Republican Jeff Hurd led Democrat Dwayne Romero by 5,396 votes, or 1.65 percentage points, on Wednesday. The race for the U.S. House seat in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District remains too close to call.
According to results as of 7 p.m. Wednesday, Hurd had 49.21% of the vote and Romero had 47.56%. Libertarian Cory Robertson received 1.64%, and independent Clifton Brown received 1.59%. Hurd’s current lead exceeds the threshold that triggers an automatic recount.
The lead did not change hands until after Tuesday’s election. When the last results were announced overnight, Romero was ahead by more than 3,000 votes. At about 2 a.m. Wednesday, Hurd moved into the lead, with about 1,200 more votes. By Wednesday afternoon, 15 counties in the district had backed Hurd and 12 had backed Romero.
Results vary between counties. In Pitkin County, Romero won about 76% of the vote, while in Mesa County Hurd received about 57%. In Pueblo County, Romero led with 50.51% of the vote.
Hurd, an attorney from Grand Junction, is seeking a second term. In 2024, he won by 5 percentage points. That same year, Donald Trump won the district by 9 points. Hurd said he had expected a difficult start. He added that he knew the ballots yet to be counted would favor him, and that he is therefore “cautiously optimistic.”
Hurd is the only Republican member of Congress from Colorado who is still leading in his race. Lauren Boebert and Jeff Crank are trailing in Districts 4 and 5. If Romero were to win, he would be the first Democrat elected in the 3rd District since John Salazar. The results are unofficial, and county election officials are still processing ballots.
Source: Denver Post
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