Rep. Gabe Evans wins Republican primary to take on U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo

State Rep. Gabe Evans defeated Janak Joshi on Tuesday night in the Republican primary to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in November.

The Associated Press called it for Evans just after 7:20 p.m. Evans, a first-term state House member from Fort Lupton, was leading with 14,329 votes, or 76.5% of the total, to 4,400 for Joshi, or 23.5%, in early results posted to the Colorado secretary of state’s website after voting ended at 7 p.m.

Evans, a former Army helicopter pilot and Arvada police officer, had been favored in the GOP race in the north-central 8th Congressional District, given his recent role in state politics and longstanding ties to the district. Joshi, a physician who surrendered his medical license 16 years ago, recently moved to the north Denver suburbs from the Colorado Springs area. Evans had also carried a more than 3-to-1 fundraising advantage over Joshi.

The primary between the two men saw diverging endorsements from key Republicans. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Evans, and the Colorado Republican Party — run by Trump supporter Dave Williams — backed Joshi as part of the party’s break from primary neutrality.

With the primary now behind him, Evans enters one of the most-watched races in the country. Caraveo had no Democratic primary opponent.

The 8th District is Colorado’s newest congressional seat, drawn in 2022 through the state’s redistricting process. It covers a swath of north-central Colorado, stretching from Thornton and Brighton up to Greeley and west to Berthoud and the edges of Loveland. When it was created, the district had the closest partisan margin — a slight Democratic lean — of any congressional seat in the state.