Darryl Glenn will face Colorado’s Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in November, a showdown that could test the El Paso County Commissioner’s streak of resounding upset victories. 

Jon Caldara, the Republican host of The Devil’s Advocate and president of the Independence Institute, said Glenn was the front-runner to win the Republican nomination – which he did convincingly on Tuesday night – from the moment he clinched a berth on ballot at the state assembly, where he single-handedly knocked a dozen other candidates out of the race.

“That doesn’t mean that he would be the most winnable in the fall, but we’ll see,” Caldara said. “There’s a difference between winning in the primary and winning in the general election. The rest of the state of Colorado does not look like El Paso County.”

Glenn beat four opponents thanks largely to winning more than half of the roughly 60,000 Republican votes counted in El Paso County as of 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Colorado is a swing state where independent voters carry significant weight in a general election, so Glenn may have to make a mad dash to the center to compete, experts say.

Bennet didn’t have a primary opponent, and his campaign sent an email branding Glenn as too extreme for Colorado almost as soon as results were in.

“Darryl Glenn won the nomination thanks to a last-minute television ad campaign financed entirely by the special interest group Senate Conservatives Fund, and a slew of high-profile endorsements from Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin,” the email from campaign spokesman Andrew Zucker said. “No surprise, because Glenn’s made clear he shares their extreme ideology.”

Ryan Call, former chairman of the Colorado GOP, cautioned that despite conservative endorsements, Democrats should not make the mistake of thinking Glenn will be like the tea-party candidates who fizzled in 2010 after winning the primary.

“I think he is more thoughtful and disciplined,” Call said. “I think his campaign in recent days and weeks is working to professionalize, and he hasn’t made some of the same mistakes,” Call said. “While his positions on the issues are probably more conservative than the majority of Coloradans, I’ve seen him making more efforts in how he’s talking about sensitive issues like abortion, particularly recently.”

Caldara was dubious.

“He’s a good man, just a spectacular guy,” Caldara said. “My guess is he’s not the kind of guy who is not going to change his tune greatly during a general election.”

Second-place finisher Jack Graham was quick to rally behind Glenn.

“We were running against a great opponent. Darryl Glenn has run a great race,” Graham said from his campaign headquarters in the Denver Tech Center. “Darryl Glenn is a fantastic human being.”

Graham took about 25 percent of the vote. The Fort Collins businessman largely funded his own campaign with about $1.5 million of his own cash and had far more TV ads early than Glenn.

Dick Wahdams, Graham’s campaign manager, said it’ll be critical for Glenn to find a message that resounds with unaffiliated and moderate voters, a segment of the vote that Graham courted heavily.

After the first counts were released, Robert Blaha, who took out a $1 million loan to fund his campaign, made a brief appearance at a country club in northern Colorado Springs and quickly conceded.

Blaha, who received about 16 percent of the early votes, said his defeat was part of an odd year for Republican politics.

“It’s a mess,” he said. “The GOP is a mess.”

Blaha said he hopes Glenn can unite the Republicans. He then paused and repeated “hope,” with a note of sarcasm in his voice.

“The people have spoken,” Blaha said. “The people have selected Darryl Glenn.”

Jon Keyser, who was once considered the GOP establishment’s pick, took 13 percent of the early vote, and former Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier took 9 percent.

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Gazette Reporter Tom Roeder contributed to this report.

Darryl Glenn, El Paso County Commissioner, reacts to leading in early election results during the U.S. Senate Republican Primary in the Rocky Mountain Ballroom of The Broadmoor on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. Photo by Stacie Scott, The Gazette

STACIE SCOTT

Darryl Glenn, El Paso County Commissioner, hugs his daughters, Kristy and Ashley, as he leads in early election results during the U.S. Senate Republican Primary in the Rocky Mountain Ballroom of The Broadmoor on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. Photo by Stacie Scott, The Gazette

STACIE SCOTT