Gabe Evans wins GOP primary, will challenge Caraveo in Colorado's 8th congressional district, AP projects

In Colorado's newest congressional district, Republican state Rep. Gabe Evans has won his primary race, the Associated Press projects, meaning he'll challenge Democratic incumbent Yadira Caraveo in November.

Evans, whose district includes Adams and Weld Counties, had over 28,000 votes to Janak Joshi's 8,000 about a half hour after the polls closed Tuesday night.

"Tonight, we showed Republicans are united and fired up to win this seat and defeat Yadira Caraveo," Evans said in a statement, in part. "Both in the military and law enforcement, I learned successful campaigns are run when a team works together, and I am so proud of the team we have built to take back CD8." 

In 2022, Colorado's 8th Congressional District was called one of the most competitive districts in the country. The newly created district runs along Interstate 25 north and east of the Denver metro area, encompassing parts of Adams, Weld and Larimer counties.

That year, Caraveo beat Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer to become Colorado's first Latina woman in Congress and the state's first congresswoman of color. Caraveo received 114,377 votes to Kirkmeyer's 112,745.

A U.S. Army veteran and former police officer, Evans handily defeated Joshi, a retired physician and former state representative.

While Joshi called himself "the only pro-Trump, America first Republican," on his campaign website, Evans enjoyed endorsements from former President Donald Trump himself, as well as from the Colorado State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police and notable Republican members of Congress from several other states.

Attempts to reach Joshi for comment Tuesday night were unsuccessful.