EAGLE — Rep. Joe Neguse has won his reelection bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District.

Neguse defeated Boulder Republican Charlie Winn with 62.6% of the vote in the district that includes Broomfield, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Grand, Larimer and Summit counties as well as parts of Boulder, Jefferson, Eagle and Park counties. In Summit, Neguse led with 65.4% of the vote.

Neguse took over the seat from Gov. Jared Polis, who held it from 2009 to 2018 before being elected governor.

Celebrating his reelection on Tuesday night, Neguse said his freshman term in the U.S. House of Representatives was busy but impactful.

“We had no shortage of challenges,” he said. “It was a trying time for our country and our community … culminating with the coronavirus pandemic and now the brutal wildfire season.”

Neguse said discussions with residents in the 2nd Congressional District will need to continue in the months to come, as some of the largest wildfires in recorded history continue to burn in Colorado.

“We have to be prepared to follow the science, wherever that leads,” Neguse said about tackling wildfire mitigation. “Sometimes that leads to more uncomfortable conversations. I’m all about making progress where we can.”

Neguse said he put his “foot on the gas” when he arrived in Congress.

He introduced 38 bills in the 116th Congress — the most of any freshman member — and served as a vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the vice-chair of the Medicare for All Caucus.

Neguse also was elected by his peers to be the Freshman Co-Representative to Leadership and earlier this year, he earned the national Town Hall Project’s “Spirit of Service” award for holding more town halls than any other freshman member in the first quarter of the 116th Congress.

“It was a very, very, very busy two years,” he said. “And I think the next two years will be just as busy.”

In addition to being busy with Congress, Neguse was also busy as the parent of a newborn. His daughter, Natalie, was 2 months old when he took office.

Neguse said he has benefitted from the support of his wife, Andrea, and his family. Neguse’s parents fled Eritrea, a war-torn country in East Africa, nearly 40 years ago, settling in Colorado, where Neguse and his sister were raised.

Neguse worked as an attorney and a civil leader before becoming Colorado’s first African American congressperson, and the only person of color in the state’s federal delegation.

“I said from Day 1 that if I were given the opportunity to represent our community in Congress, that I would not take that for granted, and I would work hard every single day to serve our community,” he said. “We are going to keep our foot on the gas.”

Neguse described the last two years as the honor of his life.

“I look forward to continuing our work together to lower health care costs, combat climate change and recover from the terrible wildfires our community has experienced, recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and more,” he said. “I am deeply grateful to the people of our district for giving me the opportunity to work on these critical issues, and I pledge to work tirelessly each and every day on their behalf, fighting for the Colorado values we share.”