DENVER – Ralph Trenary turned to the older Democrat sitting next to him at the Larimer County Assembly Saturday and said, “Well, the show’s over.” The increasingly watched race in Colorado Senate District 15 took another sharp turn when political newbie Rebecca Cranston upset the former Loveland city councilman and community do-gooder.

And she didn’t just win, she crushed the better-known candidate, 72 percent to 28 percent, eliminating Trenary, who needed 30 percent to make the June ballot.

That sets up a November showdown for Cranston with well-financed and well-known Republican Rob Woodward of Loveland, the only Republican in the race to succeed Republican Sen, Kevin Lundberg from Berthoud, who is term-limited and running for state treasurer.

Republicans hold just a one-seat majority in the Senate, and most have pegged a race to the south as the one to watch. In Senate District 24 Democratic Rep. Faith Winter of Westminster is seeking to flip a seat by beating incumbent Republican Beth Martinez Humenik of Thornton.

Trenary thought at worst he might split the vote with Cranston, the executive director of the Northern Colorado AIDS Project.

He said Cranston ran “an enthusiastic and aggressive campaign.” He had the experience in running for elected office and years of work with community boards and organizations in Loveland, he said.

“I didn’t see the level of support she was getting,” Trenary said. “It’s probably the first indication of how the women-run-women-win phenomenon is going to play out this year.”

The campaign generated storylines. Cranston early on accused Trenary of trying to force her out of the race when an old acquaintance sent Trenary an email making claims that Cranston said where false. The District 15 chairwoman Carla Massaro, who as involved in the earlier incident, was asked to resign after she posted on social media that Trenary was “more than a pretty set of bare legs.”

Trenary said Sunday evening he had hopes Democrats could take the seat from a very conservative Republican base, who had supported Lundberg, and return it to moderate leadership, meaning himself.

In a general election, Cranston will have to reach beyond her progressive base to moderate Republicans and unaffiliated voters in the mountains and plains portions of the district, who could be turned off by too liberal an agenda, Trenary said.

Woodward wasn’t available Sunday evening.

“I am honored and humbled to have earned the Democratic nomination for Senate District 15,” Cranston told Colorado Politics Sunday. “This milestone demonstrates that our campaign is capable of turning the tables on establishment and self-funded candidates, by delivering a message of integrity, courage and healing. In November, a vote for me will be a vote for invalidating the current administration’s relentless assault on Colorado’s values.”

The Republican side also has had storylines. Nic Morse dropped out of the GOP race this month citing “poor fundraising and tepid support within the party,” as Colorado Politics’ Ernest Luning characterized it.

For the general election, Cranston will have to get busy raising money. When the last reports were turned in, Woodward had raised $36,473. Cranston had $7,322.