Greg Lopez wins Colorado's 4th Congressional District special election

Former Parker Mayor Greg Lopez — a 2020 election denier — won the Republican nomination for Colorado's 4th Congressional District special election to finish what's left of former GOP U.S. Rep. Ken Buck's term.

Why it matters: Ahead of the November election, the four-way race was a test to signal whether Democratic support is growing in this GOP-dominated region, which covers the state's Eastern Plains.

Reality check: The result, however, indicates Republicans' stronghold remains firmly intact.

• What's more, conservative firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert easily won the GOP nomination in Tuesday's primary election for the 4th District.

By the numbers: Lopez won with 57% of the vote in preliminary results posted when polls closed at 7pm Tuesday. The Associated Press projected him as the winner about 30 minutes later.

• His primary opponent, Democrat Trisha Calvarese, received 36% of the vote in preliminary results.
• Libertarian candidate Hannah Goodman followed at 5%, along with Frank Atwood, with the Approval Voting Party, at 2%.

Between the lines: Lopez holds hard-right views .

• He believes former President Trump won the 2020 election, abortion should be banned without exceptions, and climate change isn't caused by human activity.

The intrigue: The former director of the Colorado office of the U.S. Small Business Administration also has a checkered past with law enforcement.

• In 2020, he paid $15,000 to settle a case with the Department of Justice after it alleged that he violated federal law after he left the SBA by attempting to improperly influence actions of the agency.
• In the early 2000s and early 1990s, he faced, respectively, charges of driving under the influence and domestic violence against his then-pregnant wife.

Catch up quick: Lopez is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who lives in Elizabeth. His resume shows he leads LCMG, a small business consulting firm, and was the former head of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver.

• He ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 2022 and 2018 Republican primaries, as well as for U.S. Senate in 2016 .
• He was a Democrat before changing affiliations in the 1990s.

What's next: Lopez isn't planning to run in November, CPR reports . His goal is to serve "not as a placeholder, but ... as a principle-holder," his website states .