Estes Park massage therapist Kelley Anne Dennison has won the Republican primary in a race to represent Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District.

The Associated Press called the win at 7:57 p.m. Tuesday. Unofficial results show Dennison leading with 58% of the vote over her opponent, Fort Collins hairstylist Christina Blunt, as of 9 a.m. Wednesday. Dennison will face off against incumbent Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Boulder, in November. Neguse ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

“I feel incredibly humbled that I am trusted, and I’m excited that the will of the people is being heard,” Dennison said about the results.

Dennison, a 27-year-old business owner, got her start in politics working as a staffer for Republican Adam DeRito’s campaign for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District primary, though he did not make it onto the June ballot.

Dennison has credited her youth for giving her a wider range of relatability to unaffiliated voters, calling herself the “tactical nuke option” for the Republican Party.

“It’s definitely a heavy lift,” Dennison said about facing Neguse in the November general election. “It definitely is a David and Goliath story. It’s going to be really hard. But I have faith, and as far as strategy goes, my heart is toward the unaffiliated and libertarians. That’s my strategy.”

Both of the Republican candidates’ campaigns have focused on some of the state’s most contested issues, including immigration, affordability and federal spending.

If elected to office, Dennison said her No. 1 priority would be expanding federal funding for trade and vocational education. She has also identified economic affordability, financial stewardship, pro-family policies, education reform and Second Amendment rights as her top issues.

Dennison said her approach to immigration policy — one of the more contested issues in the race — would focus on strengthening both border security and lawful paths to citizenship. 

Colorado’s deeply blue 2nd Congressional District covers much of the north-central part of the state, encompassing roughly 728,000 residents across Boulder, Larimer, Jackson, Jefferson, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Eagle, Grand, Summit, Routt and Weld counties.

The district has been represented by a Democrat for more than 50 years, though Dennison said she’s banking on longstanding frustrations with the Democratic Party to flip the district. The Cook Partisan Voter Index identified that the district has voted 20% more Democratic in the past two presidential elections than the national average, making it the 56th most Democratic district nationwide.