Two Republican incumbent members of the Colorado House of Representatives lost their primary challenges Tuesday night, according to preliminary results.
State Rep. Judy Reyher, of Swink, appeared to be bested by Don Bendell in House District 47.
Reyher was appointed to the seat last year when it was vacated by former Rep. Clarice Navarro, but Reyher quickly drew controversy when The Denver Post reported that she had made posts to Facebook criticizing blacks and Muslims. She has served just one year in the Colorado General Assembly.
When asked about her Facebook posts by the newspaper, Reyher doubled down, saying “the black community and the Democrats are the most racist group of people that exist,” and that black people “hate white people with a passion.” Reyher’s words drew a rebuke from the Colorado Republican Party.
Wednesday morning, Reyher trailed Bendell by about 1,000 votes, or 56 percent to 44 percent.
In the House District 56 primary, Rep. Phil Covarrubias, of Adams County, was poised to lose to Rod Bockenfeld.
“It was an honor to serve as your Representative,” Covarrubias, who served two years in the legislature over one term, said in a Facebook post. “For now, politics is over for me and I’m going to focus on my company.”
Covarrubias was down about 2,000 votes Wednesday morning, with just 38 percent of the vote to Bockenfeld’s 62 percent.
Earlier this year, state Rep. Paul Rosenthal, D-Denver, became the first incumbent to lose when he failed to make the ballot, in part because of concerns raised after he was accused of sexual harassment. Two women competed for the safe Democratic seat, with Emily Sirota defeating Ashley Wheeland, 54 percent to 46 percent.
