Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Thornton pediatrician, has won the election to represent Colorado’s new 8th Congressional District, defeating Republican state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer in a race that came down to the wire.

The race likely lived up to its billing as the most competitive congressional seat in the state, with the contest remaining as tight as a drum as the vote count continued into Wednesday evening.

Minutes before 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Kirkmeyer called Caraveo to concede the race, even though the Democrat held only the slimmest of leads — just over 1,500 votes — in incomplete, unofficial returns.

Caraveo declared victory in a statement that credited her background as the daughter of Mexican immigrants for preparing her to represent the district. 

“In many ways, the story of my family is the story of this district — my parents immigrated here to afford us a better life,” she said. “And because of their hard work, I was able to go to college, become a doctor, and live my version of the American Dream. But for too many people in Colorado, that dream has slipped out of reach. Our District deserves a leader who will fight to restore access to the American Dream for working families — a leader who will not side with wealthy donors and special interests.

“Our community showed up and our voices were heard. Together, we will fight to lower costs, make prescription drugs more affordable, make childcare and family leave more accessible, and fight for every person in America to, once again, have reproductive rights restored to them.”

Added Caraveo: “From my work as a pediatrician caring for our community, to fighting for working families in the state legislature, I have spent my life serving Colorado. It’s the honor of my lifetime to receive this vote of confidence to serve working families from Greeley to Commerce City in Washington, D.C. I look forward to doing the hard work to fight for working families across every part of the 8th Congressional District.”

Kirkmeyer announced that she had conceded the hard-fought race on social media.

“Just a few minutes ago I call[ed] Representative Caraveo to congratulate her on her win in CD8,” Kirkmeyer tweeted. “While this is not the outcome we hoped for, I am proud of our team and our campaign.”

A Kirkmeyer spokesman told Colorado Politics that there weren’t enough ballots left uncounted to change the outcome.

Caraveo will be the first Latina and the first physician to represent Colorado in Congress.

As election officials continued tabulating ballots on Wednesday, the two state legislators found themselves neck and neck in the battle to represent the open seat north of the Denver metro area. The district was created ahead of this year’s election when Colorado gained a congressional district during the once-a-decade reapportionment process.

As of Thursday, Caraveo’s margin of victory stood at 134 votes out of more than 200,000 ballots cast in the race.   

Covering portions of Adams, Weld and Larimer counties, from Thornton and Commerce City to Greeley, the seat has slightly more Democrats than Republicans among active registered voters, but unaffiliated voters account for nearly half the share. The district’s electorate has favored Democratic candidates by a narrow 1.3-point margin in recent statewide elections, according to the independent redistricting commission, though it’s swung widely over the years — voting for Donald Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.

The commission calls the 8th district a Hispanic-influence district, with roughly 40% of its population having a Hispanic background, the largest share of any congressional district in the state.

The district has drawn the heaviest outside spending of any race in the state this cycle, with national party organizations and political action committees pouring millions of dollars since Labor Day into TV ads portraying their opponent as too extreme for the district. The seat is considered pivotal to determining which party controls the U.S. House after the midterm election.

Republican-funded ads have taken aim at Caraveo’s budget and energy policies, while the Democrats’ ads have focused on Kirkmeyer’s firm opposition to abortion.

Although there’s been scant publicly released polling in the district, a handful of surveys have shown Kirkmeyer with a slim lead, within the margin of error. National election forecasters say the contest leans Republican or put the seat in the toss-up column.

Caraveo won the nomination unopposed in the June primary, while Kirkmeyer emerged with an 18-point win over three opponents, including Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann, Weld County Commissioner Lori Saine and political novice Tyler Allcorn, an Army veteran.

Through the Oct. 19 pre-election campaign finance period, Caraveo held a wide lead in fundraising, reporting more than $3.1 million in contributions to Kirkmeyer’s $1.3 million, though spending by outside groups has so far amounted to many times what the candidates have raised and spent.

Colorado Politics’ Marianne Goodland contributed to this report.