Democrat Dwayne Romero has pulled ahead of Republican incumbent Jeff Hurd in early returns from Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, a seat Republicans have held for eight straight elections. In the first round of counted votes, Romero had just over 50% to Hurd's 47%, according to a snapshot of results that reflects where the count stood as returns continued to come in, not a final outcome.
A Western Slope Battleground Flares Up
According to Colorado Politics, Hurd is a Grand Junction Republican seeking a second term after winning the district in 2024 by five points, while Romero, a Democrat, is making his first bid for the seat. The district itself is enormous: Colorado Politics describes it as covering most of the Western Slope and parts of Southern Colorado, including Pueblo County and the San Luis Valley, while The Denver Post reports it spans 27 counties and nearly half of Colorado's landmass. 9News describes the sprawling district as stretching from Grand Junction and Montrose in the west to Pueblo and Durango, calling it Colorado's most expansive congressional seat.
Also on the ballot were Libertarian Cory Robertson and unaffiliated candidate Clifton Brown, who Colorado Politics reported each pulled in a little over 1% of the vote. The district has a long Republican history behind it: Colorado Public Radio notes the last time voters there sent a Democrat to Congress was 2008, and the Post reports Republicans have won the seat in each of the last eight elections.
Money Poured in From Both Sides
The financial gap between the two campaigns was stark. Hurd reported raising more than $4 million through October 14, while Romero posted just under $1.8 million over the same period, which included a $460,000 loan from the candidate himself, per the same Colorado Politics report. Outside partisan groups added even more firepower, reportedly spending nearly $6.5 million combined, with Republican-aligned groups contributing $4 million and Democratic committees sending in $2.4 million.
Despite that fundraising edge, Hurd's grip on the seat looked shakier than some expected heading into Election Day. National forecasters had still designated the race a likely Republican hold, the outlet noted, but the Post reported that a poll sponsored by Romero's own campaign showed the two candidates in a dead heat in October, and that national Democrats added the race to their list of flippable seats earlier that same month.
Trump's Up-and-Down Endorsement
The race also became a minor flashpoint within the GOP. The Post reported that Donald Trump briefly rescinded his endorsement of Hurd after the congressman voted against a tariff, before reendorsing him later. 9News adds additional detail on that episode, reporting that Trump pulled his support after Hurd and five other Republicans joined Democrats to pass a resolution repealing Trump's tariffs on Canada, and that Trump then endorsed a longshot GOP primary challenger, Hope Scheppelman, who later dropped out of the race to take a position with the Trump administration. After Scheppelman withdrew, Trump endorsed Hurd again before Hurd defeated Ron Hanks in the Republican primary by over 32 percentage points, per 9News.
On the Democratic side, Romero defeated Alex Kelloff in the June primary, a result the Post and 9News both describe, with 9News putting Romero's primary share at about 55% of the vote. Romero is president and CEO of the Romero Group, a real estate management company, and previously served on the Aspen City Council, the Aspen School Board and the Colorado Economic Development Commission, according to 9News. He also served in the U.S. Army from 1984 to 1994.
Where the Candidates Stand
On the campaign trail, Romero has emphasized lowering the cost of living by repealing tariffs and expanding family tax credits, fighting for farms, ranches and small agriculture businesses through the farm bill, and pushing immigration reform that includes an easier path to citizenship for long-term, law-abiding community members and more immigration judges, per 9News reporting.
Hurd, for his part, has prioritized reducing federal mandates and regulations on small businesses, strengthening border security, increasing American energy independence and protecting Colorado's water sources, 9News reports. He has also broken with some in his party at times, introducing a bill with Democratic Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper to stop expansion of a gravel mine near Glenwood Springs, and joining a dozen moderate Republicans in April 2025 in signing a letter urging GOP leaders to preserve and protect Medicaid — notable in a district where about 26% of constituents on the Western Slope and in Southern Colorado are enrolled in the program, according to 9News.
A District With a History of Close Calls
This isn't the first time the 3rd District has delivered a nail-biter. Colorado Public Radio notes that in 2022, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert narrowly beat her Democratic challenger by fewer than 600 votes, and the Post reports Hurd himself defeated Democrat Adam Frisch by five percentage points in 2024. With the current count still developing, it remains to be seen whether this year's race joins that list of close finishes or breaks the district's long Republican streak.
