Republican congressional candidates Gabe Evans and Janak Joshi will face off in the GOP primary to decide who challenges Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s most closely divided district.

Evans, a first-term state representative from Fort Lupton, won top-line designation at the GOP’s 8th Congressional District assembly on Saturday in Greeley. In contrast, Joshi, a former three-term state representative from Colorado Springs, barely made the primary, with only a few delegate votes to spare.

A third Republican who went through the assembly process, insurance agent and first-time candidate Joseph Andujo, endorsed Evans after falling short of the 30% support required to qualify for the primary.

Evans took 62.3% of the delegate vote, Joshi received 30.4% and Andujo got 7.9%.

In a parallel effort to qualify for the primary, Evans and Andujo had each submitted petitions last month, which were awaiting verification. After the assembly, however, both notified the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office that they were withdrawing their petitions — Evans because he was already on the ballot and Andujo because by finishing below 10% at the assembly, he would be barred from the primary even if he gathered enough signatures on his petitions.

“You know, sometimes in life we don’t get exactly what we want or what we thought we were going to get, and that’s life,” Andujo told delegates after the assembly vote was announced. “I want to wholeheartedly throw my support behind a great candidate who will do a great job in Washington, D.C., for everybody in the county. I’m throwing my support and will work as hard as I can to make sure that Gabe Evans is the next congressman.”

An Army veteran and former Arvada police officer, Evans was formally endorsed in February by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who later added the candidate to a list of participants in the speaker’s joint fundraising committee. Joshi, who immigrated to the United States from India more than 50 years ago, is a former physician who voluntarily surrendered his medical license in 2008, a year after the state suspended his license following an admission to “unprofessional conduct” in the care of a 76-year-old patient.

“I’m tremendously honored by the overwhelming support of the CD 8 Republican delegates and from Joe Andujo,” Evans said in a statement. “Joe has worked tirelessly to introduce himself to the voters of the district and he has made me a better candidate in the process. I appreciate his friendship and support.”

Evans added, “The momentum behind our fight-back campaign is real, and it’s growing every day. I can’t wait to take this fight to November and defeat Joe Biden and his far-left ally Yadira Caraveo.”

Joshi’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Caraveo, a Thornton pediatrician and former state lawmaker, won the 2022 election by just over 1,600 votes in the district, which covers parts of Adams, Weld, and Larimer counties north of the Denver metro area. The seat is rated a toss-up by national election forecasters and could determine which party controls the House after this year’s election.

Colorado’s congressional and state-level primary is June 25. Caraveo is unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

A spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a statement to Colorado Politics that the party is confident Caraveo can defend the seat against either Republican.

“Gabe Evans and Janak Joshi have already been trying to out-MAGA each other — from supporting dangerous abortion bans with no exceptions for rape or incest to endorsing Donald Trump,” said the DCCC’s Mallory Payne.

“With months still to go until the primary election, they’ll only get more extreme and prove to voters just how wrong they are for Colorado,” she added. “Meanwhile, Congresswoman Caraveo remains focused on delivering for the people of the Front Range and Northern Colorado, announcing last month over $16 million in community and infrastructure projects in the 8th district.”