Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo will become Colorado’s first Latina congressional representative after her Republican opponent, state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, conceded the 8th Congressional District contest Wednesday evening, ending a race that had been locked in a virtual tie since polls closed nearly 24 hours earlier.
Kirkmeyer tweeted that she had called Caraveo to congratulate her on her victory, which bucked the predictions of almost all the national race ranking sites.
“While this is not the outcome we hoped for, I am proud of our team and our campaign,” Kirkmeyer wrote.
Just a few minutes ago I call Representative Caraveo to congratulate her on her win in CD8. 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.
— KirkmeyerforCongress (@Kirkmeyer4CO) November 10, 2022
Caraveo had 48.45% of the vote while Kirkmeyer had 47.69% as of 6 p.m. Wednesday — a spread of less than one point. Libertarian candidate Richard Ward had more than 7,700 votes in his column and may have proved the spoiler in the race.
While Caraveo held only a 1,522-vote lead out of more than 200,000 ballots counted, most of the remaining untallied ballots are in Democratic-leaning Adams County, which still had more than 30,000 ballots to count. Elana Schrager, Caraveo’s campaign manager, said that gave her candidate the confidence she would prevail.
Caraveo, a pediatrician and the daughter of Mexican immigrants, put out a statement shortly after Kirkmeyer conceded the race.
“In many ways, the story of my family is the story of this district — my parents immigrated here to afford us a better life,” she said. “And because of their hard work, I was able to go to college, become a doctor, and live my version of the American Dream.”
But Caraveo said that for “too many people in Colorado, that dream has slipped out of reach.”
“Together, we will fight to lower costs, make prescription drugs more affordable, make childcare and family leave more accessible, and fight for every person in America to, once again, have reproductive rights restored to them,” Caraveo said, referring to the controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June ending nationwide protection for abortion. “It’s the honor of my lifetime to receive this vote of confidence to serve working families from Greeley to Commerce City in Washington, D.C.”
The 8th district covers parts of Adams, Weld and Larimer counties and was created as part of the redistricting process that occurs every 10 years and accounted for Colorado’s booming population growth. It’s the state’s first new seat in the U.S. House in two decades.
The district covers a swath of suburbs and farmland north of Denver, tying together the disparate interests of residents in Adams County with those calling Weld County home. It also has the heaviest Latino concentration of any Colorado congressional district, with nearly 40% of registered voters identifying that way.
Caraveo’s victory came amidst what had been expected to be a “red wave” for Republicans Tuesday. Just about every national political ranking site had started to move the race more firmly into Kirkmeyer’s column in recent days, as overall Republican momentum increased during the lead-up to the election.
Roll Call, Politico and the University of Virginia’s Sabato’s Crystal Ball had issued updated rankings in recent days that gave more of an edge to Kirkmeyer. Others, such as the Cook Political Report and Bloomberg Government, have the race closer but still in Kirkmeyer’s column — at “Republican toss-up.”
A generic New York Times-Siena College poll released last month showed that the state of the economy was a far more salient issue to voters than abortion. The poll showed that 49% of likely voters planned to vote for a Republican — compared with 45% for a Democrat — to represent them in Congress.
But the predicted red wave didn’t materialize nationwide for Republicans Tuesday, and it was especially muted in Colorado. Democrats swept the statewide constitutional offices, fended off Republicans’ candidate for the U.S. Senate and celebrated what appeared to be a continued trifecta control of the legislature and governor’s office.
Caraveo, 41, has served in the Colorado House for nearly four years. She recently shared answers to questions during a forum in Greeley in English and Spanish, highlighting her Latina roots.
Kirkmeyer has been a fixture in Weld County politics for decades, having served as a county commissioner for multiple terms. She was elected to the state Senate in 2020, representing a district that follows Interstate 25 from Broomfield to Fort Collins.
According to recent campaign finance filings with the Federal Election Commission, Caraveo outpaced Kirkmeyer handily in raising funds — $2.7 million to $1.1 million as of the end of September.
But millions of dollars were spent by outside groups to help influence voters.
