By Ernest Luning| Denver Gazette
Evans, a first-term state lawmaker from Fort Lupton, held a commanding lead over former state Rep. Janak Joshi, who moved into the 8th Congressional District from Colorado Springs earlier this year.
The Associated Press called the race for Evans at 7:23 p.m., shortly after initial results posted.
Evans was leading with 29,101 votes, or 78% of those tallied, in results posted by 8 p.m. to the Colorado secretary of state’s website. Joshi trailed with 8,235 votes, or 22%.
Targeted by both national parties, the battleground seat — stretching north of the Denver metro area from Adams County suburbs to Greeley — is Colorado’s newest congressional district, created ahead of the 2022 election. Caraveo, a pediatrician and former state lawmaker from Thornton, won election two years ago by fewer than 2,000 votes in one of the closest congressional contests in the country.
The district has already attracted more than $10 million in fall ad reservations by the Democratic and Republican congressional campaign committees, who call the seat crucial to determining which party wields the gavel in the chamber after the November election.