SEDALIA — Heidi Ganahl won the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Colorado on Tuesday night after fending off a primary opponent who benefited from roughly $1.5 million in spending by Democrats, most of it on TV ads, aimed at preventing Ganahl from advancing to the general election.

The Associated Press called the race in Ganahl’s favor at 7:57 p.m.

Ganahl, a University of Colorado regent and the only Republican who holds statewide office, had 53% of the vote compared to 47% for former Parker Mayor Greg Lopez as of 8 p.m.

There were chants of “Heidi! Heidi!” at her watch party in Sedalia when the AP called the race. Ganahl said Lopez called to concede. She will face Democratic Gov. Jared Polis in November.

“I think their dirty tricks backfired,” Ganahl said, referencing the Democratic spending in her race. “This was quite an ordeal over the last few weeks, I’m not going to lie. But my little team, my little engine that could, worked so hard over the last few weeks.”

Read more at ColoradoSun.com.