The contest to determine the Democratic candidate for House District 6 in November is over – former legislative aide Katie March conceded to progressive criminal justice advocate Elisabeth Epps on Thursday.

Epps holds a widening lead of more than 1,000 votes, or 53.03% of the ballots tallied, the latest numbers from the Denver Clerk and Recorder show. March took 46.97% of the vote. 

Election night results showed a close race throughout the evening, with March holding a razor-thin 34-vote advantage as of 11:30 p.m.. That lead evaporated on Wednesday, when Epps began to surge ahead by more than 300 votes.

March said in a tweet Thursday that running for office has been the honor of her life. She said she had called Epps to congratulate her on the victory.

“It is clear that she will bring incredible passion to the job as our next State Representative and I look forward to seeing the policies that she will champion,” March said. 

Running for office has been the honor of my life. I cannot tell you how much I have appreciated the support of my community throughout this journey. I am deeply appreciative of my incredible volunteers, neighbors, donors, and especially my family and amazing campaign manager.

— Katie March (@KatieMarchForCO) June 30, 2022

Epps, who declared victory Wednesday night, will now face Republican candidate Donald Howell in the November general election.

The district’s voter registration, based on May numbers from the Secretary of State, overwhelmingly favors Democrats, with 27,493 active voters to 4,347 active Republican voters.

The primary contest saw the most spending in the state by independent expenditure committees, which put $470,000 into the HD6 race. Outside groups, primarily the Colorado Working Families Party, spent $144,000 to back Epps, while Democrats for Progressive Leadership and others spent more than $325,000 to back March.

The two candidates campaign coffers were almost equal, although the sources were dramatically different: March was backed by funding from establishment Democrats, realtors, the apartment association of metro Denver, trade union donations and COPIC, a medical liability insurance company that contributes to political campaigns on both sides of the aisle. She won endorsements from former bosses House Speaker Alec Garnett and former Speaker Crisanta Duran

Epps was supported by contributions from the state employee union Colorado WINS, as well as endorsements from the progressive wing of the General Assembly, including Reps. Leslie Herod, Emily Sirota, Steven Woodrow and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez; and, Sens. Julie Gonzales and Pete Lee. 

In a statement, the Epps campaign lamented that the outside money spent on her race could have been used elsewhere, instead of in a Democratic stronghold that is sure to a send a Democrat to the state House.

“Elisabeth won this race while overcoming over $600,000 of corporate money that supported the other candidate—money that would’ve been much better spent assisting Dems in tough seats, instead of working against a progressive Dem in a >67+ Democratic stronghold,” the campaign said. “Despite the egregious corporate investment in spreading racist disinformation and fear-mongering, our community remained focused and continued to advance Elisabeth’s positive, honest message to every family in HD6.”

“I can’t say that love always wins, that truth always prevails,” Epps said in the statement. “But both love and truth emerged as winners in this primary election. I can’t wait to get to work for HD6.”