Primaries in Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma set up November races

July 1 (UPI) -- Three states held primary elections on Tuesday and the outcomes set up contests for November.

Colorado

Former Gov. John Hickenlooper won nearly 60 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, defeating Andrew Romanoff and advancing to the November contest against incumbent Republican Sen. Cory Gardner.

Some expected the race to be closer because of recent missteps by Hickenlooper, a former Democratic presidential candidate who was held in contempt and fined by the Independent Ethics Commission for accepting gifts while he was governor.

Hickenlooper's race against Gardner is expected to be significant in the national picture, as it's one of several Senate seats the Democrats aim to flip in November. Republicans may need to seat to keep its majority.

Republican challenger Lauren Boebert upset five-term Rep. Scott Tipton in Tuesday's GOP primary. Tipton had won support from President Donald Trump, while Boebert campaigned that she was more aligned with the Trump agenda.

Utah

In the state's Republican primary, former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. trails Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox in a close race to win back his old job.

Huntsman, a moderate Republican who previously served as a diplomat in the administrations of three Republican and two Democratic presidents, trailed by about 10,000 votes with mail-in ballots still to be counted. Ballots postmarked Tuesday will be counted in the election.

The winner of the GOP primary will face Democratic University of Utah law professor Chris Peterson in the general election for the open seat, which will be vacated by Gov. Gary Herbert after he decided against running for a third term.

As Utah is a largely conservative state, most expect either Huntsman or Cox will win the November election.

Former NFL player Burgess Owens won the Republican primary for the congressional seat once held by Rep. Mia Love. She lost her seat in the 2018 midterm elections to Democratic incumbent Ben McAdams, who will now face Owens this fall.

Oklahoma

Terry Neese and Stephanie Bice emerged on Tuesday from a nine-candidate field in the state's Republican primary. Voters will next decide the winners in a runoff, and the winner will face incumbent Democratic Rep. Kendra Horn, who flipped the state's 5th District two years ago.

Neese won nearly 37 percent of the vote in Tuesday's election and Brice was second, with about 25 percent. Horn won the Democratic primary with 85 percent of the vote.