Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify the percentage point breakdown of Allen’s lead in El Paso and Teller counties.

Incumbent Michael Allen took a commanding lead in the race for 4th Judicial District Attorney among both El Paso and Teller county voters in Tuesday’s Republican primary election.

Unofficial results updated by the Secretary of State’s Office at about 8:25 p.m. show Allen had between a 35-point lead in El Paso County, and a 36-point lead in Teller County as of about 8 p.m. He was earning a solid 68% of the vote in El Paso and Teller counties.

Allen is seeking re-election to a second term as the 4th Judicial District Attorney. The office oversees criminal prosecutions in El Paso and Teller counties.

His Republican challenger, attorney and political newcomer David Willson, was earning 32% of the vote among El Paso County voters and 32% of the vote among Teller County voters, unofficial returns show.

The victor of Tuesday’s Republican primary will face Jeremy Dowell, an attorney who represents Colorado Springs-area children in the juvenile justice system and the only Democrat in the race, in the Nov. 5 general election.

In El Paso County, 104,636 ballots had been cast from among 462,492 active voters, or about a 23% return, Secretary of State’s Office data show. Turnout had so far fallen short of Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker’s hope for a 40% return. In Teller County, 4,425 ballots were cast from 18,409 active voters, for about a 24% return.

Celebrating with several other Republican candidates in various state and local races at Boot Barn Hall in northern Colorado Springs Tuesday night, Allen said by phone the voters in both counties got it right.

“Obviously the voters of the 4th Judicial District know what a successful District Attorney’s Office looks like,” he said.

Allen is a veteran El Paso County prosecutor who was first elected 4th Judicial District attorney in 2020. He touted a successful track record as district attorney, including launching a data unit in 2021 that allows his office to quickly respond to changing crime trends. He formed an organized crime unit that has led Colorado in prosecuting drug dealers distributing fentanyl and sending them to prison, he said.

Allen has also prosecuted a number of high-profile cases, including that of Club Q shooter Anderson Aldrich in district court. Aldrich shot and killed five people and injured more than 20 at the nightclub on North Academy Boulevard on Nov. 19, 2022.

Last June, Aldrich pleaded guilty to 51 charges, including five counts of first-degree murder and 46 counts of attempted first-degree murder. He was sentenced to five life sentences and 2,000-plus years in prison. In addition, Aldrich received three years, 164 days in prison for bias-motivated crime. Aldrich pleaded guilty last week in federal court to killing five people and injuring nearly two dozen.

Allen was also the lead prosecutor in Letecia Stauch’s high-profile murder trial. A jury last spring found Stauch guilty of killing her 11-year-old stepson, Gannon Stauch, in early 2020. She received two life sentences.

He said Tuesday he is ready to “work hard to get the message out to voters and let them know the good work we do” in the lead-up to the Nov. 5 general election.

“Colorado Springs was ranked the third best place to live (by U.S. News and World Report) and a big part of that is that we have a strong public safety stance here. We have great law enforcement and a great District Attorney’s Office. I want to continue serving my community,” Allen said.