DENVER — Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd narrowly defeated his Democratic challenger in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, defying a blue wave that has taken over much of Colorado and the rest of the country.

The Associated Press called the race for Hurd at 9:24 a.m. Friday, when Hurd held 49.3% of the vote with an estimated 97% of the ballots counted. Democrat Dwayne Romero had 47.4% of the vote.

The 3rd District includes Colorado’s rugged Western Slope and much of southern Colorado, including Pueblo. It has been represented by Republicans since 2011.

Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, won the seat in 2024 after the district’s previous representative, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, left the district to run for a congressional seat representing the Eastern Plains. Boebert continued to trail her Democratic opponent in a too-close-to-call race in that district as of Friday morning.

Hurd may be the only Republican in Colorado’s congressional delegation if Boebert loses her seat. Republican U.S. Reps. Gabe Evans and Jeff Crank both lost their re-election bids earlier this week.

Romero, a Snowmass Village resident who has served on the Aspen City Council and the Aspen School District board, won the district’s Democratic primary for the district in June after entering the race four months earlier.

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