of the Democratic primary in a district that hasn’t elected a Democrat since 2011.

Hurd’s victory sets up a general election against Army veteran Dwayne Romero. Romero defeated businessman Alex Kelloff, co-founder of Armada Skis, by 10 percentage points. The AP called that race around 8 p.m.

The 3rd District covers 29 counties. It stretches from the northwestern corner of the state all the way east to Pueblo. It’s a massive geographic footprint. It favors Republicans.

Hurd has been finding his footing in Congress. He’s a 46-year-old attorney and father of five. He’s trying to balance bipartisanship with party loyalty in an increasingly polarized House.

Hanks challenged him hard. He jumped into the race in April after another contender dropped out. It was his second attempt to unseat Hurd. He lost the previous primary by about 14 points.

Hanks positioned himself to the right of Hurd. He called Hurd a "fake conservative." He emphasized his own record on immigration and election fraud. He argued constituents want a true conservative, not a moderate.

Hanks participated in the Jan. 6, 2020, protest in Washington. He denies Joe Biden won the 2020 election. He said he would be a better ally to President Donald Trump if elected.

Trump briefly threw his support behind Hope Scheppelman, a far-right former vice chair of the Colorado GOP. Scheppelman exited the race at Trump’s urging. Trump restored his endorsement of Hurd earlier this year.

Hurd has largely supported Trump’s agenda. He voted last summer to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. That measure expanded tax cuts, incentivized mining and drilling on federal land, and boosted immigration enforcement funding. It also cut Medicaid and SNAP funding.

But Hurd has broken with Trump on specific issues. He voted against Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on Canada. He was one of six House Republicans who joined Democrats to rescind those tariffs. Trump had threatened Republicans who resisted.

Hurd said his campaign focused on "fighting for Colorado — not who will fall in line with Washington." He promised to prioritize agriculture, water, and energy. He framed the November election as a choice between a "proven conservative" and a Democrat who ignores rural America.

The district’s history is volatile. Lauren Boebert won reelection in 2022 by just 546 votes. She switched districts in 2024. Hurd beat her successor, former Aspen City Council member Adam Frisch, by nearly 20,000 votes.

Hanks criticized Hurd’s congressional record as not conservative enough. He said Trump’s current endorsement doesn’t bother him. He believes voters don’t care about the endorsement itself. They care about ideology.

Hurd remains the clear favorite. The numbers don’t lie. He won 68% to 31.5%. That’s a mandate.

Romero, the Democrat, now has to bridge the gap. He beat Kelloff by 10 points. Kelloff is a businessman. Romero is an Army veteran.

The general election will test Hurd’s ability to hold the seat. He won big. But the district is shifting. Frisch nearly flipped it in 2022. Hurd won by a landslide in 2024.

Hurd said he’ll continue putting the district first every single day. That’s the promise. The voters decided who delivers.