Garrison Ortiz jumps to early lead in Pueblo County Commissioner race

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- After a heated campaign, Pueblo County Commissioner Garrison Ortiz appears to have retained his seat.

The first round of ballot numbers released by the Pueblo County Clerk's Office shows Ortiz getting off to a large lead against his opponent former Colorado State Senator Abel Tapia for the District 2 Commissioner seat.

Ortiz has a sizable lead with 14,268 votes, while Tapia has tallied 7,854 votes in his favor. More than 22,000 votes have been counted so far, more than 15,000 votes remain to be counted.

As for the race for County Commissioner Terry Hart's old seat (District 1) things are a bit tighter. Candidate Eppie Griego has jumped out to lead against his opponent Tisha Mauro. Griego currently holds 11,449 votes while Mauro has 10,171.

At this time it is, it is unclear if the victors in either race will face Republican challengers in the General Elections come November.

Follow updated election results here.