Colorado’s Rep. Lauren Boebert won her GOP primary on Tuesday after deciding to run in a different district than the one where she narrowly won reelection in 2022.
Boebert won the party’s nomination in Colorado’s 4th District, which became available after Rep. Ken Buck announced his resignation this year, by defeating five other Republicans.
General Election
Given the region’s tendency to lean to the right, she will have a strong chance of winning the seat in the general election.
Boebert, in her subsequent term, managed a 546-vote triumph in the adjoining 3rd District two years prior and confronted the possibility of a rematch with Adam Frisch, a very well-supported Democrat.
Past Wins
Previous President Donald Trump won the 4th District by 19, while he took the 3rd District by 8 points in 2020, as per figures from Daily Kos Elections.
After unexpectedly winning the GOP primary in 2020 against a member of Congress at the time, Boebert, whom Trump backed, established a national reputation as a conservative zealot.
Boebert’s Tactics
Rep. Scott Tipton was beaten then in part by promising to challenge prominent Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
“Since the first day I ran for public office I promised I would do whatever it takes to stop the socialists and communists from taking over our country,” Boebert stated when she announced her decision to run for the 4th District in December.
“Fresh Start”
“That means staying in the fight. But it also means not allowing Hollywood elites and progressive money groups to buy the 3rd District,” according to Boebert.
Boebert also mentioned that she and her husband had split up and that the move would be a “fresh start” after a difficult year for her personally.
Former Problems
She was provided with a temporary restraining order against her ex-husband in February.
She also made news the year before when she was escorted out of a musical for allegedly “vaping, singing, and causing a disturbance.”
Switching Districts
In the more competitive 3rd District, where Frisch, a former member of the Aspen City Council, cleared the Democratic field and won the party’s nomination, Boebert’s decision to run also shook up the GOP primary.
According to NBC News projections, attorney Jeff Hurd defeated a Democratic attempt to interfere in the Republican primary and won the GOP primary to face Frisch in the fall. This gave him an opponent who might be easier to defeat in November.
Democrat Support
According to The Colorado Sun, a Democratic outside group launched a television ad that appeared to support controversial former state Rep. Ron Hanks.
Hanks marched to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and he has denied the results of the 2020 election. He likewise ran fruitlessly in the GOP Senate essential in 2022.
Counter Attack
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC affiliated with House GOP leadership, launched its own television advertisement targeting Hanks to combat the campaign.
In addition, Frisch gave the impression of participating in the primary by launching a television advertisement directed at Hurd. This advertisement had the potential to harm Hurd’s standing among conservative voters by suggesting that his views on Trump and abortion are ambiguous.
Republican Shifts
Former radio host and political consultant Jeff Crank was chosen by Republicans to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn in the deeply red 5th District.
Trump, who had backed state GOP Chairman Dave Williams, suffered a loss with Crank’s victory. Crank received support from Louisiana’s House Speaker Mike Johnson and a few other Republican members of Congress.
Conservative Tactics
Boebert likewise chose not to run in the special election to serve out the remainder of Buck’s term, selecting to stay in Congress and keep representing the 3rd District.
Republican Greg Lopez won the special election Tuesday to supplant Buck, NBC News projects, meaning Lopez will before long go to the House and assist with cushioning conservatives’ minor lead.
Incumbent Lopez
Lopez, a former mayor of Parker and former state director for the Small Business Administration, has run for office multiple times, including unsuccessfully for governor in 2022 and 2018.
He is a steadfast conservative and has supported some hard-right views, such as supporting the uncertainty for the 2020 political decision results. Additionally, he opposes any exceptions to the prohibition on abortion.
Tuesday’s primaries likewise set the matchup in Colorado’s 8th District, which is anticipated to be one of the most competitive House races in the country this year.
