The big money contest to be the next Denver District Attorney has become a two-person race after Rep. Beth McCann won the Democratic primary Tuesday night, defeating Michael Carrigan and Kenneth Boyd in convincing fashion.

McCann received more than 50 percent of the vote right off the bat when Denver Elections Commission released the first vote totals around 7 p.m. Tuesday night. By 7:42 p.m. Carrigan had already put out a message conceding the race and congratulating McCann from his Twitter account.

As of 9:30 p.m. election night, McCann had received 23,050 votes (52.6-percent), Carrigan, a lawyer in private practice and a University of Colorado Regent, had received 15,811 votes and Boyd, a current member of the DA’s office and nephew of former Gov. Bill Ritter, received 4,985 votes.

In her speech to supporters after it was clear she had won the race, McCann thanked them and asked them to stick with her for another four months until the general election. She referred to the DA spot as her dream job.

“I wasn’t expecting the percentage to be this high but I did feel that I did have the momentum the last several weeks. Just from our knocking on doors, calling people. People were responding and telling me they had voted or were going to vote for me,” McCann said. “I feel that this shows that hard work really pays off and the Denver Democratic voters listened to that and they’re ready for something different in the office.”

“This feels terrific,” McCann added.

The race has seen the most money raised and spent for a non-federal race in Colorado this year. More than $1.14 million was spent on the Democratic primary race (more than $1.5 million has been raised when numbers from independent candidate Helen Morgan are added to the total).

A reason for the astronomical amount of spending is the likelihood that whomever wins this year’s election will have a spot as the top prosecutor in Denver until term limits say otherwise. Current DA Mitch Morrissey, a Democrat who terms out after this year, ran unopposed both in primary and general elections since he first won the spot in 2004.

Carrigan, who spent more than $563,000 on the race including a $200,000 loan to himself, immediately endorsed McCann in the general race and promised to put his full support behind her candidacy.

In the primary, Carrigan spent approximately $38 per vote to McCann’s $19.

“I’m disappointed but I give full credit to Rep. McCann. She ran a great race and I look forward to giving her my wholehearted support to win the general,” Carrigan said. “I think it’s important that a Democrat who is committed to criminal justice reform be our next DA. I’m grateful for the people who helped give me a voice and I’m looking forward to finding another way to serve our great city.”

A request for comment from Boyd was not returned by Tuesday evening.

McCann now turns to the general race where she will face Morgan, a chief deputy in the Denver DA’s office who is running as an independent although she has been a long time member of the Democratic Party.

“I think Helen is a very formidable opponent but I think when you look at our backgrounds, I just have such a broader background. And when it’s time for a change, it’s important to have someone from the outside come in,” McCann said.

While November is a long ways away, one thing is for certain after Tuesday: no matter what happens in the general race in November, Denver is set to have its first female DA in its history.