Democrat Dwayne Romero has defeated challenger Alex Kelloff in the primary in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, where Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd fended off a challenge from a former state lawmaker, according to The Associated Press.

In returns posted at 8:15 p.m., Romero had 55% of the vote to Kelloff’s 44.8% in the Democratic primary, while Hurd led former state Rep. Ron Hanks 67%-32% in the GOP primary.

Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, is serving his first term representing the Republican-leaning 3rd CD, which covers most of the Western Slope and parts of Southern Colorado. He faced a last-minute challenge from the right from Hanks, who finished second in the district’s crowded Republican primary two years ago.

Two Pitkin County Democrats — Kelloff, a former investment executive and co-founder of Armada Skis, and Romero, a decorated Army combat veteran, business owner and former director of the state’s office of economic development — vied for the chance to take on the winner of the GOP primary.

Like Hanks, who kicked off his campaign in early April, Romero joined his party’s primary later than his opponent, announcing his run in March.

Hurd won the seat two years ago after its incumbent, Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, pulled up stakes and moved across the state to a safer district, rather than stick around to face the Democrat who came within a few hundred votes of unseating her in the previous election.

Hurd, who had been running against Boebert, wound up prevailing by double digits in a six-way primary and then beat Democratic nominee Adam Frisch in the general election by 5 percentage points.

Hanks declared his challenge to the incumbent after President Donald Trump first endorsed Hurd, then pulled his endorsement to back Hurd’s previous primary challenger, former Colorado GOP Vice Chair Hope Scheppelman and then switched back to Hurd after talking Scheppelman into dropping out.

Hurd, Hanks argues, has broken from Trump too often to represent the largely rural district.

The Democrats running in the district, however, maintain the opposite, calling Hurd a Trump loyalist on legislation that counts, including the Republicans’ signature budget bill.

While the district isn’t considered a toss-up by either national party’s congressional campaign arm, strategists say it could be in play, given the right circumstances as November approaches.