State Rep. Gabe Evans defeated Janak Joshi on Tuesday night in the Republican primary to take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in November. The Associated Press called it for Evans just after 7:20 p.m. Evans, a first-term state House member from Fort Lupton, was leading with 28,874 votes, or 77.96% of the total, to 8,164 for Joshi, or 22.4%, in early results posted to the Colorado secretary of state’s website after voting ended at 7 p.m. RELATED: Primary election results Evans and Joshi did not return immediately requests for comment. Evans, a former Army helicopter pilot and Arvada police officer, had been favored in the GOP race in the north-central 8th Congressional District, given his recent role in state politics and longstanding ties to the district.