Polis completes comeback, wins CO-2 Democratic primary

Even a couple months ago, things didn't seem so great for Jared Polis.

But the Boulder online entrepreneur came back in a big way Tuesday night, capturing the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District. With scant opposition expected in the general election, the win almost certainly means Polis will take a seat in Congress next January.

With 452 of 457 precincts reporting, Polis nabbed 41.7 percent of the vote. Former state Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald had 38 percent of the vote, while environmentalist Will Shafroth won 20.3 percent.

Polis' victory came in large part because of big wins in Boulder, Broomfield, and - especially -- Adams Counties. In Adams County, preliminary numbers showed that Polis beat Fitz-Gerald by almost 1,200 votes - two-thirds of Polis' total victory margin.

Polis even won in mountainous Eagle County, an area Fitz-Gerald used to represent in the state Senate.

Fitz-Gerald had the early lead in the race, winning 60 percent of delegates' votes at the 2nd Congressional District Democratic assembly in May. Polis reshuffled his campaign team in April, hiring Robert Becker, formerly Iowa State Director for Bill Richardson's 2008 presidential campaign, as his manager.

Polis, who made millions in the e-greeting card industry, also put a Colorado record $5.3 million of his own money into his campaign - much of which went towards massive ad buys to raise his profile.

Fitz-Gerald and Shafroth told the Denver Post that Polis' money forced them to spend more time fundraising that otherwise would have been devoted to campaigning.

"If we'd all been given the same amount of money at the beginning, this race would have looked a lot different," Fitz-Gerald said last week, according to the Post. "It's like watching a tsunami come ... and you're not sure how big it's going to be."

Polis now faces three candidates in the general election: Republican Scott Starin, Green Party candidate J.A. Calhoun and Unity Party candidate Bill Hammons. But given the 2nd District's heavy Democratic leanings, Polis is the clear favorite to win in November.