Democrat Joe Neguse will keep his seat representing Colorado’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House after defeating Republican Marshall Dawson by a wide margin on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Neguse was expected to prevail in the Democrat-leaning district that consists of Front Range communities like Boulder and Fort Collins, in addition to mountain communities such as Steamboat Springs, Vail and Summit County. Despite being expected to win, Neguse said he doesn’t take the victory for granted.

“It’s been the honor of my life to serve in the Congress, represent our community, our mountain communities, to represent Colorado’s Second District,” Neguse said Tuesday night. “(I’m) very much looking forward to the road ahead.”

As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, Neguse held a 70% to 28% lead in the race with the 145,600 votes cast for Neguse far outpacing Dawson’s 57,400.

Neguse’s win will send him to the House for a third term, but the first since Routt and Jackson counties were added into the district during a redistricting process last fall. Neguse said it was a privilege to get to know Routt County’s voters.

“Mountain communities are a core part of Colorado and who we are as Coloradans,” Neguse said. “I think there is a lot to be done, whether that be protecting our public lands (or) addressing some of the acute needs that our mountain communities face.”

Dawson, who lives about 20 minutes away from Neguse in Boulder County, wasn’t sweating the results Tuesday night and said he was more anxious about how other elections across Colorado would play out.

“I don’t feel a ton of pressure, mostly because I’m not really expected to win,” Dawson said before polls closed. “If we can pull a rabbit out of a hat, I think that would be great. I think that CD2 deserves some better representation and I’m happy to do that.”

Dawson said he felt his approach of not wanting the federal government to be heavy handed resonated with supporters. Dawson also said he met lots of longtime Coloradans on the campaign trail, especially in parts of the Western Slope that are new to the district.

“My heart kind of breaks for people like that who are frustrated having been districted in with Boulder,” Dawson said. “They don’t feel like anyone in this county has their interest at heart.”

Neguse said he was excited to meet more stakeholders in Routt County now that he will be officially representing the district.

“I’m looking forward to being able to visit Routt County often,” Neguse said.