Openly gay US Rep. Jared Polis won the Democratic primary Tuesday in a race to replace term-limited Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.
The Democratic politician may be the first-ever openly gay governor in the United States if elected in November.
The liberal Polis, a five-term congressman, easily defeated three challengers in the top race of the purple state’s midterm primary.
Polis vowed to protect Colorado residents from efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and reiterated a pledge to secure free preschool and kindergarten for all Colorado children.
US Rep Jared Polis waves to the crowd while accepting the Democratic nomination for the Colorado Governor’s race at an election night rally, Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Broomfield, Colorado
Polis could make history as the first-ever openly gay governor in the United States if elected in November
Supporters cheer for Polis as he wins the Democratic nomination for the Colorado Governor’s race at an election night rally, Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Broomfield
Polis, right, and his partner Marlon Reis at their home in Boulder with their nine-week-old son CJ, on Monday, Nov. 21, 2011
He said those plans stand ‘in stark contrast to Republican Treasurer Walker Stapleton’s agenda to enrich the special interests, threaten our health care, and leave our families behind.’
Walker also won the Republican respective primary and defeated three challengers.
As a Democrat, Polis is an early, though far from guaranteed, favorite to become Colorado’s next governor.
Colorado’s last Republican governor was Bill Owens, who served from 1999 to 2007. Centrist Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper is term-limited.
In other races, Democrat Jason Crow won the primary in suburban Denver’s 6th Congressional District to try to unseat five-term Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman.
Doug Lamborn, the six-term Republican congressman in El Paso County’s 5th Congressional District, easily won his primary and is a heavy favorite to keep the seat.
The contest to succeed Hickenlooper topped the primary, one in which unaffiliated voters, the state’s largest voting bloc, could participate without having to affiliate with one or the other of the major parties.
Walker Stapleton speaks after he won the Republican nomination to run for Colorado’s governorship during an election night watch party in a hotel Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Greenwood Village
Stapleton, second from left, holds his two daughters, 7-year-old Colette, and 4-year-old Oliva, as his wife, Jenna, helps as they watch results in their hotel room before an election night watch party in a hotel Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Greenwood Village
A voter-passed 2016 initiative allowed them to do so.
Polis, a tech entrepreneur and one of the wealthiest members of Congress, advocates single-payer health care, local control over Colorado’s $31 billion oil and gas industry and lofty renewable energy goals for the state.
He invested $12 million in his campaign and is a fierce critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies and efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
Stapleton, a distant relative of President George W. Bush, closely wedded himself to Trump on virtually every issue – even refusing to condemn the Trump administration’s immigrant family separation policies – except trade, where he opposes tariffs that could produce a trade war and harm Colorado industries.
He welcomed the federal repeal in the individual mandate that helps subsidize the Affordable Care Act and has pledged to fight any public expansion, especially when it comes to Medicaid.
Stapleton has attacked Polis as someone who would chase energy jobs out of Colorado, and he also opposes Polis’ pledge to modify a constitutional amendment that severely restricts Colorado’s ability to raise taxes or spending.
Polis argues that Colorado’s rapid population growth – 5.6 million people and counting – demands a fiscal system that allows the state to invest needed billions of dollars in its underfunded infrastructure and public education.
A former state board of education member and founder of English-language schools for immigrants, Polis defeated former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy, who was endorsed by Colorado’s teachers unions.
Former state Sen. Mike Johnston, an educator and gun control advocate, and Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne also ran.
Election judge Lelia Odom picks up a tray as judges organize primary election ballots for counting as they arrive at the Denver Elections Division headquarters early Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Denver
As viewed through a fisheye lens, Eric Syverson, an intern at the Denver Elections Division, pulls a tray of ballots to be counted as they arrive at the elections headquarters early Tuesday, June 26, 2018, in Denver