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Hand inserting a piece of paper into a ballot box in front of the Colorado flag.

Caraveo wins in race to represent Colorado’s new 8th Congressional District

© iStock - Niyazz
Derek Draplin

(The Center Square) – Democrat Yadira Caraveo has won the race for Colorado’s newly-formed 8th Congressional District, beating out Republican Barbara Kirkmeyer.

The tight race was called by the Associated Press Tuesday afternoon, one week following Election Day. 

Caraveo, a state representative, received ​​48.4 percent of the vote in the district compared to 47.7 percent for Kirkmeyer, who’s a state senator. 

Kirkmeyer conceded last Wednesday despite the race not being called by AP.

“Just a few minutes ago I call Representative Caraveo to congratulate her on her win in CD8,” the state senator tweeted. “While this is not the outcome we hoped for, I am proud of our team and our campaign. And ‘thank’ all of the team, the countless volunteers, the folks who contributed and my family.”

Caraveo pledged to “fight for working families by cutting costs, making prescription drugs more affordable, and protecting our freedoms.”

The Cook Political Report rated the race as a "Republican toss up."

The 8th District was added following the 2020 U.S. Census. The district spans the suburbs of Denver from Thornton to Greeley. 

The race between Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and Democrat Adam Frisch for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District on the Western Slope remains too close to call as of Tuesday.