Greg Lopez wins special election to fill Buck's vacant seat
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Greg Lopez answers questions during a gubernatorial debate in Denver in 2018. Photo: Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Former Parker Mayor Greg Lopez — a 2020 election denier — won the Republican nomination for Colorado's 4th Congressional District special election to finish what's left of former GOP U.S. Rep. Ken Buck's term.
Why it matters: Ahead of the November election, the four-way race was a test to signal whether Democratic support is growing in this GOP-dominated region, which covers the state's Eastern Plains.
Reality check: The result, however, indicates Republicans' stronghold remains firmly intact.
- What's more, conservative firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert easily won the GOP nomination in Tuesday's primary election for the 4th District.
By the numbers: Lopez won with 57% of the vote in preliminary results posted when polls closed at 7pm Tuesday. The Associated Press projected him as the winner about 30 minutes later.
- His primary opponent, Democrat Trisha Calvarese, received 36% of the vote in preliminary results.
- Libertarian candidate Hannah Goodman followed at 5%, along with Frank Atwood, with the Approval Voting Party, at 2%.
Between the lines: Lopez holds hard-right views.
- He believes former President Trump won the 2020 election, abortion should be banned without exceptions, and climate change isn't caused by human activity.
The intrigue: The former director of the Colorado office of the U.S. Small Business Administration also has a checkered past with law enforcement.
- In 2020, he paid $15,000 to settle a case with the Department of Justice after it alleged that he violated federal law after he left the SBA by attempting to improperly influence actions of the agency.
- In the early 2000s and early 1990s, he faced, respectively, charges of driving under the influence and domestic violence against his then-pregnant wife.
Catch up quick: Lopez is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who lives in Elizabeth. His resume shows he leads LCMG, a small business consulting firm, and was the former head of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver.
- He ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 2022 and 2018 Republican primaries, as well as for U.S. Senate in 2016.
- He was a Democrat before changing affiliations in the 1990s.
What's next: Lopez isn't planning to run in November, CPR reports. His goal is to serve "not as a placeholder, but ... as a principle-holder," his website states.