U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn has fended off challengers from his right to win the GOP nomination for his seat.
The Associated Press called the race for Lamborn, who is seeking his ninth term in Congress, just before 8 p.m. He faced a crowded primary that included state Rep. Dave Williams, Andrew Heaton and Rebecca Keltie.
At about 9 p.m., Lamborn led the field with 36,000 votes, or about 50% of those counted. Williams was next closest, with about 23,000 votes.
Lamborn will face either Michael Colombe or David Torres in November. That race had not yet been called. At about 9 p.m., Torres led with about 19,000 votes to Colombe’s 16,000. The district, which covers the Colorado Springs area, is heavily Republican.
Lamborn was one of two Colorado members of Congress to object to certifying President Joe Biden’s election, the other being U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert. Nonetheless, Williams positioned himself to the right of Lamborn, with aims of being a “wrecking ball” in Washington, D.C., .
The Republican incumbent went into the final stretch of the campaign with a distinct fundraising advantage over the challengers: $353,000 raised, and with $292,000 on hand as of the most recent campaign finance report, which covered through June 8. Williams was second with $196,000 raised and about $60,000 in cash on hand.
However, Williams has waged his campaign in the courts as well as the stump. He sued in the spring to include “Let’s Go Brandon” — a G-rated rhyme for an epithet against President Joe Biden — as his nickname on the ballot. A judge rejected it due to its political nature.
On June 10, he accused the Lamborn campaign of lying about him in an ad and asked the district attorney in El Paso County to investigate, .
Williams has earned a reputation in the state House of Representatives as one of the more stridently right-wing members. He’s run multiple bills to bar or limit abortions in the state. When the Democrat-controlled legislature found itself up against the session’s end with hundreds of bills to work through, he was a prime player in extracting concessions to bills his party objected to.
