ALAMOSA-- Although the results have yet to be certified, election officials are done for the night counting ballots at the Alamosa County Clerk and Recorder. The following results were posted on the Secretary of State website at 10:00 p.m.
Out of 9,689 active voters in Alamosa, 2,505 ballots were cast, translating into a 25.85% voter turnout.
With 53 of 64 counties reporting results as of 10:00 p.m., the Secretary of State website shows there are 3,800,000 active voters in Colorado. Out of that total number, 882,505 ballots were cast in the 2024 primary, totaling a turnout of 23.22%.
Turnout numbers are historically lower in primary contests, and results posted were not broken down by party. It should be noted that unaffiliated voters – the largest electorate in the state - were allowed to vote in the primary of their choice in 2024. Even with that taken into account, results suggest that voter turnout was significantly lower among Democratic voters.
For voters in Alamosa and the entirety of the San Luis Valley, the most contested race was for the Republican nomination in Congressional District 3. Adam Frisch, who declared his candidacy in February of 2023, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
It was a distinctly different scenario across the aisle, following incumbent Rep. Lauren Boebert choosing to switch Congressional Districts from CD3 to CD4, resulting in a field of six contenders vying to take her place as nominee.
In the Republican race for the CD3 nomination, 1,403 ballots were cast in Alamosa.
Jeff Hurd, an attorney from Grand Junction, came out on top with 588 votes or 41.8% of the Alamosa vote. Ron Hanks, former lawmaker and strong Trump supporter, came in second with 458 votes (32.57%). Stephen Varela garnered 134 votes (9.53%); Curtis McCracken got 72 votes ( 5.12%); Lew Webb received 88 votes ((6.26%) and Russ Andrews ranked last with 66 votes or 4.68%.
A total of 960 votes were cast in the Democratic primary for CD3, all of which went to candidate Adam Frisch.
Assuming the certified results will not show a significant difference, the numbers reported in Alamosa County were mirrored at the state level.
Of a total of 86,191 votes cast in the Republican primary in all of CD3, Jeff Hurd came in with a decisive victory and first place standing with 35,758 votes or 41.49%. Ron Hanks was the only other candidate in the running with 24,551 or 28.47% of votes cast in the race.
In the Democratic primary for CD3, a total of 49,990 votes were cast, all of which went to Frisch.
In Alamosa, Republican Senator Cleave Simpson, representing District 6, received 1.344 votes. Simpson was running uncontested for the Republican nomination.
Vivian Smotherman out of Durango, the Democratic nominee for Senate District 6 who was also unopposed, received 818 votes from Democratic voters in Alamosa.
In the Senate District 6 Republican primary districtwide, Senator Simpson came in with 13,625 votes and, on the Democratic ballot, Vivian Smotherman came in with 12,107 votes.
In the State Representative race for District 62, Democratic incumbent Rep. Matt Martinez, who ran uncontested, received 955 votes in Alamosa.
Republican hopeful Carol Riggenbach, who also ran uncontested, received 1,191 votes from those who cast votes in the Republican primary in Alamosa
Across District 62, Martinez came in with 6,198 votes from Democratic primary voters to Riggenbach’s total of 5,204 among Republicans. Although she was unsuccessful iln the general election, Riggenbach was also the Republican nominee for District 62 in 2022.
In the race for District Attorney of the 12th Judicial District, Republican and incumbent Anne Kelly came in with 1,298 votes in Alamosa. There was no Democratic nominee on the ballot for DA in the 12th JD.
Republican and incumbent Alamosa County Commissioner Lori Laske received 1,270 votes while Democratic contender Richard “Rick” Needham came in with 821 votes among Democratic voters in Alamosa.
Republican and incumbent Alamosa County Commissioner Vern Heersink totaled 1,275 votes in his party’s primary. There was no Democratic candidate on the ballot running for the office.
Concerning those running for the State Board of Education, Democratic candidate Ellen Angeles ran unopposed in the primary and totaled 844 votes in Alamosa and 44,853 across the state. On the other side of the aisle, Republican Sherri Wright, also unopposed, came in with 1,120 votes in Alamosa and 62,548 statewide.
For the position of Regent of University of Colorado, at large, Democratic nominee hopeful Charles “CJ” Johnson came in with 444 votes in Alamosa and 183,540 across the state. His opponent in the primary, Elliott Hood, came in with 392 votes in Alamosa and 202,533 votes across the state, making him the Democratic nominee in the race.
Eric Rinard, the Republican nominee for the seat who was running unopposed, received 1,094 votes in Alamosa and 342,195 statewide.
For the position of Regent of University of Colorado, Congressional District 3, both parties had candidates running unopposed in their primaries. Democratic nominee Robert Logan came in with 851 votes in Alamosa and 43,641 districtwide. Republican nominee Ray Scott received 851 votes and 53,108 districtwide.
Again, these results are unofficial as some counties, outside of Alamosa, were continuing to report. None of the results will be official until certified by the Secretary of State, a process that usually takes several days.
More complete coverage of the primary, including statements from some of the candidates, will appear in the Friday edition of the Valley Courier.
