GRAND JUNCTION — Dwayne Romero, a late entry into the 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary, will take on Republican Jeff Hurd after upsetting Alex Kelloff who had been campaigning across the district for nearly a year before Romero entered the race.
Romero had 55.2% of the vote to Kelloff’s 44.8% when the Associated Press called the race for Romero at 8:01 p.m.
Romero is a 61-year-old resident of Snowmass Village who touted his “pragmatism” and long military background on the campaign trail. He also focused on his business experience and his service on numerous boards.
Romero, who entered the 3rd District race just four hours before the deadline, garnered sizeable wins in his home county of Pitkin and neighboring counties of Eagle and Garfield.
Romero said he was confident jumping into the race at the eleventh hour.
“Humbly stated, given my experience fighting through and being in combat, I always knew I could do well,” Romero said. “I felt good about it, or I wouldn’t have gotten in it.”
Romero said he is “super excited” to take on Hurd because his talks with voters on the campaign trail told him that people in the 3rd District are hurting and will back a strong leader.
“Time and time again, Jeff Hurd has chosen his political bosses over families in Colorado. He has voted to cut their healthcare and prolong Trump’s reckless wars, even as gas prices keep rising out of control. I am ready to take down Jeff Hurd and make sure the voices of Coloradans are heard in Congress,” Romero wrote on social media following his win. “I will fight every day to lower costs at the grocery store and pharmacy, bring down housing costs, and stand up to the corporations and special interests driving prices higher.”
The Colorado Democratic Party congratulated Romero on his win and vowed CD-3 will be one of Colorado’s most important races in November. The Colorado Democratic Party stated in a press release that it is “building a campaign that touches every district this fall” in a district ready to elect new leadership rather than “doing Washington’s bidding.”
Romero and Kelloff, 53, were similar to voters, not just in their credentials as Aspen area-based businessmen, but also in their talking points on the campaign trail as they enumerated how they would try to improve the lives of the 720,000 residents of the 3rd District’s nearly 50,000 square miles.
Both Kelloff and Romero promised to create jobs, to protect public lands and water, and to strengthen healthcare and education.
Romero is a U.S. Army veteran and Bronze Star recipient, who was recruited by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as an 18-year-old to play basketball. He graduated from U.S. Army Ranger School and served seven years as an officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Two of his three daughters have also served in the military.
After his time in the military, Romero established the Romero Group, an Aspen real estate management business, where he is currently president and CEO.
He served as the director of economic development in former governor John Hickenlooper’s administration. His time in public service included serving on the Aspen City Council, the Aspen-area transit authority, the Aspen Fire Protection District and the Aspen Board of Education. He also served on the Colorado Economic Development Commission.
Romero promised on the campaign trail that he would fight to undo H.R. 1 or the Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax and spending law that President Donald Trump championed. He also said he would help bring back some power to a Congress that he said has abdicated its duty to be a check on the executive branch.
Romero will face off with first-term 3rd District Congressman Jeff Hurd. The 3rd District leans Republican in national partisan scoring, but that has been softening in recent years.
A Democrat has not been elected in the district since 2008 when John Salazar won but was unseated by a Republican after a single two-year term.